[General question to the Android community] Have you given up on the audio jack, or do you still only buy devices that have it?

I'll die alone on this headphone jack hill if I need to, I only buy phones with headphone jacks.
Currently using a Motorola of some sort, replacement for another Motorola.

Only With the 3.5 mm audio jack. Bluetooth devices always have some delay, never are immune from connection problems or intermittent readback (especially if you have other devices you switch between), and don't last as long as they advertise. The delay thing is particularly irksome on the phone and watching videos. Much less important for music, but I'm not the kinda guy who plays music a lot. The battery thing is probably less of an issue these days, and could maybe be discarded, but I also forget to charge important devices, so that's a me thing and party of the reason.
- Agree on most of your your points. Which phone do you use?
  
  The No-Longer-Supported LG G7 ThinQ. Not upgrading until it blows up in my pocket.
- My hill is the microsd card slot. I might have to figure out how to make my note 20 ultra last another 40 years, though. :-(
  On another note; if compatible, APTX Bluetooth codec is pretty lag free when watching streaming videos. For local videos, there is a bit of noticeable lag on a lot of players, but I use VLC and it has an audio/video sync setting you can manually adjust so it matches up correctly and it will forever save that setup for you.

No jack = no buy.
- What do you currently use?
  
  One of the one plus that tmobile gave when they required 5g capability. It's partially degoogled, but otherwise pretty standard. Headphone jack + sd slot, and it gets the job done. I can't recall what the general name is, something like a nord 200 or whatever, but the model is de2118.
  Decent phone overall tbh. I thought I would hate it, but the battery life is solid, the audio is "good enough" for road trips, and the size is just right for my hands.

Likely sound like cranky old man but I'll be catching phones with a jack as long as I can! Not mad about having the option for wireless, but I'm a bit of a purist.
Plus once in a blue moon I'll DJ without Wi-Fi and use the phone to pull up a tune I don't have in my physical storage. Much harder to do that without 3.5mm jack.
- Which phone do you use?
  
  Still on a pretty old Galaxy 9, been putting off the upgrade forever. Not even sure what the cool kids are using these days. Need to hit that research phase a bit

I used to hate Bluetooth, but that's because the early versions were terrible. Painful to connect, frequent drops and disconnects, and very short range and easy to block the signal.
Since Bluetooth 4 it's been great, and rock solid with Bluetooth 5. The only time I've had a problem is when I went into the other room and stood directly in front of a running microwave. I lost about half the signal until I took a step back.
Wireless headphones are far more convenient. Phone in my pocket, and I can walk around, clean the house, or work out at the gym, completely untethered.
- Yeah I absolutely do not miss snagging my headphone cable on every door or drawer handle in a 1 mine radius. Also I think I used to go through 3-4 sets of headphones a year by wearing out the cable, spending the last few weeks precariously holding the cable 24/7 to enjoy the music.
  Wireless does have it's issues but I'm on my 2nd wireless pair, both bought in the £30 region and it's probably been 5+ years since I used wired now. Battery hasn't been an issue really, and although I lost one headphone on my previous wireless set, I can live with it.
  I absolutely support the want for a headphone jack so people can choose wired, but I'd still choose wireless.

No, I stopped using it once I got wireless headphones. I hated hearing the cord brushing against my clothes while moving.
- Yeah, once I made the switch to wireless earbuds, I didn't miss the jack at all. People have valid complaints about them, like the price and the limited battery, but I think the convenience is worth it.
- Why would he buy a phone with headphones jack, when the selection of phones is so shitty. And he is not even using the jack?

yes, audio jack is an important differentiator for me when I'm buying new phone
- Which phone do you use at the moment?
  
  Moto G23

I've given up on it. While I think it was silly to remove, I've come to find it just as silly to be so attached to a cable. Bluetooth and USBC headphones have worked just fine for me.
- Yeah I'm a bit salty that it's gone, but I've actually found using Bluetooth earbuds to be a way better experience. I'm no longer snagging a cable on everything and ripping them out of my ears. Maybe I'm just a clumsy idiot, but I did this all the time with wired headphones.
  One thing that Bluetooth headphones still suck for is gaming. The lag is too obnoxious. So I have a pair of headphones that can convert to wired for that purpose. I don't game on my phone so that part is a non-issue for me.
  You can also get a decent pair at a relatively inexpensive price nowadays. It used to be crazy expensive to jump in, but there are a lot of cheaper ones out there nowadays that still offer great sound.
  Edit: I saw a commenter complain about the lag when watching videos. This doesn't happen for me. I'm not sure if the tech is in my phone itself or in my headphones (I have two different pairs from different companies), but there is some sort of processing that goes on that makes it so the audio and video are synced, no matter if I'm watching a local video on my phone or a YouTube video. I can even manually adjust it with a "Bluetooth metronome" setting/app, but I've never needed to manually adjust it. For me, lag only happens when playing video games.

