headphone jack
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Samsung's Galaxy Note 10 doesn't have a headphone jack or Bixby button
Remember those Samsung ads mocking Apple's latest iPhones for not having a headphone jack? Well, it looks like the company is going to have to make some about itself. That's because, as leaks suggested, Samsung's new Galaxy Note 10 won't have one. Instead of a 3.5mm port, the smartphone will use USB-C for audio and basically anything else that requires physical connectivity. While the Note 10 comes with a pair of USB-C earbuds, the lack of a traditional 3.5mm jack means you'll need a dongle if you want to use your own, non-wireless headphones.
Finally, a Switch controller with a headphone jack
Using voice chat on the Nintendo Switch is about to get a whole lot easier, thanks to a new controller from PDP. Its Faceoff Deluxe+ wired controller – slated for launch this summer -- features a 3.5mm headphone jack, so you can simply plug in your headset and play without messing around with Nintendo's mobile chat app.
Apple patent woos with tales of ultra-slim audio connectors for lusciously thin devices
We're still a long way from reaching the point where our gadgets can't get any thinner and, while the 8.7mm iPod Shuffle is just about king of the hill for the moment, Apple is already envisioning a future where where the humble 3.5mm audio jack is too thick. A recently revealed patent application called "Low Profile Plug Receptacle" describes a number of different ways to create audio ports that are thinner than current models but yet won't take us back to the sinister miniUSB adapter days of yore. One of the potential solutions has a "semi-flexible" housing that expands willingly to receive your headphones' clumsy attentions, while another is recessed beneath a pair of doors that flip open to make room when the plug is inserted. As always with these applications there's no reason to believe they'll be ever appearing in a consumer device, but that doesn't mean we can't dream of a future where the gold-plated jack on your buds is thicker than the bulkiest part of your phone.
Schiit Audio reveals gorgeous six-watt Lyr headphone amplifier, dares you to touch 11
Just kidding. In fact, Schiit Audio won't be responsible if you do wind it to 11 and blow the ear tips right off of your favorite canalphones. The drop-dead sexy box that you're peering at above is the Lyr, a hybrid (tube-MOSFET) headphone amplifier that claims to have zero feedback and more power than most headphones will ever have use for. This guy's pumping out six solid watts into 32 ohms, while loads of rivals are dabbling in milliwatts. It's relying on JJ ECC88 tubes for the input stage and touts less than 0.1 percent THD, and it'll be produced in the US of A using components that were also primarily sourced from American suppliers. It's expected to start shipping in March of 2011, but those already sold on it can commit $449 to a pre-order. And before you ask -- yes, the company name is hilarious. Ha. Ha.
Apple patent application reveals tiny audio jacks
Apple's developers have been shrinking the iPod with nearly every update, yet they aren't done. This week, AppleInsider has discovered a patent application that reveals even smaller audio jacks that could be used in future, tinier iPods. To understand how, we must discuss pogo pins and cantilever beams. Contemporary audio jacks use cantilever beams, which extend into the cavity of the jack itself, and are pushed out of the way when a plug is inserted. The beams then make contact with the plug and allow data, audio, and power to be transferred. They also take up a decent amount of space; too much in Apple's opinion. The patent mentions pogo pins, which are embedded into the cavity and extend to make contact with an inserted plug. Furthermore, the patent claims that pogo pins would "greatly reduce" the size of the audio jack "in two dimensions." Consider that the current iPod shuffle is essentially the width of its jack, and you see how it's become a limiting factor. Do we want these things to get smaller? The shuffle already feels like a postage stamp.
Klipsch headquarters walkthrough: behind the scenes and between the ears
Every time trade shows such as CES and CEDIA open their doors, the collective masses are flooded with headphone after headphone, speaker after speaker. After awhile, one driver looks just as round as the next, and frankly, you start to take for granted what all goes into bringing the tunes we all dig to our ears, dens and underutilized kitchens. One of the mainstays in the audio industry opened their doors up to us this past weekend, and it didn't take much arm pulling to get us inside. We've generally found the design and sound qualities associated with Klipsch gear to be top-shelf, and we've struggled in the past to find too many gripes with the headphones and sound systems we've had the opportunity to review. Needless to say, we were quite curious to hear about (and see) what all goes into imagining, designing, testing and qualifying the 'buds and speakers that we've enjoyed for so many years, and if you share that same level of curiosity, join us after the break for the full walkthrough (and a few heretofore unreleased secrets, to boot).
Sprint HTC Touch Pro2 shows up sporting a 3.5mm headphone jack
We already knew the CDMA HTC Touch Pro2 headed to Telus and Verizon had been upgraded with a 3.5mm headphone jack, so it's not a huge surprise that the Sprint version has one too, but it's still nice to see proof. Still no word on a release date or pricing, but if these things are sneaking out there like this we can't imagine we have long to wait.[Thanks, Kenny]
FUD alert: Apple allegedly scared Google out of using multitouch, 3.5mm jacks, batteries, displays, love
So we've been watching this sketchily-sourced piece from VentureBeat's MG Siegler that claims Google was specifically asked to avoid implementing multitouch by Apple over patent concerns bounce its way around the web today, and while we didn't want to contribute to the echo chamber effect without being able to lend any authority to the story, it's starting to get stupid: John Gruber is chiming in that he'd additionally heard that Apple warned Google against including a 3.5mm headphone jack on the G1 after Cupertino was shown a prototype, which is ridiculous. Fine, we're somewhat willing to accept the complete lack of multitouch on the G1 is a result of Apple's influence, especially considering the huffy language Apple's been using lately over its intellectual property, but the absence of a straight 3.5mm headphone jack can't be chalked up to any patent issues, since Gruber's source is probably pointing to an Apple patent that covers controlling music via a headphone jack, which in no way prevented HTC from slapping a regular 3.5mm jack on there -- and hell, HTC makes breakout boxes for ExtUSB that expose both a jack and control capability anyway. Furthermore, it's not even remotely clear why Google would be cruising around Infinite Loop with the G1 way ahead of release; as Gruber himself points out, Schmidt recuses himself from board meetings involving iPhone conversations, and we'd expect the courtesy to go both ways. iTunes, iPod, music, your ears... we get it, Apple owns everything with a melody nowadays, but c'mon, now: at the time the G1 was designed -- many moons ago -- attitude toward the importance of 3.5mm jacks on phones was significantly different than it is today, and we can understand why HTC and Google could've reasonably thought that ExtUSB was good enough. Today, that attitude wouldn't fly -- indeed, HTC's own Touch HD does a real jack, and going forward, we'd expect most Android hardware to have them, too. Talented engineers can usually design their way around patent issues, and we're certain Google and HTC have both the legal and technical muscle to deal with Apple -- so can we please all stop playing lawyer and get back to mocking up the Dream G2?[Via Daring Fireball]
iPhone 101: Headphone issues
Recently, my iPhone was having issues. Specifically, it thought headphones were inserted when they weren't. I first noticed the problem as I was typing and didn't hear that familiar "click" that normally accompanies a key press.I thought I had accidentally toggled the ringer mute button (which I seem to do often), but no, it was set to ring. I inserted some headphones and heard everything - the clicks, music, etc.I placed a call and tried turning the speaker on and off to no avail. Next, I rebooted the phone. No dice. I connected it to my Mac and performed a sync with iTunes and still, there was no sound.I reset the phone by holding down the power button and the home button. Still, there was no sound without headphones. At last, I got a can of compressed air and gave a couple of short blasts into the headphone port. That did it! The phone must have been interpreting the junk that had collected in there over the past year as headphones.A simple solution that, hopefully, will save you some time.
