this post was submitted on 25 Jun 2025

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Unpopular Opinion

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197

Aux doesn't belong on smartphones anymore. (piefed.social)

submitted 2 days ago* (last edited 1 day ago) by Ek-Hou-Van-Braai@piefed.social to c/unpopularopinion@lemmy.world

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I see a lot of people complaining that the Fairphone 6 doesn't have an Aux jack.

Just use an adapter cable.

A 3.5mm Aux jack takes up a significant amount of space just to connect a few wires that could be connected through USB-C anyway, that space could be used for a bigger battery.

Even if there was a good enough reason to keep Aux it should be 2.5mm Aux and not the usual 3.5 as it does exactly the same thing but uses less space

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[–] Widdershins@lemmy.world 1 points 31 minutes ago

Counterpoint: I haven't ever plugged my phone in to charge. The USB C port is now full of lint and crud. It definitely wouldn't work for headphones with an adapter. A headphone jack would still work if I had one. If it didn't work a toothpick could clean it out. I have a stylus inside my phone instead which I use once every few months.

What I'm trying to say is that I don't think phones should have any ports. A micro SD card spot next to the SIM card inside is everything necessary. Wireless charging doesn't require you to hold the phone and cable at the right angle for the charging to happen. Just drop it on the charger and forget about it. Hell, they build wireless chargers into couches and tables now. I have a portable speaker that does wireless charging. That's true wireless charging. I could charge my phone in a hurricane.

I know this is unpopular opinion but using the charging port for anything but charging or the occasional data transfer is unnecessary wear. I could never deal with "hold the charge cable at juuust the right angle" again. It starts going bad and you get to see it getting worse until you can't trust it charging and you buy the new phone you've been thinking about for months now. The USB C port in my phone is where I keep my collection of pocket detritus and I wouldn't miss it if it was gone.

[–] TheFrirish@jlai.lu 2 points 1 hour ago* (last edited 1 hour ago)

People don't forget you can buy usb-c earphones and they are just as good as 3.5 jack and are widely available now. USB-C earphones come with a DAC integrated in them so you can get a proper sounding pair that may sound better than any 3.5mm you may have used.

Bluetooth still sounds meh

Also mp3 is way overdue for a replacement please check out .opus compression vs mp3

[–] xia@lemmy.sdf.org 3 points 3 hours ago

I suspect this is unpopular in the tech community, but if this were truly an unpopular opinion, then phones without a headphone jack wouldn't sell, and they would be replaced in the next generation. Instead, it seems like I get fewer and fewer options each time I look for a phone at the intersection of qualities that matter to me (unlocked bootloader, sd card, headphone jack).

[–] ColeSloth@discuss.tchncs.de 3 points 3 hours ago (2 children)

Used for a bigger battery? Lol. OP has never taken a phone apart. Aux port might get you another 20mah. Out of that 4,415mah battery.

[–] TonyOstrich@lemmy.world 4 points 1 hour ago (1 children)

I have seen so many people say the 3.5mm port takes up room, and it is such a crock of shit. The space it takes up is practically non existent and it costs almost nothing implement.

Like literally if I'm making a custom circuit board, or even bread boarding, with a microcontroller of all the IO currently on phones a 3.5mm jack is probably the cheapest and easiest thing to implement. It's a hell of a lot less of both than say a finger print scanner and I don't see anyone calling for those to be removed despite the fact that many people don't use that feature.

[–] ColeSloth@discuss.tchncs.de 1 points 9 minutes ago

I don't use the fingerprint scanner cause cops can force you to unlock your phone by fingerprint, but not by pin or pattern.

[–] LordCrom@lemmy.world 1 points 3 hours ago

Analog ports all the way.

[–] Ydna@lemmy.world 5 points 4 hours ago (1 children)

I hate how small the USB-C connector is though! They're fragile and wear out pretty quickly. Everybody discounts the round barrel jack size as if it's a bad thing, i think it's the exact opposite. It's large and the internal contacts are similarly large which keeps them working forever lol

[–] rbesfe@lemmy.ca 4 points 3 hours ago

Usb C is far more resilient than the micro B connectors it replaced. What are you doing to your type C ports that makes them wear out? Could just be dust stuck in there, easy to scrape out with a toothpick

[–] NewNewAugustEast@lemmy.zip 5 points 5 hours ago

No.

