Microsoft might become the headphone jack’s savior

Microsoft might become the headphone jack’s savior
JC Torres - Nov 1, 2017
https://www.slashgear.com/microsoft-might-become-the-headphone-jacks-savior-01506297/

"Being a savior of anything is probably the last thing you will think of when talking about Microsoft. In fact, history would prove it has destroyed more things, dreams included, than saved anything. But if this latest patent filed by Redmond becomes reality, it might just end up turning the losing battle in the headphone jack’s favor. That is, if it can indeed implement a 3.5 mm port that can change its shape as needed and require very little electrical contacts to work.

Manufacturers give a few vague, sometimes conflicting reasons why they remove the venerable port. The two most cited reasons, however, is the space the component takes up inside as well as the minimum thickness it requires for even the thinnest phones. Without the port, some argue, manufacturers would have more room for other internal components and could make phones even thinner.

Microsoft thinks it doesn’t need to be an “either-or” situation. You can have a thin phone and a headphone jack at the same time. The trick, its patents implies, is to have sort of half a port only. Half of the port is more or less solid and round like your typical port, but the top part can be made of a flexible material that would expand when the plug is inserted. The plug might not even need to go all the way in, thereby reducing the space the port will take up inside."

"But a headphone jack is more than just a hole. It has contacts that transfer power and signals. In Microsoft’s patent, you only need to have the contacts on one side, the side that’s solid and permanent. That would simplify the design a lot, though it raises the question of a reduction in performance as a trade-off."

"Of course, this is just a patent, an intention to develop and dibs on an idea. Microsoft might not even have anything close to a working proof of concept for it. Still, fans of the 3.5 mm jack might derive a bit of comfort knowing that one of the biggest names in tech hasn't given up on the decades old connector."

 

Doesn't look like it will survive two years of hard use.

That said, Samsung has proven that you can have a slender, attractive phone without ditching the 3.5mm jack.

 

Interesting concept, but I don't see the point. Why can't they just make phones thicker? You get more ports, more space for a bigger battery and potentially a more structurally solid design. The main reason phones don't fit in pockets nowadays is that they are all so damned big - not that they are too thick. Apple can keep making their thin and ridiculously overpriced crap for narcissists and posers though.

 

They are more elongated and when I sit in a bus or a train its gets really uncomfortable, its almost ticklish. So, still using the same small phone than large bricks.

 

It's not even really about the thickness of the phone. The iPhone X is 7.7mm thick. The Galaxy S7 is 7.9mm thick and has a headphone jack.

Neither iPhones nor Pixel phones got meaningfully thinner when they removed the headphone jack.

 

They think that people will find the loss more palatable if they claim that it's an issue preventing further reductions in thickness because up until recently thin was a big sell. Better to claim it's something they think people want than to say screw you we want to utilize the interior volume for other components.

 

It might, if built with the right material. It's a flexible design and can soak up bumps to some extent.

I'm more worried about the electronic stability of the contact. I don't want to hear any funny sounds when twisting my phone slightly in the pocket.

 

Get a few 5 year old kids to plug and unplug a few thousand times for some sweets, that should test the durability like nothing else.

John.