Slashdot Asks: Do You Use Your Laptop's Headphone Jack? 283
The headphone jack is increasingly being omitted from smartphones and tablets, but what about laptops? When Apple launched the redesigned MacBook Pro in 2016, it decided to remove the SD card slot, full-sized USB Type A ports, and Thunderbolt 2 ports -- but keep the 3.5mm headphone jack, even though it axed the headphone jack in the 2016 iPhone 7. The reason, Apple said, had to do with the lack of wireless solutions for pro audio gear that many users use with their MacBooks. "If it was just about headphones then it doesn't need to be there," said Apple marketing chief Phil Schiller. "We believe that wireless is a great solution for headphones." He added: "But many users have set-ups with studio monitors, amps and other pro audio gear that do not have wireless solutions and need the 3.5mm jack."
While most laptops today still retain the headphone jack, that trend doesn't seem like it'll last for too much longer as the industry moves to embrace wireless audio. Laptop alternatives like Apple's iPad Pro and Samsung's Galaxy Tab S5e have both ditched the 3.5mm port, meaning it's only a matter of time until laptops themselves lose the port. Our question to you is: do you use the headphone jack on your laptop? Would you mind if a manufacturer removed the port to make room for a bigger battery or make the device slimmer and more portable? Let us know your thoughts below.
While most laptops today still retain the headphone jack, that trend doesn't seem like it'll last for too much longer as the industry moves to embrace wireless audio. Laptop alternatives like Apple's iPad Pro and Samsung's Galaxy Tab S5e have both ditched the 3.5mm port, meaning it's only a matter of time until laptops themselves lose the port. Our question to you is: do you use the headphone jack on your laptop? Would you mind if a manufacturer removed the port to make room for a bigger battery or make the device slimmer and more portable? Let us know your thoughts below.
Yes, constantly (Score:5, Insightful)
For the price of those headphones, I simply cannot get anything that sounds as well without any input lag using bluetooth. Never even mind the longevity: a bluetooth headphone will eventually have dying batteries. Unless I physically damage my cabled headphone, it will last me a lifetime. New ear pads can be easily bought and replaced.
There simply is no contest.
He's wrong.
Re:Yes, constantly (Score:5, Insightful)
And wireless is NOT a great solution for headphones
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And wireless is NOT a great solution for headphones ... on my laptop or on my phone. No headphone jack and I'm not buying it.
Agree. Although I believe the day is coming where for a phone replacement, no jack will be the norm and impossible to avoid.
Re:Yes, constantly (Score:5, Interesting)
For Android, I'd recommend the Huawei Nova 3i. This summer in the shopping mall beneath the twin towers in Malaysia, I visited 9 different stores that could have all be designed by Apple's shop designers.
- Samsung was pretty bad... I didn't like their phones since they intentionally made their low end shitty to convince you to buy their high end.
- Mi was nice but looked like they lacked in house developers and just repackaged Android and hoped it worked. I think they're 100% dependent on Google for everything.
- Oppo was really nice... I mean REALLY nice if you need the cheapest phone you can get. But once they got passed the $100 mark, they didn't seem competitive.
- Sony didn't really even deserve being in the list. They offered nothing at any category. High end was too little for too much. Low end was too little for too much. Sony was just not competitive at all... unless you want to own something with the name Sony on it.
- Huawei was hands down the winner in all categories. I ended up with the Nova 3i because it was just too damn good to go any higher.
It's a phone which cost me $190.00 and with the exception of it being Android, it might be the best high end phone I've ever seen. It's running a Huawei Kirin processor (which is insanely fast it seems), it's got plenty of RAM and Flash. With the exception that I did have to fiddle with PIN codes when I had two SIMs in (and I kinda blame poor dual SIM support on Android) everything worked. It was also possible to get apps from either the Google Play or the Huawei store. Oh... and it has face id, touch id and the physical build of the phone is STRONG. The screen is pretty brilliant as well and "the notch" is much less awful than on the iPhone X and they didn't go as far to the edge as Apple, so it's much more usable. The iPhone X is pretty awful to hold and use because you have to constantly move your hands to see the edges of the screen.