[–] AlDente@sh.itjust.works 2 points 4 hours ago* (last edited 4 hours ago)

I'm still rocking a 7-year-old Galaxy S9+. A few years ago my headphone jack wore out and the gapped hole no longer retains my earbud cable. Since then, I've been using a USB-C adapter, but the combined earbud and charging use is starting to take it's toll and the port is beginning to feel loose.

Adapter use seems more abusive to the USB port than just charging, as it occurs when the phone may be in a tight place (like a pocket), with torque applied to the adapter body. I'm convinced that if I was limited to USB-only over the full life of this phone, I would have lost wired headphone and wired charging capability a long time ago.

[–] Adulated_Aspersion@lemmy.world 2 points 4 hours ago

Everybody gangster until they lose an Air Pod.

[–] RememberTheApollo_@lemmy.world 10 points 9 hours ago

I’ve taken apart a phone for the purposes of replacing a battery. While everything is very compact as you can imagine, there is also a surprising amount of unused space. I’ll admit I’m not an engineer, so I don’t know if this space is error margin for manufacturing tolerances or something, but there is certainly enough room for a jack to be installed were this space tightened up just a little.

[–] ikidd@lemmy.world 5 points 8 hours ago

Yah, I couldn't give a fuck about aux, and up until last year I always had one. I moved on to Bluetooth once it started working properly.

[–] tvik@lemmy.ml 18 points 14 hours ago

Yeah.. I disagree. One only thing that I got to give to bluetooth headphones is dealing with the cable - sometimes it's just more preferable to have no wires, especially during sport activities.

I'm still on the lookout for the next phone with a headphone jack. I was so hoping for it to be the next fairphone, but sadly that's not it. (Old small ZenFone was perfect but software support of Asus is ass)

[–] SirActionSack@aussie.zone 23 points 16 hours ago (1 children)

that space could be used for a bigger battery

This is the truly bizarre part. Removing thr 3.5mm port is about thinness.

It is the antithesis of increasing battery life.

[–] douglasg14b@lemmy.world 1 points 8 hours ago

Yes, optimizing thinness is the antithesis of increased battery life.

[–] burgerpocalyse@lemmy.world 17 points 17 hours ago

STRING THEM UP, FELLAS

[–] glitchdx@lemmy.world 21 points 20 hours ago

Dafuq kind of take is this?

notices what sub we're in

oh, I see. Carry on.

[+] dream_weasel@sh.itjust.works -6 points 8 hours ago* (last edited 4 hours ago) (2 children)

I agree with the fact that I don't need one anymore. Bluetooth connections (MULTIPLE simultaneous connections) is great for me.

Why are you guys still using corded headphones on mobile? Is everyone an audiophile but somehow also using mobile phone as a primary media device? Allergic to charging? Too cheap to upgrade your gear? What is the use case that makes this an unpopular opinion? I'm not saying use USB C instead, I'm saying ditch the physical connections altogether.

Edit: If the answer is "I don't have the money" that's a reasonable answer. If it's "wired is just better" that's a questionable statement.

[–] CascadianGiraffe@lemmy.world 7 points 8 hours ago (2 children)

Because my car requires an expensive trip to the dealer to update the Bluetooth to be compatible with my phone.

I would love to ditch the wires. But I can't afford to.

[–] madkins@lemmy.world 1 points 5 hours ago (1 children)

If your stereo has an aux port, I use one of these in my car: https://a.co/d/gvwFs9y

[–] CascadianGiraffe@lemmy.world 1 points 5 hours ago (1 children)

I've tried something like that in the past and found them less reliable than the FM transmitters. But I suppose that was a while ago and maybe the tech has changed enough that the affordable ones work well.

Still not willing to spend twenty dollars on cheap plastic when that money could be spent on 2 days of food or something that I don't already have a cheap solution for. I paid less than $10 for this cord over a decade ago and it still works fine.

Yeah the Bluetooth is convenient, but I don't think forcing people to that platform is a solution. Also Bluetooth still has inherent issues. It's never 100%. My audio doesn't hiccup or start cutting out unless I unplug or damage my wire. I've never accidentally plugged the wire into someone else's speaker. I don't have to reset, or look up passwords for my wire before I can plug it in.

