this post was submitted on 26 Jan 2024
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Android

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[–] [email protected] 54 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Yep, this is why I lost faith in these giant tech companies, my next phone will be Fairphone

[–] fubbernuckin 22 points 11 months ago (5 children)

I'm waiting for a fairphone with a headphone jack and then hopping on that.

[–] [email protected] 10 points 11 months ago (2 children)

Oh, the headphone jack... using a phone without it is so counter productive and annoying, wait for the phone to fully charge, now wait for your headsets to charge too, I don't know why we're moving backwards πŸ™„

[–] Enk1 5 points 11 months ago (7 children)

I used to feel this way until I realized that a large percentage of phone users rarely used earbuds or headphones, including myself. Wired earbuds were a pain in the ass, nobody wanted to carry a coiled up cable in their pocket all day. But a little clamshell with a couple small buds in it fits pretty well into a jeans pocket. Once wireless earbuds hit the market, everyone started using them for a reason.

The only real argument for an analog headphone jack at this point is audio fidelity, and if you care about that you're 1, not using your phone with a cheap DAC to do it and 2, your headphones probably use a 1/4" jack not a 3.5mm one. Wireless protocols are also catching up to analog as far as audio quality as well, and most people expect IP68 from a good phone these days, and you're not getting that with a 3.5mm audio jack or removable battery.

The consumers who care about an audio jack on phones these days are a very vocal minority.

[–] fubbernuckin 9 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago)

They were no more of a pain than fishing out a wireless holder, and they took up even less space. The reason people used wireless was because manufacturers stopped giving people the option to use wired. That being said, having a headphone jack still lets you use wireless.

And nobody actually uses wired for audio quality, they use it because they don't have to charge their headphones and separate headphone case or deal with the health of another battery, they can connect and disconnect their audio devices faster and easier, they don't have to pay for an extra wireless chip and dac in their headphones or a third battery and electronics in a case.

There's actually quite a few good reasons to have the option available if you want it. I'd argue this is a "dress with no pockets" scenario, where everybody begrudgingly puts up with it because the manufacturers don't give them an option.

Pretty much every single person i talk to about this thinks that removing the headphone jack was a stupid idea, and those who don't think it's stupid are indifferent anyway.

[–] v81 7 points 11 months ago (3 children)

Galaxy S5 was IP67 with a headphone socket, removable battery and dedicated microSD card slot. Others have also existed. Taking like adding a headphone socket costs more than 5 cents is stupid.

I'm a Bluetooth buds convert now, but I'd still like the choice.

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[–] [email protected] 6 points 11 months ago (2 children)

Wired earbuds were a pain in the ass, nobody wanted to carry a coiled up cable in their pocket all day. But a little clamshell with a couple small buds in it fits pretty well into a jeans pocket.

Lmao what??

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[–] [email protected] 5 points 11 months ago (3 children)

Did everyone forget that Galaxy S5 exists with headphone jack, removable battery and water resistance?

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[–] [email protected] 4 points 11 months ago

Whole disagreeing with you on usefulness of the jack, I will still point out one correction.

The USB c standard actually includes analog audio pin outs. So fidelity wise there's no difference between using the adapter vs a 3.5mm jack.

However, since the removal of the jack, most phones have really skimmed down the dacs. Makes me miss my LG v40.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 11 months ago

Exactly. If anything, I'd much rather like to see a secondary USB-C port, preferably on top of the device. That would be an actual benefit for almost everyone.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 11 months ago (2 children)

The point is that their earbuds are absolutely non repairable, and admittedly so. Really hope they can improve that, but I think they might just discontinue the earbuds in favour of repairable headphones.

[–] Enk1 1 points 11 months ago (2 children)

Do you really consider the $5 wired earbuds that came with the phone, the ones most people used, were repairable? Nah, they were way more disposable than even cheap wireless buds are these days.

[–] fubbernuckin 4 points 11 months ago (3 children)

You forgot the part where they used half the materials and parts.

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[–] [email protected] 3 points 11 months ago

Well, FairPhone also had wired earbuds where you could replace the wires, which is the main reason people throw away wired earphones.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 11 months ago (1 children)

@jol @Enk1 the earbuds aren't on sale anymore, and they did release proper modular& repairable "Fairbuds XL" over-ears.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Ooof really? That's a shame. The wired earbuds seemed cool.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 11 months ago (1 children)

@jol wait... this site';s layout is confusing...
I meant fairphone discontinued their controversial bluetooth in-ears. Wired in-ear headphones in general are having a bit of a renaissance with so called "chi-fi". Chinese brands launched after 2015, that sound great for $20-$50. Check out Crinacle's youtube channel

[–] [email protected] 1 points 11 months ago

Honestly the only place I still use wired is my 3DS, not the most hi-fi system.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 11 months ago (2 children)

That's what these are for

They are also available in a few different shapes that may work better depending on device and user preferences and cost like 2-6 bucks on Ali. I use a different one with my steam deck that also has a little U adapter that 180s the plug direction and braces it against the back so it doesn't torque off if I rotate the device in my hands.