So... if you're one of the people who realize that Google, probably 10 three letter organizations in the US and probably multiple other governments are spying on you and worse, you probably agreed to it in the license without even realizing it... and you realize that the Chinese government probably doesn't give a shit about you or your pathetic excuse for a bank account... then Huawei is probably the strongest phone maker on the market right now... if they weren't... the US wouldn't be concerned about the 5G market... because after all, if the Chinese crap was crap... the US government wouldn't be nervous about Americans buying nothing but Chinese phones.
Re: Yes, constantly (Score:3)
For Android, I'd recommend the Huawei Nova 3i.
Tell us, Oh Wise One: What's the status of the bootloader on that model? You'd never pull a recomendation out of your ass... right??
Re: Yes, constantly (Score:3)
Anything else you need clarified for you??
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Re:Yes, constantly (Score:5, Insightful)
In contrast to a phone, laptops and desktops certainly have more room for a DAC dongle which can provide at least as much quality as a jack. Pros are going to want a balanced XLR in favor of a 3.5 mm jack, if they want analog at all - more likely they'd just want digital to put into something much more capable than whatever cheap DAC is on a laptop motherboard. And on a laptop it's not nearly as inconvenient as carrying one to use with a phone, where not only is it something extra to carry around (and get lost or broken), but sucks from the much more limited battery life. On a phone it's also not just a headphone jack - it's an audio jack. I regularly plug my phone into a stereo, at least as often as I use headphones.
One can only wonder how and why they make these decisions, only to have to illogically rationalize them later. There simply is no rational reason for removing jacks from phones. More space for a battery? Meh - make it 0.1 mm thicker - it's only your marketing department which thinks thinner is better (anyone want 1950's automotive tail fins?). And in my experience, playing via Bluetooth also sucks more power than via a jack, much more so than any battery gain. Water resistance? Nah, a jack can be made watertight and you don't warranty/guarantee water resistance anyway. Cost? Mice nuts on any phone priced at over $100. Courage? 'Nuf BS said. To sell more expensive non-replaceable-battery things with planned obsolescence so they need to be repurchased every couple of years? Yeah, that's the ticket!
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What he's really sugarcoating is club or party DJ's who consistently use macbooks, with the nice prominent logo facing the audience/dancefloor. It's simple, most of them aren't doing hifi, but they probably aren't going to upgrade all their amps to go wireless, let alone deal with any latency issues if it's to work with live musicians. I think apple recognises that it's good advertising, makes it seem like as if it's _the_ tool for any audio work, and no doubt keeps a whole bunch of kids thinking that if th
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Not to mention BlueTooth audio is still nowhere near CD-quality audio. Even the latest codecs are low quality.
Re:Yes, constantly (Score:5, Interesting)
Bluetooth is amateur hour. In particular, Bluetooth latency is a show-stopper for anyone doing things like musical note entry in Finale/Sibelius.
I mean, I suppose every single composer who uses a Mac could buy a USB-C-to-1/8" dongle, but ick. Then again, when the iPhone goes USB-C, I suppose we'll all have the dongles anyway, so... *shrugs*
Re:No, never (Score:5, Insightful)
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Wired headsets at this point in time are just worse in every way as far as I'm concerned...
I guess longevity, sound quality, comfort and price mean nothing to you? You can't get anything close to the comfort and sound quality of over-ear wired headphones, and good luck getting a Bluetooth version of those for less than $200. A great pair, like the above mentioned Sennheiser, or KOSS UR-20 sound incredible for the price. Sure, if I'm working out or out mowing the lawn, where I'll be wearing them for an hour or so, bluetooth is fine, but for a serious, long-term listening session, full on over-e
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I can jam your headset with a powerful enough transmitter and appropriate distance.