[–] madkins@lemmy.world 1 points 2 hours ago

Oh, for sure. I use a wired connection everywhere I care about sound quality. You just said you would like to ditch the wires and I thought I would provide a semi-inexpensive way to do so.

[–] dream_weasel@sh.itjust.works -1 points 7 hours ago (2 children)

So more specifically then the perspective is that if you had to choose between new phone and car Bluetooth you choose new phone yes?

Not being judgey but rather trying to understand.

I brought my stereo in the car with me back in the day that I couldn't do the upgrade from cassette built in to new CD player but we all have different preferences for sound I suppose.

[–] CascadianGiraffe@lemmy.world 1 points 5 hours ago (1 children)

Choosing isn't really an option for poor people. My phone was over 5 years old, unsupported, and the battery stopped charging. I was forced to get a new phone. I didn't choose to.

My car was what I could afford after my last car needed more work than it's bluebook value for the 3rd time that year. I had to get a 'new' car, and it's very used. I didn't get to look for a car that had great audio options. Hell it doesn't even have 4 working speakers.

My preference is for the highest quality.

My reality is that wired audio works all the time and it's affordable.

[–] dream_weasel@sh.itjust.works 1 points 4 hours ago* (last edited 4 hours ago)

This is totally reasonable.

If the issue is money, we can just say "support aux bc a large population can't afford to swap," a lot of this thread seems to be poverty masquerading as purism. It's the purism I can't understand.

[–] CascadianGiraffe@lemmy.world 3 points 7 hours ago (1 children)

In the previous car I used a cassette adapter to plug in my phone.

I live check to check. I can't afford a new phone, a trip to the dealer or a new stereo.

My preference for sound is that I would rather pay rent and eat food than waste money on technology to remove the wires. Sure it would be nice, but lots of nice things are just not affordable.

[–] dream_weasel@sh.itjust.works 1 points 7 hours ago

Fair enough.

It seems to me that, if money were no object, it makes sense generally to go wireless. We don't all have to agree on that point, which I guess is the whole topic.

Money IS an object and not everyone can full replace for every new technology, but in the long run audio tech has gone through several wholesale changes. The pace of those changes are driven by what is profitable I suppose, so really it's a question of how long to hold back. It certainly seems like we are on the cusp of a changeover.

[–] MystikIncarnate@lemmy.ca 4 points 7 hours ago* (last edited 6 hours ago) (2 children)

Sorry, but that comes off as a bit arrogant. There's still plenty of use cases for wired connections.

Older cars that either have aux or still need a tape deck adapter, that don't have Bluetooth.

Until recently, you couldn't use wireless headphones on planes.

On top of that, there's vanishingly few USB C to headphone adapters that also allow you to charge your phone, so if you're using wired headphones, and you need to charge your phone, you have to stop listening, in order to plug in to charge.

There's a lot of compromises and trade offs.

I'm not saying that one is definitely better or not, there's a thousands of ways to connect everything that works. Not every solution is going to work for every person and every use case.

I get what you're saying, but no. Just no.

[–] dream_weasel@sh.itjust.works 1 points 7 hours ago* (last edited 7 hours ago)

It seems to me that it is ALL tradeoffs but it's hard for me to see why people would have a preference for wired connection (EDIT: FOR MOBILE PHONES) except for financial constraints. If that's the motivator, the odds that you have an old, really nice pair of wired headphones that came with the stereo adapter for airplanes seems small. OR you fly so much that you bought the adapter to use your own headphones which also seems like not in the spirit. I suppose latency could be an issue in some cases, but that is constantly improving as bluetooth improves.

It seems like middle-man adapters (just like the tape deck adapter) and wireless charging are the answers here. Nobody wants to be the adapter guy, but the groups that we are talking about in these wired cases are becoming a minority position.

You can't still buy new cars with 8 track players, or with cassette decks, or for some makes even CD players. Not everyone can afford to make the upgrades, but does that mean we keep putting accessibility options for these things in new cars for the people who still use them? For a little while yes, but eventually no. And I think we're on the cusp of that. Outside of vinyl, it is strange to me to see vociferous opinions about phasing out particular technologies.

[–] ArtemisimetrA@lemm.ee 0 points 7 hours ago

Wireless charging exists, but i still agree with you because that's still not a fully standard feature.

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