Samsung May Have Killed The Headphone Jack For Good



The final nail may have just been struck into the headphone jack’s coffin. After years of dogged support, Samsung has quietly ditched 3.5mm audio connectivity from its latest smartphone in favour of USB-C. There’s reason to believe that the decision will encompass all future Galaxy models. Here are the details.

The Samsung Galaxy A8s is kind of a big deal, despite being a mid-range handset. It’s the first phone to sport Samsung’s fancy Infinity-O display which comes with a laser-drilled sensor hole in place of a notch. It’s also the first Samsung phone to lack a 3.5mm headphone jack.

Instead, users will need to use wireless headphones or a USB-C to 3.5mm audio port adapter – just like pretty much every other high-end phone on the market. Unfortunately, this trend will almost certainly continue with future Galaxy phones. Allow us to explain.

Samsung recently outlined a new business strategy that sees it roll out new hardware developments as soon as they’re ready. (Previously, it would wait for the next big flagship model to launch.)

It’s likely that the A8s’ big change to audio will be replicated in future flagships, just like the Infinity-O display. In short, the chances of this being a one-off anomaly are basically zilch.

We think this is a damn shame. Samsung is one of the few phone manufacturers still supporting 3.5mm audio on high-end models. This has given it a special place in the hearts of audiophiles and anyone who prefers not to mess around with unsightly adaptors. (It even talked up this fact in recent adverts.)

There’s still a chance that the upcoming Samsung Galaxy S10 will represent the final hurrah of the traditional headphone jack in flagship smartphones. But we wouldn’t bet on it.

If This Is The Samsung Galaxy S10, We Bloody Want One Last week, we reported that the Samsung Galaxy S10 could be coming with an enormous 6.7-inch display, fifth-generation 5G network connectivity and as many as six cameras. Now, a prototype of the front display has been spotted in the wild - and it reveals something that could catapult this phone above all other Androids. Read more

[Via Gizmochina]