While this is true, I have to admit that I've never encountered it happening to me, or anybody I know, or anybody I've heard or read about.
It may not be a terribly relevant contributing factor in a decision whether to go wired or wireless.
No No (Score:5, Funny)
I don't use a laptop, and surely, you can stop calling me Jack.
Re:No No (Score:4, Funny)
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And smartphones are getting Laaaaarger!
Laptops are different (Score:5, Insightful)
Many users expect to be able to plug laptops into good quality speakers without connectivity issues, lag issues, and so forth, as well as to easily and reliably connect headsets for conferencing.
Without a commonplace audio-out port a laptop is borderline defective.
Re:Laptops are different (Score:5, Insightful)
Many users expect to be able to plug laptops into good quality speakers without connectivity issues, lag issues, and so forth, as well as to easily and reliably connect headsets for conferencing.
Without a commonplace audio-out port a laptop is borderline defective.
Agreed. I would say that without an audio-out port, a phone, tablet, and most other computing devices are also defective.
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Re: Laptops are different (Score:2)
I either use the headphone jack or the USB port for audio on my laptop, although usually I just play audio through the laptop speakers. Another option is to listen to music playing on my phone through the phone's headphone jack so when I get up to move around I can take my music with me. It's great to have the freedom to choose what works best for the situation at hand.
I do, once or twice a week (Score:5, Insightful)
Sometimes it's headphones, and sometimes it's just earbuds... but when I'm watching one thing on my computer, and my wife is watching something else on her iPad, we both usually wear headphones.
In that situation there's no real advantage to Bluetooth devices - and a couple real disadvantages.
1) With Bluetooth, you have to make sure your device is charged first
2) With Bluetooth, occasionally the audio can get slightly out-of-sync with the video
Rechargeable Bluetooth? (Score:2)
Touches on one of my questions from my longer comment below: I'm interpreting your comment to mean the earbuds are rechargeable, but are there rechargeable Bluetooth headphones or speakers? I was actually looking at that section of the store the other day and couldn't figure it out. At least it seemed like all the models I could sort of figure out expected you to use disposable batteries.
Musician so still use it some (Score:2)
But musicians for recording use the USB ports for audio interfaces. Apple "Pro" gear keeps getting less and less pro as they keep removing ports. Pro gear means it has flexibility to connect to many types of hardware. Wake up Apple!
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Pro gear means it has flexibility to connect to many types of hardware. Wake up Apple!
Rumor is Apple is planning to rebrand their highest-end 2019 phone as the "iPhone Pro", which if true will indicate they've totally disconnected that word from any real world meaning... not that those connections aren't already strained near the breaking point already.
I wonder if, internally at Apple, PRO now stands for "pricey rip off".
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Honest question based on my limited experience— don’t most pros doing recording use an external DAC? USB-C gives some great options there.
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Bingo! This man gets the prize.
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When recording, sure. You pretty much have to, because you can't feasibly synchronize the internal audio hardware with the external ADC.
That said, I'd imagine most folks who actually use laptops (as opposed to desktops) for audio recording also use the internal audio quite often when they aren't actively tracking. Most folks don't want to carry around an aud
Yes. (Score:2)
Constantly (Score:5, Insightful)
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Could also simply be the quality of your headphones. A decent BlueTooth headphone gives you quality of 300kbps+ 24-bit, 48 kHz and you have less possible interference from a large circuit board with various transmitters.
The other reason I like it is that I can walk into another room without having to skip the music or conversation. If I'm in an online meeting, I can walk out, go to the kitchen to get water and walk back without missing anything.
Re:Constantly (Score:4, Informative)
300kbps+ 24-bit, 48 kHz
Hate to break it to you, but 320 kbps does NOT transmit 24 bit, 48 kHz quality audio. About the best you can do is Sony's LDAC at ~990 kbps, which is still quite a way down from stereo 24 bit, 48 kHz (but theoretically capable of losslessly compressed CD quality).
