BlazeASUS now actively sabotaging attempts to unlock Zenfone 9 bootloader
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Fubber Nuckin'I’m waiting for a fairphone with a headphone jack and then hopping on that.
I used to feel this way until I realized that a large percentage of phone users rarely used earbuds or headphones, including myself. Wired earbuds were a pain in the ass, nobody wanted to carry a coiled up cable in their pocket all day. But a little clamshell with a couple small buds in it fits pretty well into a jeans pocket. Once wireless earbuds hit the market, everyone started using them for a reason.
The only real argument for an analog headphone jack at this point is audio fidelity, and if you care about that you’re 1, not using your phone with a cheap DAC to do it and 2, your headphones probably use a 1/4" jack not a 3.5mm one. Wireless protocols are also catching up to analog as far as audio quality as well, and most people expect IP68 from a good phone these days, and you’re not getting that with a 3.5mm audio jack or removable battery.
The consumers who care about an audio jack on phones these days are a very vocal minority.
Did everyone forget that Galaxy S5 exists with headphone jack, removable battery and water resistance?
It was IP67 not IP68, which is what I stated. While it’s possible to have a headphone jack and IP68 resistance, it’s not cheap and you likely won’t find it on anything but niche flagship phones like the Asus Zenphone.
Nokia XR21 has IP69k and headphones jack. Galaxy Xcover6 pro has removable battery, headphone jack, and micro SD slot with IP68. S10e has IP68, headphone jack and SD card slot.
I don’t buy that headphone jack and SD card slot must disappear to achieve water resistance. They removed them because it was cheaper to produce and make you buy more expensive phone with bigger storage and wireless headphones once the battery degrades.
The limitation is not tech, it’s the cost to include those features in an IP68+ device. The XR21 is a $650USD phone, that’s near flagship prices, and very far from a budget phone.
Is it possible to create a device that has a jack, SD slot, and removable battery that’s also IP68+ certified? Absolutely, but doing that is quite a bit more expensive than the same features on an IP67 or lower device.
It’s not that it’s impossible, but the device will be both more expensive, and considerably thicker. Most people do not care about a headphone jack anymore, and even less so SD card slots and removable batteries. They want thinner, cheaper, waterproof phones. These features aren’t in high demand, and aren’t profitable for companies to produce.