The next Black Shark gaming phone could have a headphone jack

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Black Shark’s next gaming smartphone may still be a few months away. The original Black Shark gaming phone was launched over a year ago, followed by a mid-cycle release of the Black Shark Helo smartphone. This was then followed by the launch of the Black Shark 2 last month, which comes with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 SoC and up to 12GB of RAM, making it a ludicrous gaming smartphone.

Black Shark 2 XDA Forum

Despite its heavy hitting specifications, the gaming smartphone from the Xiaomi-funded company did not sport a 3.5mm headphone jack. This meant that you could not charge your phone at the same time as using a wired earphone or headphone, without using a dongle. Seeing how this is a gaming smartphone, the lack of a headphone jack can really be felt during prolonged gaming sessions when the necessity to use both simultaneously may arise. As it turns out, Black Shark may already be reconsidering its decision, according to statements given to TechRadar by a Black Shark spokesperson:

High-end flagship mobile phones have cancelled 3.5 headphone jacks a few years ago as it is not in line with the development trend of mobile phones. This was a design decision made in conjunction with initial feedback from our audience. However after communicating and discussing with gamers further, we realized the importance of the 3.5 (mm) headphones for the gamers’ user experience. We will have 3.5 (mm) headphones jack in our future products.

It remains to be seen which products will be affected by this change of heart. It is good to see companies re-evaluating their decisions in light of the feedback received from their consumers. Companies that once mocked Apple for removing the 3.5mm headphone jack, hypocritically removed the same from their own products. We hope these companies also reconsider their decisions and actually deliver products with features that consumers still want.