I had to give up removable batteries in phones but I will never give up 3.5 mm.
- Which phone do you use?
  
  Moto G7+, its old and wouldn't recommend seeking one out.

I seek out phones with audio jacks. My current Moto G Power 2020 has one and I use it all the time. No dongles or adapters in the car or on various headphones. Plus I actually use the FM Radio built into the phone and that uses the wire for the headphones as an antenna. I just cut off some old earbuds and plug that in, then direct the audio to either the phone speaker itself or BT.

- Thanks for the article. It still shows that medium-range Samsung such as the A34 and A54 don't have it anymore, while the A52 and A72 still had it.
  you list three large brands already
  RedMi have reliability and quality issues
  Zenfones and Sony prices are quite pricey: Zenfone 9 is 500€ on Ebay in Europe and a Sony Xperia 5 V is 700€
  Indeed, some Nokia phones have jack, but the issue comes from the CPU: the G42 has a Snapdragon 480, while the X30 has a Snapdragon 695, but no headphone jack. Also, the G42 has battery issues
  However, the Nokia G42 5G cannot stand out from comparable phones in any of these areas. The battery life and WLAN speed are also mediocre rather than leading.
  https://www.notebookcheck.net/Nokia-G42-5G-smartphone-review-With-this-eye-catcher-you-can-even-swap-the-battery.740282.0.html#toc-6
  The Nokia G21 mentioned in the article have low performance (which makes sense, it's an entry level device): https://www.gsmarena.com/nokia_g21-review-2389p4.php
  entry range Samsung phones (though I really wouldn’t call $500 phones “entry range”).
  The Samsung I was referring to is the A25, 200€ on Amazon, and the A09, 109€.
  The 500€ you are referring too is the A55, 370€, but no headphone jack.
  not everyone is buying flagship phones.
  I'm not either, and that's what I'm telling you: on top of the flagships, the medium range phones don't have jack anymore either (as shows your article)
  Samsung A55: no jack, the A52 had (S line is the flaghip)
  Pixel: 7a: no jack, 5a had (7 is the flagship)
  Having to buy the entry range device, which last longer and provide a worse experiences, probably doesn't compensate getting a jack.

I exclusively use phones with a 3.5mm jack. Currently on a Sony Xperia 1 IV. That said, I also use bluetooth IEMs sometimes and I like having the option of switching between wired/wireless when convenient.

I'll only buy a phone with an audio jack and usbc port.
I think of my phone like a swiss army knife, it's a multi tool that I carry with me at all times and can be used for many different things. I like using wireless headphones and I usually connect via bluetooth but on the occasion that I need to plug a headset into my phone I am able to quickly and easily do that with no extra thought.
Why would I buy a new phone that has less features than my current phone?
- Which phone do you currently use?
  
  Samsung s10
- Why would I buy a new phone that has less features...?
  Because of all those time you need to take a picture of your feet underwater!

@Blaze I'm not buying phones that often, but I recently changed to a Nokia G22 (yes, they also have phones with jack), and one of the things that made me decide on that was the jack as well. I got a pair of wireless headsets from work and I can say they're pretty good, but I am still not over the thought that I have one more thing to charge its battery every once in a while. Wired headphones are pretty much okay and I don't see any problem with them that would make me switch (at least right now).
Edit: I almost forgot. I also listen to the (FM) Radio, so I need the wired headsets to be used as an antenna.
- Thanks for sharing! I just had a look at Nokia phones, the G22 is a bit too large for me, but the X30 seems interesting (though a bit pricey)
  
  @Blaze It is larger than I thought, indeed 😁 but I see they still tend to stick with stock Android even though they're not really releasing any android one phones any longer.

Wont buy a smartphone without it
- What do you currently use?
  
  Samsung XCover 6 Pro. Has a removable battery aswell.

