A couple hours before I was on the edge of getting a Fairphone 5 but I read the specifications and didn’t see 3.5 mm audio jack anywhere. So I thought to myself…why? The community has been requesting this for a couple years ago now so why not. They’re already making money on the phone, they’re really pushing for people to get their wireless headphones? Just add the headphone jack, shouldn’t be too hard.
They said they’re treating their workers fairly, sourcing from ethical sources, renewable claims, repairability claims, and supporting foss projects (they donated a fp4 to CalyxOS to support development). All of these are amazing, so adding a little headphone jack shouldn’t be that hard in the grand scheme of all this.
*Add the headphone jack and I’ll be happy to support and get a fp5.
This isn’t a discussion about wireless vs wired though, this is a discussion about whether or not an ancient standard that has already been replaced should be reintroduced just because some people have been using that standard for a long time…
There are USB wired hearphones, there are even adaptors for your old 3.5 mm jack devices, so how is this about wireless vs wired?
IMO, once phone manufacturers decide to remove headphone jacks from their devices, the discussion of wired vs wireless is inevitable since you are forcing customers to make a choice/sacrifice. Headphones very much still use 3.5mm jacks, especially in high end headphones where there are also other types of plugs for balanced audio. Wireless tech is not going to replace it anytime soon, and headphones that end with a USB port are few and far between. Although there are solutions out there like dongles and Hi-Fi Bluetooth receivers, to some they are still an extra thing to manage, while with a built in headphone jack all of the hassle would be gone.