Intel Joins Apple In Wanting To Purge Traditional 3.5mm Audio Jacks

When it first leaked that Apple was keen on removing the 3.5mm audio jack from future iPhones, even the most devout Apple fans thought the company had finally lost its marbles. While the traditional 3.5mm jack is about as old-school a technology could get on a modern device, it hasn’t really “needed” an upgrade. Acting largely as a passthrough, the jack doesn’t hold back when it comes to delivering clean audio. So why get rid of it, when almost every pair of headphones or ear buds use it? The answer might not even matter, because if this goes through, a lot of people are bound to be miffed that their perfectly suitable audio devices suddenly won’t work with the latest smartphone.

It’s clear that companies like Apple want to use the connector on the device that’s required to be there (power) for audio purposes, so that the traditional 3.5mm jack can be removed. There’s no downside to there being a USB-C or Thunderbolt-type connector on headphones or even ear buds, but it does mean the shift will prove to be a major inconvenience to those who are perfectly happy with their current set of cans.

If you think Apple is crazy for this desire, then you have to lump Intel in as well. At its Shenzhen-based Intel Developer Forum this month, the company detailed ways it could get rid of that jack, and use USB-C instead. I personally have a couple of beefs here. For starters, USB-C kind of flies in the face of us wanting to keep our mobile devices simple. If we moved to USB-C, we’d be shifting from a simple thin round connector to one that’s still small, but flat. In a way, I feel like USB-C is actually a worse form-factor. And again, we can’t ignore the fact that our audio devices would suddenly become useless with smartphones that forego the 3.5mm jack.

What on Earth do companies have against the lowly 3.5mm jack? Well, it’s analog, plain and simple. That disallows companies to try creative things with their devices, which could include at the very least providing extra power to a pair of headphones. DSPs could also tie into it. Further, functionality could be expanded. Picture a pair of headphones that not only lets you listen to music (which is quite a novel idea, I might add), but also monitors your heart rate while you listen to that music.

If you don’t think that our future smartphones couldn’t possibly ship without a 3.5mm jack, consider the fact that Chinese smartphone maker LeEco just released three phones that don’t include one.

The future of audio is going to be interesting. And perhaps a little frustrating.