Anton Shilov, writing for AnandTech:
Audio receptacles on PCs and mobile equipment are virtually the last remaining analog interfaces of modern devices, requiring certain techniques to maintain a high audio quality and remove interference. Intel proposes to replace things like 3.5 mm mini-jack with USB Type-C which will help to add features to headsets and will simplify connections of multi-channel audio equipment to various gadgets.
And:
As phones and devices get thinner, or even to simplify some of the internal design, it gets harder to install multiple ports for various purposes. If there were to be a universal connector that does it all, including audio, Intel and some other players want USB Type-C to be that universal connector.
And:
Usage of digital audio means that headsets should gain their own amplifiers, DACs and various other logic, which is currently located inside smartphones.
People already have headphones and devices with 3.5mm headphone jacks. There will be a natural resistance to buy a new device that forces them to replace what already works. But this has happened several times already. Apple’s move to the iPhone lightning interface raised a fair amount of resistance but, ultimately, everyone moved over, bought all new stuff.
As Anton points out, the TV industry went through similar upheaval in the move from RCA and coax interfaces to HDMI. Now HDMI is ubiquitous.
One problem I see is for very small devices where the only output is the headphone jack. For those devices, the move to a USB Type-C would actually make them larger. Perhaps a mini-USB Type-C?
Fascinating article, full of technical detail.
The big difference is that TVs still have coax and RCA inputs to this very day. This backwards compatibility allowed people to use their legacy gear and upgrade naturally without forcing an upgrade. A wholesale replacement does not allow that process to occur organically.
And, there’s a noticeable benefit to HDMI over composite/component/S-video in much higher resolutions and digital picture (we’ll just ignore HDCP for now) on larger HDTVs. While a pure digital audio signal would be a nice upgrade, most people listen to music on crummy $8 earbuds and won’t notice any difference.
poor analogy — TVs have a much longer lifespan than cell phones, which are replaced often.
even still, the dongle is your backwards compatibility answer. deal with it.
now that its not just Apple, i suspect the whining will get weaker.
Funny. That paper only mentions Windows, Intel and Android. Not a word about Apple, but the pictures only show Apple hardware.
It won’t. We’ll just see more people blaming Apple, anyway.
To me, this seems like another case of “skating to where the puck is rather than where it is going to”. USB-C may be an improvement over the 3.5mm jacks, but I believe that the future will be wireless. Bluetooth may have its limitations, but there exists wireless technology that is plenty fast enough and with low enough power, and personally I really like not having a cord.
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