The big issue is the latency; you can have up to 600 msec of latency in your Bluetooth stream and still be in-spec. Watch a movie with the audio delayed 0.2 to 0.6 seconds, and it's worse than a cheap, overdubbed 1970s HK Kung Fu movie...
Re:Constantly (Score:5, Informative)
I hate to tell you this, but headphones are, by definition, analog. At some point, the data has to be converted into the analog domain, or else you aren't going to produce any sound. (I mean, I guess in theory you could build a purely digital transducer that uses 16–24 individual actuators that each move the cone twice as far as the previous one, but such a design would be utterly insane, whether you're talking about cost, size, weight, or reliability, and it would almost certainly sound a lot worse.)
The difference between sending a headphone-level audio signal a few millimeters and sending it a few feet really isn't typically audible, so the headphone jack wins there. Plus, the latency of an analog headphone cord is measured in nanoseconds versus tens to hundreds milliseconds for Bluetooth, so the headphone jack wins on that point, too.
Absolutely yes (Score:2)
I use the headphone jack on my laptop frequently. I would use it more often if Ubuntu reliably played audio through it. Disco Dingo (as well as 18.04 and 18.10) doesn't detect that speakers are plugged in at boot time, and is unreliable about routing audio correctly when I unplug and replug them.
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I use the headphone jack on my laptop frequently. I would use it more often if Ubuntu reliably played audio through it. Disco Dingo (as well as 18.04 and 18.10) doesn't detect that speakers are plugged in at boot time, and is unreliable about routing audio correctly when I unplug and replug them.
The absolute state of Linux on the Desktop in 2019 folks.
(I know I know, SO probably has 30 hits for how to fix this exact problem, and it's probably a quick edit to a conf file somewhere)
Yep. (Score:3)
When I'm out and about, I often take my headset with me, so I can communicate with wherever I need to. I invested in a decent one (a nicer Sennheiser) as it gives a great sound, and actually lets me understand what's being spoken (I have enough trouble with that, without having to fight through bad speakers).
I can wear the headset all day if necessary, and being wired, it'll never run out of charge.
I can sort of understand the use case of removing a 3.5mm jack from a phone, but from a laptop/PC, there's not much point in removing it, and lots to lose by doing so.
Only on the desktop do I ... (Score:2)
... use 3.5mm headphones.
I spend a lot of time there and Bluetooth headphones don't typically hold a charge for that long.
For smartphones and tablets and TV, I use Bluetooth.
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If you're at your desk for more than 30h at a time, you should really go see someone about that. I have an el-cheapo BT headset that I can work through the day, forget to turn it off while streaming music and then work through another day before it starts warning me that I need to recharge.
Not personally (Score:2)
Since I ended up going high quality wireless headphones as "forced" by the phone's lack of jack, I end up just listening to music off my phone while my phone is plugged into my laptop.
Too much of a hassle to switch Bluetooth between laptop and phone. Which is actually what I find the biggest shortcoming of Bluetooth protocol or at least devices currently.
I gotta say, I really enjoy the lack of wires and not having so many buds that always fall out. Though I was taken somewhat kicking and screaming through t
Yes, and yes (Score:2)
Hello,
I use the headphone jack in my laptop, as well as in my desktop and my smartphone when I am listening to music. Bothering co-workers and fellow passengers by blasting out your music is rude and annoying.
Regards,
Aryeh Goretsky
It's there so I use it (Score:2)
On my desk I have speakers plugged into the jack and usually keep headphones plugged into the speakers. But if the jack wasn't there I would have USB speakers, so the question is kind of pointless.
In the living room we have bluetooth speakers connected to a phone or tablet, so the question is kind of pointless there too.
Yes, all the time (Score:2)
Of course. (Score:2)
Would you mind if a manufacturer removed the port to make room for a bigger battery or make the device slimmer and more portable? Let us know your thoughts below.
