This article was originally posted during Mobile World Congress earlier this month. The trend it addresses, of smartphone manufacturers sticking with the traditional audio jack, is even more prominent today in the wake of Samsung’s Galaxy S8 launch.
In 2016 Apple removed the headphone jack from its iPhone, and in 2017 it seemed the rest of the mobile industry would follow suit, leaving us with only a choice between a Lightning or USB-C dongle. But a cool thing is happening at Mobile World Congress this year: Android phone manufacturers are shrugging off the jack-less fad and are forging ahead with the traditional 3.5mm headphone output intact.
Rob Pegoraro of Yahoo noticed the common thread among the big announcements at this show — they all run Android and they all have a headphone jack — and opined that “the headphone jack isn’t going anywhere.” I agree with his assessment, but have to append the word “yet” to that statement. The threat of a jack-less future still lingers on our horizon, though it might be a little more distant than initially thought.
BlackBerry KeyOne.
Photo by Sam Byford / The Verge
At MWC 2017, the Sony Xperia XZ Premium, the LG G6, and the Huawei P10 — which can be counted as the three major premium-class flagship launches of the show — all have headphone jacks. If you want to be inclusive and throw BlackBerry in among that bunch, it also opted for Android and a 3.5mm jack on the BlackBerry KeyOne. And the Nokia 3, 5, and 6 Android devices, plus the adorably cute 3310 phone, all have the standard, beloved, universal audio connector. Not only that, Samsung’s Galaxy S8 that’s launching at the end of this month is also almost certain to feature a headphone jack.