Intel also joins the audio jack murder plan that we all know: USB Type C is the future.
Would you be willing to give up the jack connector on your next smartphone? Well, it is better that we get used to the idea, because after many years living with him, it is likely that gradually disappear.
We all know the 3.5 millimeter jack, it has been with us for many years and is present in practically any phone, smartphone, tablet, computer or general gadget that may have audio output. However, its technology has not evolved and now there are new needs.
USB Type C as a substitute for the 3.5mm jack
Specifically, the original 6.35-mm connector, which is still used today, was invented in 1878, while the 3.5mm jack arrived in 1960. Little has changed since then, now USB Type C is postulated as the connector of the future, that which is able to unify devices and offering bigger and better characteristics.
It has been months since the rumor that Apple ended with the output of headphones in the future iPhone 7. It is not crazy, it is more, brands such as the Chinese manufacturer LeEco have already presented smartphones without jack and in the market we find headphones with Type connector C, ready for whatever comes.
Do not think that Apple goes for this alone. Now we know that another gianthas been put in favor of USB Type C to replace the jack: Intel wants it to be the digital audio standard. This was detailed in the developer forum held in Shenzhen this month, detailing how he plans to use this technology to get the Type C implemented as the new jack, as AnandTech tells.
More possibilities, less connectors
Mobile devices have been reducing their size and thickness, and the need to fit multiple connectors limits the space for other components, which is one of the advantages of dispense with the jack and concentrate everything on USB Type C, but it is not the only one.
The digital audio connection would allow headphone manufacturers to integrate the DAC (which transforms the analog signal into digital) in the headsets, ensuring sound quality Regardless of the device used, although this will also increase its price.
On the other hand, hisincreased capacity to transfer data It will open the door to new gadgets, especially oriented to the health field, since sensors could be integrated into sports headphones to record different parameters.
Of course, also there are drawbacks, a pretty fat one: 3.5 jack is everywhereAlmost everyone has headphones with a traditional connector that they use in some device, as well as speakers, equipment and much more, so adoption would be slow. But of course, in the end it is a matter of time and that the main players in the market agree.
If Intel proposes the move and companies like Apple, Samsung, Sony and others follow, we will end up adapting and being the end of the audio jack.
