It’s finally time to admit something that has been a long time coming: the headphone jack is going away. At least in mobile phone technology. I’ve long fought this trend, purposefully buying only phones made by companies with the good sense to include this necessary and crucial piece of technology. But alas, the times are changing and this once critical piece of aural infrastructure will soon go the way of the phonograph, the 8-track, and those little tiny cassettes that only played 1 minute of a song.
Like many trends, it was started by Apple, who switched to a Thunderbolt based cable while also pushing their Bluetooth AirPods. I myself have owned several pairs of Bluetooth headphones (though no AirPods), but there has always been one area where my 3.5mm jack has been indispensable: my car. Both my current car, a 2011 Kia, and my old car, a 2007 Saturn) had Bluetooth, and both were TERRIBLE. The audio cuts out when I go under bridges or near other cars with Bluetooth, the pairing takes 2-3 minutes and often doesn’t pair at all. This leads to a cycle of having to unpair my phone and my car and repair them before I’m able to listen to anything. A 3.5mm jack has none of these issues. If there’s interference, it’s likely the cable has gone bad and another $2 cable will fix it. It doesn’t cut out, and it starts the second I plug it in. But sadly, this continence seems to be lost on phone makers.
There are USB-C based audio outs which work with most modern phones, but you give up being able to charge the phone at the same time, which is critical if you’re using your phone to navigate and have the screen on the entire time. There are currently NO actual working dongles for charging a phone and listening via a 3.5mm. Google released one with the original Pixel, and the reviews were so bad that they removed it from their page and scrubbed all mentions of it from their search. My hope for years now has been in the rumor that Apple was going to go USB-C, because then at least SOMEONE would make an adapter.
Recently, I picked up a USB powered 3.5mm to Bluetooth adapter for my car. It still takes 10-15 seconds to pair when the car is turned on, but that isn’t a huge issue. The audio occasionally dips out, but nowhere near as frequently as with the car’s built-in Bluetooth.
As it’s looking like I have maybe one more phone purchase before headphone jacks are gone, the true solution will be making sure that the next car I get has good Bluetooth to start with. Also good headlights because as an aside the 2011 Kia Optima has atrocious headlamps. Seriously, you can’t tell if they’re on unless it’s pitch black out and there are no lights around. Absolutely useless. But I digress…