As far as I can tell, no manufacturer has added a bigger battery that takes up as much additional space as was gained by the removal of the headphones jack. And I doubt it would amount to anything in a laptop.
I don't want a thinner phone or laptop. My Galaxy s3 and now s5 were both too thin for me to hold comfortably so I added cases. My last 4 laptops have been Dell Precision M. They are more of a mobile workstation as I need a large screen and power more than I need thin and dainty. A couple laptops
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I can maybe (maybe) understand this in a phone, but I want functionality over dainty and thin in a laptop. There is a whole shift to making shit thinner. WHY? For seven years I walked around with a brick of a rugged cellphone, way before CAT and all the rest. Battery life in the beginning was 3 days when most phones were 8 hours. I don't want slim, I want battery life and longevity. Longevity in phone life and phone charge. This fucked up fascination with making things thinner is ret
Yes, and on an iPad (Score:2)
Especially on a laptop, I may be out somewhere that I'd like to keep my audio private or courteously not annoy others with it, and all my headphones are wired because I don't want to charge them or worry about them running out of charge, and I like them to be light.
If I had some kind of professional need, I'd appreciate the reliability of a wired connection and the low latency, but also I might be using some kind of a breakout device rather than direct analog audio.
On an iPad pro w/ headphone jack, sometime
Yes, it is right next to my USB-A port (Score:2)
And no, you can't take my "legacy" USB-A port either. That would be a stupid gesture.
In pursuit of "thinness" and an unbroken glass front, the laptop has speakers that are poor quality and face sideways, so the headphone jack is used more often than it should be.
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People with limited vision are a lot more adept at leaving and retrieving things in places than sighted people specifically because they cannot see.
Yes, and not having one is a 100% deal breaker. (Score:4, Insightful)
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No the sound quality is bad also not for headset (Score:2)
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Buy a better set of headphones, or a better laptop. And maybe a course on the English language.
If you are yelling into your laptop then you definitely need to buy a better laptop, Walmart specials are only for special people.
Not for at least a decade (Score:2)
Without my laptop in front of me, I can't even tell you whether or not it has a headphone jack, nor what side it's on.
In the environments most consumer-types listen to audio, there's no discernible difference in quality between a good analog and a good wireless set of headphones. Even in the average office there's enough noise pollution to negate any perceived 'better quality' in wired headphones. People are just used to what they're used to. Feel free to keep listening to digital music/books/whatever pushe
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In the environments most consumer-types listen to audio, there's no discernible difference in quality between a good analog and a good wireless set of headphones.
You would have to be deaf not to hear the difference. A2DP sucks everywhere. It isn't even subtle, close or anywhere near transparency.
Feel free to keep listening to digital music/books/whatever pushed through 60 year-old analog technology.
LOL like there is even such a thing as a digital speaker. ALL speakers are inherently analog devices.
Whether listening with wireless headphones or wired plugged into a laptop it's all the very same shit: DAC -> AMP -> Speakers -> Ears
All wireless headphones do is add an unnecessary transcode to the chain using a crappy codec driven at insufficient bitrate that le
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So you're saying you can hear the difference in 300 vs 500kbps (48kHz, 24 bit sound)? A2DP is just the profile, most halfway decent headphones (even cheap ones) will support at least AAC 320kbps. If it sounds like a telephone, then you just have a phone headset.
In a laptop environment, the DAC and AMP are surrounded by very noisy components and generally rather low quality (they have to fit in a chip). If you can't stand a BT headphone, how are you standing the MHz and GHz signals emanating on the Realtek c
Laptop? No. Desktop? Yes (Score:2)
With the laptop I'm usually somewhere where listening to music isn't appropriate. Otherwise I use my phone's headphone jack.
Oddly enough, I'd never thought of it before. I don't think I've ever used my laptop's headphone jack. When I would, the headphones are plugged into my phone.
