Leaf&Core

The Headphone Jack Isn’t Ready to Die

Danielle from Leaf and Core
Reading Time: 5 minutes.
iPhone X, Google Pixel 2, and HTC U11, no headphone jack in sight

The iPhone X, Google Pixel 2, and HTC U11 all lack a headphone jack.

My primary phone is an iPhone X, and an HTC U11 is my Android test device. One of my key test devices at work is a Google Pixel 2. Do you know what all of these devices have in common? They all lack a headphone jack. The situation is a bit more dire for the Android devices, though it’s inconvenient on all of them.

Apple rushed to remove the headphone jack from the iPhone 7, before they had wireless charging and before split dongles made charging and music playback possible. However, Apple can get away with this, no other smartphone has the volume of sales as the iPhone. Third party hardware manufacturers can make products for Apple’s smartphones knowing that they’ll be used by millions. The same cannot be said of Android devices. That’s why, when Android device manufacturers rushed to remove their headphone jacks, they made a grave tactical error. There just isn’t any hardware in place to replace the headphone jack.

Maybe Android just wasn’t ready for this?

The AccessPort

As disappointed I still am in my AccessPort for my iPhone, I am fortunate enough to have the device. Though the firmware update is shaky, it doesn’t hold on to headphones well, the hardware is a bit flimsy, and there is a hissing sound when you’re not playing music, it does boost sound quality and allow me to listen to music at the same time as charging. It’s not perfect, but it’s one of many options on iOS, and I use it every day.

I’ve had my AccessPort for about a year now, like all the other iPhone owners who backed Advanced Sound’s Kickstarter for the AccessPort. However, Android phone owners haven’t gotten theirs yet. Advanced Sound has been working on the USB-C version this entire time, and still hasn’t released it. There have been many problems with production. They’re expecting to ship the USB-C AccessPort in early June though, finally.

Moshi’s Backs Out

The same week I received news that the USB-C version of the AccessPort was still delayed, Android users were dealt another blow. Moshi was expected to build a USB-C adapter that included a USB-C port for charging and headphone jack. When Google announced the Pixel 2 without a headphone jack, it was marketed by Google as the reason why removing the headphone jack wouldn’t be a terrible thing. “Fret not, Google phone fans,” they assured us, “This solution is coming soon!” Unfortunately, the adapter was “coming soon” for months, and now seems as though it will never arrive.

Neither Moshi nor the official Google Store ever sold the device. Google pulled it from its webpage and—while the Moshi page still exists—it’s listed as “out of stock.” Apparently, some Amazon users may have gotten an early shipment of them, or at least believable knockoffs, but claim the audio quality is horrific and the audio frequently cuts out. Android smartphone owners lost one of their very few options.

Google is Terrible with Cables

Only some of the most diehard of techies (and Google fans) know this: HTC made the Pixel 2. It doesn’t look like an HTC phone at all, it clearly has Google’s design language, but HTC manufactured it to Google’s specifications. That’s why it has HTC’s fantastic camera tech, the front-facing speakers that HTC once was well known for, and Edge Sense, allowing users to activate Google Assistant with a squeeze. However, my HTC U11 and the Google Pixel 2’s I use at work came with very different accessories. The HTC accessories differ from Google’s because they’re actually useful.

HTC

For charging, my HTC U11 came with a Qualcomm 3.0 fast charger with a USB-3 port and a USB-3 to USB-C cable. It came with a USB-C to headphone adapter and USB-C headphones that have active noise cancellation. HTC believed that their users should get a cool feature like noise cancellation as a reward for abandoning the headphone jack. The headphones are great, and mostly make up for HTC’s omission. I’m actually using them right now to help me focus on writing this article.

Google

I explained how HTC provides cables to contrast with Google’s options. In the package there’s a USB-C charger. Normal USB-3 to USB-C cables won’t work here, it’s USB-C on both ends. There is a USB-3 female to USB-C male adapter, which is only good if you have an idiotic machine that only has USB-C ports, but useless to anyone else. Finally, there’s a USB-C to headphone dongle. That’s it. If you need to connect your Pixel 2 to your computer, you’re likely out of luck. Want to charge a different phone with your Google plug? Unless you have a ton of USB-C to USB-C cables (you likely don’t), you’re, once again, out of luck. Google’s trying to be like Apple, by looking to the future of USB ports and providing absolutely no backwards compatibility with existing devices. This plan relies on third party manufacturers picking up the slack, and third party Android accessory manufacturers just don’t exist in any capacity that matters.

No Third Party Headphone Jack Options in Sight

Dreaming of music and electricity

With Moshi out of the picture, Google has no first party options available on their website. A quick search on Amazon or other accessory maker websites shows some disappointing results. No reputable accessory makers are trying it, and the reviews for the sketchy ones on Amazon make it clear that these dongles don’t actually work. In fact, the only one with positive reviews clearly has only fake reviews. These reviewers have broken English and reference a “Galaxy” device (Samsung devices still have a headphone jack).

With the exception of the USB-C AccessPort, which should be shipping to Kickstarter backers next month and perhaps available for sale later this year, there aren’t any viable options to charge and play music at the same time. There’s clearly a market for these devices, but the market might not be large enough for manufacturers to be willing to overcome production hurdles. It seems it’s difficult to make these adapters, and no one wants to sink the money required to invest in doing this right. Consumers are also unwilling to pay the high prices for such a dongle, which would likely cost over $50.

Why This Sucks

The HTC U11 and Google Pixel 2 have something else in common with the iPhone 7: they don’t support wireless charging. I was unhappy when I discovered that the glass back on my HTC U11 was just for looks, not to accommodate a wireless charging solution. It seems as though the HTC U12 might be the same way. This means it’s impossible to charge and also play music on these devices without using a bluetooth solution (and Google’s is awful). Sony seems to be working on something, but hasn’t released it yet either.

Imagine you’re going on a road trip. Do you plug in your phone to hear directions and music, or do you plug it in to charge? If your car has bluetooth, you may not need the headphone jack. I’ve never been able to get in-car bluetooth systems to work reliably though. What about listening to music at the office to help you focus? Do you enjoy your music, or do you have enough battery life to get you home? If you have an Android device that doesn’t have a headphone jack, and you haven’t found a reliable bluetooth setup, you’re likely unhappy.

What Can we Do?

As consumers, we can refuse to buy into these devices, but often the lack of a headphone jack is a minor inconvenience, not a deal breaker. I still ranked the HTC U11 as the best Android device I’ve ever used, despite this flaw. If it’s a huge inconvenience for you, be vocal about it, email these companies and tweet them to ask for a solution.

Third party accessory manufacturers are unlikely to step up due to the high production costs of making these dongles. Therefore, first party manufacturers, like HTC, Google, Sony, Essential, OnePlus, and others, have to step up. If they’re going to remove their headphone jacks, they need to at least sell a viable option to charge and listen to music at the same time. If they don’t, they will lose customers to Samsung and others who have kept their headphone jacks. Unlike Apple, Android manufacturers don’t have the support of the third party accessory market. Just looking at the limited case options for Android phones shows how true this is. Therefore, this has to be a first party effort. If these manufacturers want to push us into a post-headphone jack world, they’re going to have to help us get there by releasing their own solutions.

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