14 DAY TRIAL // Apple was the first large phone maker to ditch the headphone jack on its smartphones, and while it suggested that this decision could help improve performance in other areas, executives described this as living proof of the “courage” that helps the company continue innovating.
After Apple, several other manufacturers ditched the headphone connector as well, including HTC and Google, and the most recent to do it is gaming gear maker Razer.
The Razer Phone launched earlier this month without a 3.5mm audio port, and given the controversy around this decision, company CEO Ming-Liang Tan took to Facebook to explain why exactly the connector had to go away from their device.
Unlike Apple, however, Razer’s official didn’t even make a reference to courage, explaining instead that there were technical reasons to remove the audio connector, helping it improve other parts, such as the battery.
“By removing the headphone jack - we were able to increase the battery size significantly (I estimate we added 500maH more), improve thermals for performance and a whole lot more,” he posted.
Better performance and battery life
Furthermore, Tan claims that the improvements the company made under the hood of the Razer Phone help provide better audio quality even in the case of analog headphones.
“The trade off was not having the jack - but what sealed it for me was that we were able to get audiophile quality sound with the dedicated 24-Bit THX Certified DAC adapter - and I made sure we included that with every phone. Which basically means we give even better quality headphone audio for those who want to hold on to their analog headphones,” the Razer official says.
“Removing the headphone jack gave better performance, more battery - and on top of that, better headphone audio performance with existing headphones and the option to go completely wireless or jacked in via USB.”
So there you go, removing the headphone jack doesn’t necessarily have to be an act of courage, but more of a decision forced by technical upgrades needed for other parts that wouldn’t be possible without ditching one of the components eating up valuable space under the hood.