Re:Samsung’s Galaxy S9 looks set to retain the headphone jack
by coryfklein on Friday February 09, 2018 @12:41PM
(#16342181)
Bluetooth headphones make headphones complicated. Where previously it's literally a wire with speakers on the end, now your headphones now need to run software and they have a battery.
Previously a search for the right headphones was the intersection of few concerns:
* Price
* Sound quality
* Comfort
It was hard enough finding the right intersection of the 3 that fit me. Now I have to also balance the decision with:
* Battery life
* Ease of use (for HEADPHONES!)
* Rechargeability
* Connection quality
Headphones are such a simple idea. For some people the complexities of bluetooth headphones are worth the cost, but I don't want my cell phone to force me to accept that trade off.
1. I only use high quality headphones that have a rubber membrane, as much because of the sound quality (insulating me from the outside world) and out of respect for my co-workers and fellow passengers (other headphones are super leaky). I haven't seen the major manufacturers making a blutooth version of their in-ear models.
2. Interoperability: I currently have one headphone I can forget in my pocket and it works on all my devices: desktop computer, home laptop, ipad, iphone. I don't want to have to carry multiple models and dongles.
3. I already have to deal with too many batteries, I don't want more batteries in my life, rather less.
4. The last time I tried blutooth audio (a few years ago) the quality was terrible and there was a significant delay (was a bose noise cancelling headset). Things may have improved but in any case I have never seen wireless technologies that aren't unstable in some ways
5. Blutooth headphones is not solving any problem for me. Why should I switch? Why should I have to deal with more hassle? What's the benefit to me? Feels like a user hostile move to sell more hardware, which annoys me and pushes me instinctively to resist it.