Back in 2016, we asked our readers about their feelings when it came to the still nascent trend of removing the headphone jack from phones. At the time, collective opinions were firmly against the concept, but 2016 was two years ago. Not two months later, Google would be cracking jokes at Apple during its Pixel launch event about the phone's "satisfyingly not new" headphone jack, blissfully ignorant of its coming hypocrisy.

As more and more OEMs drop the jack in favor of the dongle, we're curious if your feelings have changed. Would you buy a smartphone without a headphone jack now, in 2018?

Personally, I'm still vocally against the trend. It might make waterproofing easier, and in some alternate universe where the Pixel 2 XL isn't thicker than the OnePlus 5T, it might actually result in a thinner body, too. But the state of USB-C audio is a mess, and if you're one of those anarchists that actually prefer headphones that don't need to be charged, the wired selection is abysmal. Honestly, I wouldn't have purchased a Pixel 2 XL because of the headphone jack omission if I didn't need it for my work here at Android Police. Although I've used plenty of phones now that don't have a 3.5mm output, I still wouldn't buy one for my own personal use without the feature.

However, in the last couple of years, my opinion has become more niche. David was once a strong and vocal advocate against the removal of the jack, but improvements in Bluetooth audio since then seem to have swayed him, and understandably. Headphones without cables are undeniably more comfortable to move around in, and audio quality has improved. If we also exclude Bluetooth headphones as the solution, plenty of people seem unconcerned at having to use a dongle, even if it means sacrificing features like simultaneous charging—a must-have for me driving with the Android Auto app for navigation.

For consistency in comparison, let's have the same questions as last time. Where do you stand on the issue of smartphones without headphone jacks now, in 2018?

Would you buy a smartphone without a headphone jack? (Today, not the future.) Yes, the headphone jack is mostly or totally unimportant to me.

Probably - that kind of sucks, but I would if I really liked the phone otherwise.

Probably not, I would look seriously at other options, specifically those with headphone jacks.

Definitely not: no 3.5mm headphone jack, no sale. View Results