I just add a usbc to audio/charging dongle to them. Getting a phone with a audio jack I feel like is when I wanted to keep the hardware keyboard, I was just walking the boulder up the hill I just was like there was an easy off that mountain.
- For me the usb c to audio Jack adapters were a letdown. From the three I bought - all of them had a constant static noise. Especially hearable on lower noises. Don't know if it was just the adapters I got, or if it was just a quirk my phone had, but I'll stick with the dedicated usb jack for now.
  
  I had that only when they got damaged, but they easily get damaged
  
  I bought one off the shelf at like Target or something before I got my first pair of Bluetooth headphones. The adapter is trash. Static noise like you said and when slightly kinked it just stops working. It's not like I used it forever just fine before it started doing all this...it was trash to begin with. Apparently a lot of these adapters are just known to suck.
  
  To be honest I would have thought I would have got the same, I got some random one and its worked good for over two years now. I only use it for audio books so maybe I am missing out on some fucked up things in the connection.

I'm fine with Bluetooth. My earbuds and speakers all have Bluetooth nowadays.

I exclusively use phones with headphone jacks. Using GNU/Linux mobile more to get longer software security updates where needed/possible. All GNU/Linux native phones have headphone jacks.
- Which phone do you use at the moment?
  
  I have a Note9 I just did a battery & screen replacement on, a Key2 that had not been used until a year ago (so still has great battery life), and a newish Librem5. Most other phones, e.g. those mid-range Samsung's, or phones without headphone jacks feel like sidegrades rather than upgrades.
  They're all 4G though; both Android model variants are unrootable, and of course behind on their security updates. Next phone would need to be 5G, and ideally allow longer security updates, or allow Mobian + Waydroid install. Maybe one of the Asus ones. Honestly wish Fairphone had kept it or brings it back; they're missing out on a big segment of customers that would be a good match.
  To afford an out of carrier phone, just dipped down to a cheaper plan that still meets my needs.

I'm still using it. I've got nice headphones and speakers that run off of a cable and no interest in top-end phones, so it makes sense to get a phone that fits the more expensive audio stuff rather than a bunch of adapters. Nokia's cheaper smartphones have served me quite nicely

I bought a Sony Xperia 10iii back in December 2022 for the headphone jack, SD card slot and IP rating. Plus it's Sony and one of my all time best phones was my Xperia Z2.
When it comes time to replace it I will first look to see which phone offers a jack. I use it several times a week.
However the downside is that the only premium phones with it are Sony but very expensive. I can't afford a 5v when though I'd love it.
If you get a midrange phone you always lose out on a great camera. Which is crappy. So you have to choose between headphone jack with poor cameras Vs no headphone jack with good cameras.
Or somehow get enough money together to buy an Xperia 5v.
Ps don't bother with ZenFone. Asus is known for poor quality and very, very bad support
- Or somehow get enough money together to buy an Xperia 5v.
  Ps don’t bother with ZenFone. Asus is known for poor quality and very, very bad support
  Thank you for your message.
  Xperia 5 V looks indeed a very nice option on paper, but definitely pricey.
  Thanks for the heads up on Zenfones

i avoid anything wireless like the plague short of wifi. pairing is always a miserable process, and by the time everything is connected, the batteries are dead. it drives me absolutely bonkers. thankfully many motorolla phones still have 3.5mm jacks . i think my current model is the motorolla 5g stylus
- Lol.
  BT hasn't been that bad in years.
  Rarely have problems with pairing, and have about a dozen BT devices in my house.
  Batteries and power are so much better today I worry less about charging BT devices than my phone.
- I consider myself an old fart, but you need to get out and do more experiences yourself.
  Wireless Bluetooth headsets have been pretty nice for years. Don't go too cheap (but even cheap ones can be good) but don't waste too much money either on them and you will be fine.
  Pairing today is smooth and easy, never had an issue in the last 5 years at very least. Battery life is pretty good, my tw buds get a week worth of charge at my usage (and I use them for daily sport training, calls and occasional video). They get charged automatically when I put them back in the box and the box itself recharge in like 30 minutes.
  And you can use them one at a time, which is good to get truly unlimited "call time". .moreover, my model can both do noise cancelation or environment sound pass-trough which is amazingly good when running on asphalt (the latter) and trying to isolate in the office (the former).
  Moreover having no chord dangling getting pulled and catching around is unreliable better experience.
  I had to go back to wired a few times (forgot the wireless home..) And found how much worse experience that is.
  Of course, I prefer the choice and I have always purchased a phone with audio jack and will do again if at the same price/hardware level.
  
  different strokes for different blokes i guess but i prefer to not have to charge things and not worry about pairing and that's that

I wouldnt buy a phone without it. Currently on Pocophone M5, happy user

I was already using bluetooth headsets when they removed it so really didn't care.

