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crispy_kilt ,

And I give it a 0/10 on having a 3.5mm connector

Petter1 ,

Is that really that much of an issue in the age of USB-C?

stealth_cookies ,

Yes, the 3.5mm jack is more durable than USB-C (since it is rotationally symmetric twisting doesn't apply force to the connector), it maintains compatibility with billions of audio devices and doesn't block your charging port if you use it.

BigDanishGuy ,

As well as a 5.25" floppy disc drive and betamax, you call that a phone?!? No thank you, I'll stick with my x-phone https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=9-nezImUP0w

People complaining about 3.5mm jacks remind of the people who complained about how the iMac G3 didn't have a 3.5" floppy drive. At first yeah it was weird to leave it out, but it's been 9 years since the first smartphone launched without a 3.5mm jack (the OPPO R5 in 2014).

If you want ancient tech then your options will be limited.

ohwhatfollyisman ,

you do know that you could have made your point in a nicer manner, yes? why would we want to bring the strenuous tones of hollow outrage from reddit to here?

we are all better than that, even the big danish guys.

BigDanishGuy ,

I'm sorry, but I had to say something. I'm so tired of non-technical people moaning about the out phasing of the 3.5mm jack, and especially the arguments about audio quality and vendor lock in that has been raised in this thread. I had to make sure that it was understood, that the view is not unopposed.

Could I have done it more diplomatically? Maybe, but I also wanted to drive my point home in as short a post as possible.

I asked chatgpt to help out rewriting my comment, but with your criticism in mind. It came up with:

While 3.5mm jacks may seem like a staple, it's worth noting that technology evolves. Much like the transition from 3.5" floppy drives, change takes time to be widely accepted. The omission of the jack in smartphones isn't about dismissing tradition but adapting to newer, more versatile alternatives. It's been nearly a decade since the OPPO R5, and as technology progresses, embracing these changes can lead to a broader range of innovative features.

I don't want to bore people to death, but I can also see now how perhaps I could have attacked the technology instead of the people.

We are better than our old /u/ on reddit, and we must strive to keep it that way. Competing with reddit on toxicity, will be a fight we'll never be able to win.

Thank you for calling me out on my BS, and helping us all to keep the fediverse a better place.

potustheplant ,

Being an electronic engineer and a programmer I would categorize myself as a "technical person". I am also a person that prefers devices that are as reliable an repairable as possible. A headphone without a battery and with a replaceable cable can last you literally decades. A TWS one, will not.

To add to that, using a dongle means a separate device that can break (and is most likely not repairable), that isn't necessarily compatible with anything you plug it in to, that has a dac (which is redundant since your phone could use the internal one if you had a 3.5mm connector) and that will cause extra battery drain (regardless of how much more, it's more than 0).

There are literally 0 benefits to removing the headphone jack. Several people have even shown that devices that "don't have enough space" for it can be modded to add the 3.5mm jack and you don't even lose any functionality.

Removing the headphone jack is a step backwards.

Mango ,

AND it's on purpose. It's to make you switch from your good headphones that work with any analog output to shit that requires their specifications and can be remotely fucked with so you gotta keep buying.

BigDanishGuy ,

AND it's on purpose. It's to make you switch from your good headphones that work with any analog output to shit that requires their specifications and can be remotely fucked with so you gotta keep buying.

[Citation needed]

Mango ,

When you punch me in the nose, I don't need proof of your intentions.

BigDanishGuy ,

Translation: it's original, unpublished, and unreviewed research.

BigDanishGuy ,

My own background is in embedded electronics too. Whether there is a benefit in removing the jack or not has not been part of my arguments.

Some people will say that the jack needs to go for waterproofing, but I distinctly remember owning a Sony Xperia M4 which had both a jack and an IP68 rating.

I'm also not saying that your arguments aren't valid, I just value different aspects.... Except for the part about an external DAC being redundant. An external DAC, with RCA or XLR connectors, some proper cable can potentially give you a better result than the internal DAC and the 3.5mm jack. Emphasis on the "potential" part.

I haven't used wired headphones on a regular basis, since that Xperia in 2015ish, and I don't miss untangling the wires, or fixing a broken socket where the solder is cracked, the pins are broken inside the plastic housing of the socket, or clearing a socket of a broken male jack.