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Desktop as well; I use the headphone jack for conference calls/webex mostly, and when I have to work on my laptop or tablet I expect the same experience. I haven’t had a bluetooth headset for years that worked well enough to not get complaints from other people on the call when I have background noise.
Bullshit! (Score:2)
Pro audio gear uses the jacks they omitted and the crappy stuff uses the mini headphone jack.
All day... (Score:2)
Pro Audio Gear? (Score:2)
He added: "But many users have set-ups with studio monitors, amps and other pro audio gear that do not have wireless solutions and need the 3.5mm jack."
I don't think the use of pro audio gear is a compelling reason for leaving a headphone jack that's driven by a consumer grade chip set in an electrically noisy environment. Anyone that's actually really doing pro level audio work is probably using an external DAC or something, or at least should be.
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> Anyone that's actually really doing pro level audio work is probably using an external DAC or something, or at least should be.
I came here to say this. I'm just a hobbyist but I don't use onboard DAC or ADC for even simple stuff that needs reasonable quality. Get a Roland/Edriol for small dollars and enjoy a big quality boost.
Phil is full of shit, as usual. Even if he's thinking of teenagers with a Macbook who think they're DJ's, sell them a dongle. That said, I use a headphone jack for headphones
Phil Schiller is clueless (Score:2)
The cost to include a headphone jack on devices is minimal, and removing it benefits no one. Bluetooth diminishes audio quality because itâ(TM)s an analog to digital conversion go
Re: Phil Schiller is clueless (Score:2)
(Effing iPad) going out, then another digital to analog conversion going out. As a songwriter and musician, Iâ(TM)m offended that Apple keeps making their products less useful, and pushes for dongles and wireless solutions that basically say âoefuck you consumer, your money means nothing to usâ.
Already missing things I found useful (Score:2)
I used to rely on the HDD light until they had the courage to get rid of it. I used to replace batteries that needed charging. I used to like having the laptop logo oriented so it was instinctively easy to orient the laptop before opening the hinge.
I still use my headphone jack (and microphone) frequently. I suppose someone will have the courage to remove that from laptops soon.
Now I am contemplating when someone will take the keyboard and screen away.
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And surprisingly, nobody misses those things as they weren't really functional. HDD's and especially SSD's are now faster than our eyes can pick up, the light blinking on any that are left over is just for show, it doesn't represent anything and can be controlled by software to perform other, more useful indicators.
Nobody replaces batteries anymore, I have a 7 year old Macbook Pro and a few Dell's laying around with original batteries. Since we invented LiIon and especially LiPo batteries, they should last
Yes (Score:2)
Actually I did try Bluetooth headphones but quickly realized that there is an audio delay of around 300ms. Fine for music, but for something more interactive like gaming, it's a no-go. I understand that some headsets support a low-latency Bluetooth codec that avoids this, but I didn't know about this at all when I picked up the headset. Fortunately, it
Absolutely (Score:5, Informative)
I use the headphone jack all the time. Bluetooth blows except for the most mundane audio tasks.
Laptops should have headphone forever (Score:3)
The modern trend on phones from all makers is to omit the headphone jack. Samsung mocked Apple when Apple got rid of the headphone jack, but even Samsung has made [androidauthority.com] this change, so I'm pretty sure there are actual design constraints pushing the phone makers in this direction.
It seems to me that there are two major drivers: wanting to make crazy thin phones that still have as much battery as possible; and wanting to make waterproof phones.
We have seen that premium phones in the past have managed to be waterproof while still having a headphone jack. But the phone makers have gone away from that, and I believe the reason is cost... it's simply less expensive to waterproof a single USB C port and have that double as the headphone port.
None of the above has anything to do with laptops.
Consider how large even a compact laptop (or Chromebook) is: it shouldn't be any problem to fit the jack, and the jack shouldn't interfere with fitting batteries inside. And laptops just aren't waterproof.
So the only actual reason for omitting the headphone jack is to save a tiny amount of cost to build the laptop. And even Apple, in their "Mac Netbook" [apple.com] didn't cheap out that much.