I specifically bought a Pixel 5a because it was the last Pixel with a headphone jack. Then after a year, it died on me, and they sent me a 6a as a replacement.
I miss the jack. A lot. But it's hard to justify buying a whole new phone for one. Once this one dies, I don't know what I'll do.

I gave up on it fairy easily, because after it was forced on us, the market also responded by flooding with cheap and decent options for headphones, which I started trying out and slowly I stopped using a wire with my phone.
I still think bluetooth is not great, with a lot of weird connection issues even on expensive devices, which was never a problem with a wire, but I do enjoy the freedom it offers.

Only with audio jack
- Which phone do you use?
  
  You won't find it in the west. Its Infinix X6831

as much as i like having a jack, i more value running grapheneos on a supported device :/

Am using a Zenfone 8 with a jack. As for future upgrade, still unsure. My top priority would be the size - has to be the same or preferably smaller than the Zenfone, so that limits my potential options.
I was travelling recently and was fortunate to be able to watch a F1 race. The track had a FM broadcast of the commentary in English, and my Zenfone 8 with the built in FM tuner made itself very useful indeed, since the FM tuner only works with wired earphones.

I'm pretty happy with Pixels for the moment, so it's a $5 USB-C to 1/8" dongle for me. That or the Pixel Buds I got for free as as promo with the phone. I've never had to charge and use the converter at the same time, but I believe there are cheap dongles that can do that too.
- There are but they are not reliable, even from reputable companies. I had both the ones I tried break very quickly, and moved back to requiring a headphone jack after that.
  
  Which phone do you use at the moment?

I have been pretty much exclusively using Bluetooth headsets for almost ten years and got my first phone without a jack this year. Sometimes you want to plug into someone's car or home stereo and can't, that's annoying. But other aspects are far more important in my buying decision.

I only buy phone with a jack although I haven't needed a new phone in a long time.

I honestly stopped caring a long time ago. I've been using bluetooth headphones exclusively since before the jacks started going away, and I'm just not bothered by it.
It would have been nice for them to stick around, but it's not really a hill I'm willing to die on.

I bought the Zenfone 9, but now the new Zenfones don't have headphone jacks, so I don't know what phone to buy when I end up needing a new one. There seems to be no phones with headphone jacks that aren't huge, except for the budget phones
- Zenfone 10 and zenfone 11 have both headphone jacks
  
  Huh, I thought they didn't. Maybe I'm confusing it with the Google Pixels, I switched away from them because they don't have headphone jacks anymore. I feel like there was something about the new Zenfones that I didn't like, idk

I've given up but I do wish there were better USB-C audio solutions. Android has always been lacking in the USB audio department and I have often been left feeling defeated when a car or other stereo system has USB audio input that only works with iPod/iPhone. It's just sad that even now with USB-C, audio output with Android is still so finicky.

Still on 3.5mm Jack. I have a poco x3 NFC. And would buy again a phone with a jack but...
No i don't use it much, maybe once in a while when I need headphones while my BT tw are charging or I forgot them home.
To be honest wired headphones are unpractical and messy and I always tend to tear them out of my hears. Usually only use them at my desk with my laptop while phone on bt headset.
So to be honest, jack is something I could do without but that would still be an inconvenience for the limited cases I would need.
So probably I would buy a phone without one... Granted I would always prefer one with the jack at same price/hardware point.

I always hated the noise you got from wired headphones every time you moved, so I was very happy as soon as wireless headphones stopped being terrible. Now I only use wireless so I really don't need a 3.5mm slot, and I can use an adapter on the off chance I do. Also I use GrapheneOS so it's not like I really have a choice!

Still a requirement for me. I listen to music and podcasts while I run, and I run a lot. But I don't want to deal with the privacy issues of leaving my BT on when I leave home. And USB dongles physical connections just aren't as reliable with a lot of motion.
- Which phone do you use?
  
  Redmi Note 7. It's pretty old. Luckily the batteries are still ok.
- I run also, and trust me try wireless, such a better experience without the entangling cables. Specially for sport.
  