IMO the 3.5mm jack is a poor connector. It breaks too easily, dust in the socket leads to static and to be quite honest if I can tell a difference in sound quality, it's my BT headphones that comes out on top.

As long as there's a demand for 3.5mm jacks in phones they'll still be marketed. But if people could stop pointing out that another overpriced smartphone lacks the jack, it would just be swell. Just buy a more modestly priced phone instead of forking over +700€ for a frigging phone.

potustheplant ,

I currently have a Sony Xperia 5V. It has an IP68 rating, it's basically a flagship phone and it has a headphone jack. Manufacturers don't include the jack because they don't want to but it's 100% possible.

An external DAC, with RCA or XLR connectors, some proper cable can potentially give you a better result than the internal DAC and the 3.5mm jack.

Sorry, but that bit about the external dac is pretty dumb. We're talking about using a mobile phone and you're talking xlr and rca? Really?

I don't miss untangling the wires,

Maybe use a case? I usually have a small roud case for my IEMs that barely takes up space. You're already carrying a case for tws so I don't see why it would be a problem.

or fixing a broken socket where the solder is cracked,

At least you can fix it. If the battery on a wireless IEM dies, 9 times out of 10 you can't fix it and need to get a new one.

the pins are broken inside the plastic housing of the socket,

Maybe don't use shitty jacks?

or clearing a socket of a broken male jack.

Don't know how or where you use your phone but that literally never happened to me. Honestly, none of the issues you mentioned have been a problem for me. Maybe take better care of your stuff?

And regarding people pointing out the lack of a basic feature. Yeah, no. If a company makes shitty products, I'll keep pointing it out. Also, there are fewer and fewer phones with a headphone jack every year. Cheap and expensive. So no, price has nothing to dp with this.

BigDanishGuy ,

Sorry, but that bit about the external dac is pretty dumb. We're talking about using a mobile phone and you're talking xlr and rca? Really?

mama always stupid is as stupid does

I've read at least once in this thread an argument, that 3.5mm jack is superior to BT or USB-C, on account of the audio quality. If you're using your phone for playback in a setup where you can tell the difference, then an external DAC, with proper connectors, is warranted.

Maybe use a case? I usually have a small roud case for my IEMs that barely takes up space.

How about wireless instead? They can be more discreet, and you don't always have to care about stowing then away. There's a bit of a difference between rolling the wire(s) up or just plopping the individual TWS in a case, where orientation is handled by a magnet.

Maybe don't use shitty jacks?

Nothing to do with the jack. I'm talking about the pins coming from the circular part of the socket and going to the PCB. I've seen them break inside the socket housing, where you can't get to them. Leaving you with the options of either

  • sourcing a drop in replacement socket, which is time consuming and some of the time futile, or
  • plugging in some headphones, fire up the device and start playing some sound, then manipulate the socket while listening to the audio and when you get both left and right working, then securing the position with ad much epoxy as you can get away with. Elsewhere in this thread I've mentioned cowboy ways of electronics repair, this is some of what I meant.

If you want to avoid this issue, then you need to evaluate the socket in the device as part of your purchasing considerations. But most stores don't like it when you take their stuff apart. Instruct your users (in my case friends and family) to be really careful OR just use wireless.

Don't know how or where you use your phone but that literally never happened to me. Honestly, none of the issues you mentioned have been a problem for me. Maybe take better care of your stuff?

Or, and bear with me here, I'll keep using my devices how I want, as I've found a perfectly good strategy for not breaking a 3.5mm male jack in the socket? Most of the times I have had to deal with this issue in this millennium, I haven't even been the culprit.

Yeah, no. If a company makes shitty products, I'll keep pointing it out.

And I'll keep telling you that nobody really cares, most of your arguments are moot, and your opinion is not that of the vast majority.

Also, there are fewer and fewer phones with a headphone jack every year.

I wonder how that could be /s

Cheap and expensive. So no, price has nothing to dp with this.