I want my laptop to have "pro" features: lots of USB ports, an SD card slot, an Ethernet jack, etc. And by golly I want and expect a headphone jack of at least decent quality.
I have been known to use a USB DAC with a good pair of headphones, but a lot of the time I just put a decent-quality pair of earbuds into the jack.
And of course the laptop should offer the headphone jack that supports a microphone input as well. Video conferencing is a thing.
P.S. I'll bet that one reason for omitting the headphone jack on a tablet is just to unify the tablet experience with the phone experience. If the industry is trying to push us all off of headphone jacks, why let us have one on a tablet?
But if any laptop makers try to omit the headphone jack, I will vote with my dollars for a different brand of laptop. There are plenty of laptop makers who aren't trying to sell phones, so there should be options that have headphone jacks forever.
Yes, yes, and yes (Score:2)
>"Slashdot Asks: Do You Use Your Laptop's Headphone Jack?"
Yes. And I use it on my tablet. And I use it on my phone. I have cheap, lightweight, great sounding earphones that require no "syncing", no charging, no battery replacements, have no interference issues, don't get lost, work on any device with a headphone jack (which are all my devices), have great sound because they don't go through strange conversions, and just work fine.
I do not use it on my desktop computer.
Hell yes, constantly! (Score:2)
My main notebooks are used as desktop replacements but all my headphone jacks get used. I also go out of my way to get ports and swappable batteries My new P52 pleases in those respects.
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stop removing features (Score:2)
I don't own macbooks at home, yet I've still learned that Apple's port design includes a tiny physical switch that, should it fail to un-depress itself (ie becomes at all aged, sticky, dusty in there) will block headphone use. Your headphone output (ie system prefs) will be locked and if you look in the port, a faint red light is visible. Google the issue and you get people recommending things like a tape-wrapped toothpick to unstick the switch.
This is from the MBP/MBA era and has likely been resigned for t
The dichotomy that I'm seeing here (Score:3)
Wireless headphone users: Everyone should be using wireless headphones. Headphone jacks need to disappear and their users forced to convert.
laptop alternatives? (Score:5, Insightful)
Specialized Port (Score:3, Interesting)
The audio jacks are just specialized ports. Remove them and you can put one or two extra USB ports in their place and for $10-20 you can buy a USB audio adapter that does the same thing. I think more people would benefit from an extra USB port than the audio jack and a simple dongle returns the functionality anyways. We've removed parallel ports, serial ports, game port, and replaced the VGA port with a much smaller, multi-use HDMI port. Consolidating specialized ports to multi-use generic ports is a good way to go because then you can plug whatever you want into the port instead of only being able to plug a specific piece of hardware into a special-purpose port.
My laptop has three USB ports, with a fourth I would not have had to run out and buy a USB hub for it but I don't need an audio port on it.
Re:Specialized Port (Score:5, Interesting)
When playing games (Score:2)
Both I and my bigger kids always use the headphone jack when playing games. We've got headphones that are about a decade old and I don't feel like buying new gear when I can fix the old. The idea of another item to charge would be annoying, too.
I try (Score:3)
I really do [liveleak.com][NSFW]
Yes (Score:3)
Yes.
Would not change it for another USB. There's already enough space for a dozen USB ports if they want to.
If sound quality is bad just give me a better onboard sound.
We all know they'd not give us more battery in place of the 3.5 mm jack. Total BS.
We don't need slimmer devices. They're already flimsy enough.
Bluetooth sucks, it's not a superior substitute for anything.
And get off my lawn.
It will be quite fun.. (Score:2)
When they finally get everyone to use bluetooth headphones, just to have an massive infight for the frequencies between everyone in the locale.
All day - Every day (Score:4, Insightful)
I sit at my desk streaming something while I work. Headphones, or speakers on my desk - that jack is in use. And why take it away? It's a technology that has been around for decades and can be used for more than just audio out.
