Sony tries (and fails) to explain why there’s no headphone jack on chubby Xperia XZ2 and XZ2 Compact

Believe it or not, Sony's shift to a new "Ambient Flow" design language has been officially blamed for the removal of the headphone jack on the chunky Xperia XZ2 and XZ2 Compact.

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OnePlus 5T name is officially official, as Pete Lau ‘digs deeper’ into decision to keep headphone jack

Of course there's a headphone jack on the OnePlus 5T, and according to company CEO Pete Lau, the decision was made easy by user feedback.

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Don’t panic, but a semi-reliable source thinks Google’s Pixel 2 phone will kill the headphone jack

The recently concluded MWC 2017 seemed to prove once and for all the headphone jack is alive and well, but Google may have different plans for the Pixel 2.

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HTC Bolt buyers are now ‘rewarded’ with free USB-C to 3.5mm audio adapters

The age of irritating adapters is upon us, as various device manufacturers continue to nix widely used ports and connectivity options instead of joining hands to move to universally accepted standards.

Worse yet, costly “next-gen” laptops and phones often come without precious accessories inside their retail boxes, requiring additional expenses and unnecessary hassle for a decent user experience. Case in point, the Sprint-exclusive HTC Bolt, now known internationally as the 10 evo.

As if HTC’s Snapdragon 810 processor choice wasn’t controversial enough, the classic audio jack-killing Quad HD 5.5-incher also lacks a basic way to embrace your “obsolete” wired headphones. Fortunately, you can now sign up for a USB-C to 3.5mm cable “reward” with your handheld’s purchase date, transaction number and MEID, although it may still take up to a month for the adapters to reach your doorsteps.

According to global PR Jeff Gordon on Twitter, “future production runs will include the headphone adapter in the box”, which begs the question why wasn’t it like that from the get-go? It’s not that you can’t afford the separate adapter on your own, at between $5 and $10 through third-party sellers, but some things just need to be free. Even Apple agrees.

On the bright side, it’s important to remember the HTC Bolt, available today and tomorrow for $300 instead of $600 at Sprint, is sold with complimentary USB Type-C dual adaptive earphones that apparently tailor sound to your ears’ “unique structure for a truly illuminating audio experience.”

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Headphone jack moves closer to extinction with new USB Audio 3.0 standard

It’s not just Apple that wants to take away your “obsolete” 3.5mm analog audio jack. It’s also LeEco, plus Motorola (at least in part), possibly even Samsung before long, and ...

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This $60 no-name iPhone 7 case brings back the ‘rock and roll’ headphone jack

Well, that didn’t take long. Technically, just 21 days since Apple formally took the wraps off the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus, and less than two weeks from the point of commercial deployment. Of course, we’ve known about Cupertino’s controversial headphone jack-killing move for many months, and so did third-party accessory makers.A not-so-famous one, dubbed ...

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