It started with flagships IIRC, sure it may have trickled down into other segments.

tsonfeir ,
@tsonfeir@lemm.ee avatar

I really wish another viable mobile OS would come out. I don’t want android and apple iOS is wearing thin on me.

atocci ,
@atocci@kbin.social avatar

Why not Android?

baked_tea ,

degoogling intensifies

MentallyExhausted ,

Graphene OS might interest you.

tsonfeir ,
@tsonfeir@lemm.ee avatar

I’m not going to criticize the project, because it’s good. But, to me, using anything that gives Google an edge in controlling the direction of technology is bad. So, no Chromium products and no Android.

sir_reginald ,
@sir_reginald@lemmy.world avatar

I despise Google, and I agree with chromium, but when the only other alternative is using the proprietary walled garden that is iOS, I'll take degoogled Android everyday.

tsonfeir ,
@tsonfeir@lemm.ee avatar

What can android do that you actually do that iOS cannot?

sir_reginald ,
@sir_reginald@lemmy.world avatar

For starters, you can degoogle Android, you can't deapple iOS.

You can replace the manufacturer android with a clean, free software and secure Android ROM, like GrapheneOS. iOS is a black box, fully proprietary and controlled by Apple.

You can install apps from third parties on Android, like F-Droid. On iOS every app must be approved by Apple.

You can't use an iPhone without an Apple account, you can use Android without a Google account.

Android has multiple profiles support, which comes handy for completely isolating apps from the rest of your phone.

There's much, much more. That's just what came to my mind right now.

Rai ,

“deapple iOS”

Why would I want to make a secure device less secure tho

sir_reginald ,
@sir_reginald@lemmy.world avatar

stop consuming Apple marketing.

Euphoma ,

Personally, I like using the terminal on my phone, and the only terminal I found for iOS is extremely slow because its emulating linux.

tsonfeir ,
@tsonfeir@lemm.ee avatar

You mean locally or for ssh?

Euphoma ,

I use it locally.

tsonfeir ,
@tsonfeir@lemm.ee avatar

What sort of things do you want to do locally on your phone that you need the command line for?

Euphoma ,

Simple terminal applications like ping or curl or yt-dlp. I also like using python -m http.server to access my files over the local internet. w3m sometimes works when my mobile data is very slow and can't load web pages. I also do use ssh a lot. I don't need it if I have an ssh app but it is nice to have, and I switched to android for it.

ilovesatan ,
@ilovesatan@lemmy.world avatar

Too bad they don't sell them in the US. I would buy one immediately.

noodlejetski ,

they're selling the 4 with degoogled OS in the US, so perhaps they'll do the same with the 5 at some point.

Potatos_are_not_friends ,

Amazing.

I'm sick of buying a new phone every three years because the battery is dead or the processor is slow, nothing can be replaced without it being wildly expensive and now it's a paperweight.

PeachMan ,
@PeachMan@lemmy.world avatar

To be fair, I don't think the Fairphone will help much with outdated processors. You can't upgrade the processor inside, and it comes with a relatively slow processor from day one.

This phone is not for people that need performance; it's a very basic phone for people that value an ethical supply chain and repairability.

DacoTaco OP ,
@DacoTaco@lemmy.world avatar

Relative slow my arse imo.Its all about use cases and the (potential shitty) apps you run. Been using the fp4 just perfectly fine for months, and before that the one plus x on android 11 just fine.

I would like to know what apps you use that would need the speed of anything besides the "best"?

( and for anyone wondering, one of the reasons you cant switch processor is because of the imei thats burned in. Changing that basically means that the whole id of the phone changes, including links to your mobile provider. It isnt allowed in some places )

PeachMan ,
@PeachMan@lemmy.world avatar

Games

Rodeo ,

If that's the sum total of your reasons for needing a more expensive, less free, less repairable phone, then I have nothing left except to laugh at you.

PeachMan ,
@PeachMan@lemmy.world avatar

No, I just don't have the time to explain the hundred obvious ways that a fast processor might benefit somebody, so I chose a single, INCREDIBLY obvious item near the top of the list for most people, and was hoping that I wouldn't get follow-up idiotic responses like this. But alas!

Rodeo ,

I used an 11 year old phone for about 6 months while I waited to get a new phone. I never had any problems with processor speeds despite having about 60% the processing power of a then-current phone.

I think people vastly overestimate the need for a bigger better processor.

Gradually_Adjusting ,
@Gradually_Adjusting@lemmy.world avatar

If my FP4 dies in the next year, I will fix it. Because iFixit gave it 10/10.

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