[–] [email protected] 16 points 11 months ago

Having a jack entirely avoids the introduced problem by only having a USB port. Ie. Dongles

[–] [email protected] 5 points 11 months ago (1 children)

3.5mm jack is practically unbreakable. My usbc port isn't.

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[–] [email protected] 4 points 11 months ago (1 children)

I'm waiting for one with a good camera.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 11 months ago

@cyberpunk007 @fubbernuckin
the FP5 has a good sony camera. I've seen people install the pixel Gcam app for the extra post-processing

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[–] grue 41 points 11 months ago (1 children)

This shit should be illegal.

[–] [email protected] 16 points 11 months ago

I miss ownership of things that I paid for.

[–] [email protected] 33 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Unlock tool is unavailable at this moment but we are allowing the possibility to unlock, please stay tuned

One year later, radio silence

So it was a lie to not lose potential sales in short term while destroying credibility in long term?

[–] [email protected] 2 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago)

So it was a lie to not lose potential sales

It's sad, but only too tiny fraction of the phone buyers care about unlocking the bootloader for the company to be economically meaningful to care about.

[–] MaXimus421 20 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago) (2 children)

And eventually, Google will drop this feature for the Pixel as well. You can bank on it. An unlockable bootloader adds absolutely nothing of value to these companies because it slows down year to year buying from consumers and isn't as profitable. It is from their perspective, counter productive to leave this feature enabled. So this isn't surprising in the least, tbh.

Asus and Google used it to bait enthusiasts and as soon as they established a user base they were comfortable with, they will remove it. If the phones stop selling, they will simply stop making them. It's that simple. You keeping your phone updated and feature packed for several years is not how they intend to allow the market to stray.

They want year to year sales above all else. An unlockable bootloader negates that for the majority of those who buy phones with that feature.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 11 months ago

Already dropped on pixels sold by Verizon 😒

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[–] keyez 17 points 11 months ago

I really wanted a zenfone 10 but purposefully avoided it hearing about the removal of the unlock tool. This is very unfortunate they are going this direction and doesn't even seem like they have a good reason or understand how this actively hurts users.

[–] FutileRecipe 16 points 11 months ago

One of the many reasons I stick with Pixels. Best security combined with friendliest 3rd party OS support.

[–] [email protected] 13 points 11 months ago (1 children)

I was looking for a new smartphone. I'm also for many many years a custom ROM user. The last moves from multiple manufacturers nearly oblige me to get a pixel.

[–] keyez 1 points 11 months ago

I got a nothing phone 2 over a pixel and zenfone, sounds like they allow bootloader unlocking. Enjoying the phone so far

[–] Fredol 11 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago) (2 children)

one of us should make an android phone company that makes a phone with an open source default rom, unlockable/relockable bootloader, headphone jack with a proper DAC, ir blaster, no notch or punchholes (like the note9), latest spec of USB for the port and latest Snapdragon chip

[–] [email protected] 4 points 11 months ago (1 children)

And front facing speakers!

[–] Marcbmann 1 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Idk what Samsung did on the S21, but it's the first time I've been impressed by the speakers on a phone. The separation of audio channels is wild

[–] [email protected] 1 points 11 months ago (1 children)

From a fellow s21 owner, I've used the built in speakers more than any other phone I've ever owned whenever not using a headset. Between it and the 100x camera I refuse to upgrade.

[–] Marcbmann 2 points 11 months ago

I wish I grabbed the ultra. Maybe I still should.

I went from the S8+ to the S21. Night and day difference, obviously. But the S8+ did everything I needed. It was the same size with a better camera and battery.

[–] tty5 3 points 11 months ago (2 children)
[–] [email protected] 4 points 11 months ago

Except in the US's version they for some reason won't let you unlock it.

Great job losing a sale Sony.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 11 months ago

Indeed, but I guess for most pricing might be an issue

[–] swag_money 10 points 11 months ago

nooo one of the main reasons i got this damn phone was the unlockable bootloader :(

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