The latest crop of high-end smartphones lost two features
without whom, we thought, life would be impossible: the stereo audio jack and
the micro-SD additional memory card slot. This is the case of both major
systems, Google’s Android and Apple’s iOS. Are the manufacturers right to have
removed them? How are consumers coping with the change?
اضافة اعلان
As it has been the case for many years now, the IT industry
takes us where it wants to, whatever the reasons: commercial or purely
technical. We just follow and adapt. Simply put, we expect the change all the
time and yield. Still, given the undeniable critical importance of smartphones
for all of us, and the place the devices occupy in our life, the removal of the
audio jack and memory slot is upsetting a number of users.
Because of the multifunctional role of smartphones, which
goes from making calls, taking pictures, browsing the web, exchanging
audiovisual messages, and storing all kinds of digital files and documents,
including of course showing security people our COVID-19 vaccination
certificates on the screen, any change is bound to disrupt our habits.
Besides, high-end smartphones, especially those with a large
6.9-inch display are truly serving as pocket computers. Their price, between
JD700 and JD1,200, is also in the range of laptops prices.
The audio jack was convenient because there are countless
situations where wireless Bluetooth earphones are not available or cannot be
used because they need recharging. Wired earphones or headphones, which use the
audio jack, are therefore very practical and are also less inexpensive. But the
trend is here, we are going wireless all the way, every time, on all devices.
The sonic quality brought by the most recent versions of
Bluetooth 5.0 is excellent, as are the connection and communication between the
various units.
As it has been the case for many years now, the IT industry takes us where it wants to, whatever the reasons...
Some would argue that it is still possible to use wired
earphones on the latest smartphones simply by connecting new models of earphones
not to the traditional audio jack, but to the USB-C connector present in all
recent smartphone models. This is true, and it is interesting because the
quality of the signal is even better, clearer, and more stable. Indeed, USB-C
processes digital audio whereas the old audio jack treats analog.
However, using the USB-C connector means you have to get new
earphones – perhaps a minor annoyance – and you still cannot use the audio
output to record music from the phone set to another device, as the older audio
jack would easily let you do. Perhaps the designers of the next smartphones are
already thinking of a solution.
The micro-SD card slot allows you to add memory to a handset
just like you would to a computer. This is invaluable. Manufacturers have removed
the micro-SD slot in most new phone models because, on the one hand, they want
you to rely on cloud storage and, on the other, they are making smartphone
models with internal memory already large enough, at least for most users.
At first sight it all makes sense. Digging deeper, though,
reveals two issues. Not everybody wants to rely on cloud storage to keep large
sets of files and documents, if only in cases where network coverage is poor or
not available at all. Furthermore, the cost of smartphones with a very large
internal memory (512GB, for example) is very high, almost three times higher,
compared to that of additional memory you would independently buy and insert in
a micro-SD slot.
Interestingly, some lines of new phones still come with a
micro-SD slot. Samsung, for example, that claims 20 percent of the world market
(counterpointresearch.com), has decided to keep this extra memory slot in its
“Galaxy Note” line of phones, whereas it has removed it from its flagship
“Galaxy S” line. Apple’s iPhone 13 comes without a memory card slot.
Eventually one has to acknowledge that, given the wide
availability of cloud storage and the large built-in memory of all new
smartphone models, those who absolutely want a micro-SD memory card slot are
but a very small minority.
By doing away with the old audio jack and the card slot, the
IT industry certainly knows what it is doing, at least when it comes to
pleasing the large majority of the population. The others, the “tech geeks”,
will always find a way.
The writer is a computer engineer and a classically trained
pianist and guitarist. He has been regularly writing IT articles, reviewing
music albums, and covering concerts for more than 30 years.
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