The real reason - they want to save a few pennies on board manufacturing costs and have an excuse to sell you a $30 dongle to replace the headphone jack they just took away from you.
As a musician, wireless is unusable, period (Score:2)
ANY Bluetooth audio, even the "super low latency" variety currently being promoted, has too high a latency for a musician. Since I use my laptop as a sound-generating system for playing with a team (essentially as the synth connected to my MIDI-controller keyboard), any perceptible latency will throw me off. A hardwired audio port is essential.
Many manufacturers claim that people cannot hear 100ms latency, but that's a self-serving metric. It is only true when you're talking about the eye-to-ear split where
Not until BlueTooth is CD-quality and low-latency (Score:3)
No way. Not until BlueTooth is CD-quality and low-latency.
Today it is never the former and very rarely the latter.
Yes all the time (Score:2)
Yes, for meetings all the time. For training and demos. For video calls, so again all the time.
Use it every day (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Yes, on 3 machines for bad reasons (Score:2)
Don't use the headphone jack that often, but here's my summary. In two cases I'd love to learn about solutions.
(1) MacBook Pro. I think the speakers are getting bad because there's a little rattle when the volume is high enough, so sometimes I use external speakers through the headphone jack. However it only works for one channel. Since the machine is far out of warranty, I'm considering buying some Bluetooth speakers. (How easy to use the same Bluetooth speakers with other devices such as smartphones?)
(2)
Yes, yes, yes (Score:2)
Yes, no, maybe. But I definitely need them. (Score:3)
Yes I use my headphone jack on my NB, maybe once in a month. So that was one of the reasons making me question of buying another Apple when this one eventually bite the dust. There are lots of other horror stories related to Apple computers like problematic keyboards, monitor problems usability issues related to those dynamic key thingies etc.
However, probably unknowingly, you provided the final nail for a new apple's coffin on my account. Are they going to remove fucking SD interface? Or did they already removed it from current models and I missed in the cacophony of all other problems? I am already carrying two adapters, one for HDMI and one for ethernet cable that I am forced to use in one customer's office.I do not one to add two more adapters; one for audio, one for SD....
So dear Apple; It would take a miracle to make me buy any new Apple NB when my current one dies. I would change my battery when needed, I would upgrade disk and RAM if it comes to that and sorry you lost a customer who on average uses three computers and you lost anybody who would listen my advice, starting with my own company and advisees. Oh shit, I would need to find a stable Linux desktop, which also would be a miracle.
No! (Score:3)
After all, this is no longer the century of the fruitbat.
Limitations of USB headphones (Score:3)
USB headphones are neat, but there are technical limitations to them. Since they are treated as a separate audio device you can't always switch mid-stream. Suppose you are using a voice chat app, or a game, when you plug-in the USB headphones. I don't know how Linux or OS X behave, but on Windows when the OS sees a new audio device it installs the driver and sends a notification to each device. Usually the new device becomes the "default" device, but unless the application listens to the message and takes action to reinitialize the audio, it will continue to use the old device. This is especially an issue if your built-in sound car is using 7.1 surround, then you plug-in headphones. The sound card knows exactly what to do - it downmixes and adjusts and things still work (although it might be sub-optimal). But a game might have to reload audio files and switch audio rendering engines.
Can anyone describe how other OS's handle this?
Re: (Score:2)
... I have a crack developing.
There is a cream for that.
Re: (Score:2)
I don't really need high-fidelity audio from my computer, as I only use it for one-off activities. But I own a set of Pixel USB-C earbuds for this purpose. They work beautifully on both my phone and my computer. They came with my Pixel phone. But you can buy them separately for $30.
They are better than any earbuds that I personally owned before (although I of course know that you can buy even better ones). So, I really don't have a problem with not having a 3.5mm plug.
Re: (Score:2)
I'm sure you're not checking the sounds using the Realtek chip in your laptop either.