  I know, it's defo more comfortable. Like I said, I just can't deal with the privacy issues related to BT. If there were earbuds supporting some kind of privacy friendly wireless protocol, I'd use them.

My car only works with an aux cord so at least until I get a new car I'm sticking to phones with one. I'm not buying a dongle. They can go fuck themselves.

I buy mid-range devices, so while I haven't gone out of my way to get a device with a jack, my current device still has one, and it is the OnePlus Nord N200 5G, but if I did not have it, I would not be upset about it.

The only thing that keeps me motivated to use the audio jack is because my old car still has an old stereo and I use it daily, and I am too lazy to use dongles lol.
As a matter of fact here is a pic of a disc that my girlfriend bought recently because it was on discount, and we tried it in the car for the first time ever! (We also don't usually buy discs, this would be the first time in more than a decade).

I haven't bought a new phone since I got my LG V20. Lack of headphone jack is among many reasons. There's nothing on the market that has all the features it does or even new features that make up for what I would be giving up if I got a new phone. I fear the day when I'm forced to get a new phone because it gets too out dated for my work apps.

Didn't bother me when Samsung went to usbc only becuase now I use my DAC all the time for my wired headphones and haven't looked back (audioquest dragonfly and shure se425). No longer as big of a deal as I originally believed it would be, in fact I use the DAC more often now than I did when it was mostly in my laptop.

Still holding onto the audio jack. My last few phones are the HTC 10 (2016), Galaxy S10e (2019) and Xperia 1 V (got it last year). I commute to work daily and my car has an audio jack, CD player, and PC card slot for playing audio. I'm avoiding adapters for multiple reasons - others here mentioning static, and annoyance/inconvenience (want to be able to charge my phone when needed without more dongles). I held off on giving up a physical keyboard and getting a larger phone but eventually gave in on those. Also not giving up the microSD slot.

I'm still on my zenfone 6, and my next will be something sony. I don't really want a low-mid end phone but if the xperia 10 is the best I can get then that's what I'll get.

I'm lucky to be in Asia since I can easily use redmi phones here (doesn't work well with USA carriers). 3.5mm is still really useful for me, but if there's no more options I'll probably get a 3.5mm to BT adapter.

My preference while buying phone:
">8GB ram"
">250 GB storage"
120Hz display
Battery capacity ">5500mah",
SD card option,
Headphone jack,
Pretty recent chip, if not the latest,
Waterproof ip68 minimum
I don't care wheather its Chinese or Taiwanese or American or any other.
I usually debloat the device on the first day. With ADB

I tried to hold out, but for my current phone I prioritized camera quality over headphone jack. I definitely use the cameras more than the headphones.
With that being said, those two features are essentially mutually exclusive. Good cameras are a "flagship" feature, whereas lacking headphone jacks are also a flagship "feature."
The only exception is Sony, which unfortunately is very overpriced.

I use wired in-ear headphones while cycling for convenience of not needing to charge so they are always ready to go when I go for a ride. Also I wear my phone in the back pocket of my jersey, so its an extra string holding my device in case it would fall out (never happened, but just in case). I use some half-decent BT headphones for media consumption when home.

I need headphone jack, because fuck doungle and Bluetooth headphones both are unreliable son of a removed and they can burn in hell
- Which phone do you currently use?
  
  I'm using Galaxy Note 8 with Lineage OS

I gave up because that is not the single most important aspect of a phone.

Still using one with a jack. Other must haves for me are sd slot and tool less sim tray.

I rarely used headphone jacks even when phones had them. I don't miss them.

I'm in a mixed case, I do use bone conducting headphones that are wireless when on my bike, because ear headphones are a 100€ fine I would like to avoid. Well, also use a Cardo on my motorbike..
But on the treadmill or at home I use some good quality wired earbuds, with thick ribbon cable that doesn't tangle up. It is just confortable for me and one less thing to charge and throw away after the batt says goodbye.
The phone: Ulefone Armor 21.

I just got a Nothing phone 2, which doesnt have an audio jack. The only thing that's really changed for me is I had to buy an adaptor for the aux cable in my car

Begrudgingly given in.
Good fully wireless ear buds are truly an amazing convenience, but I value having flexibility and redundancy in my hardware more than having a slightly sleeker form factor. Thay includes things like removable battery, SD card slot, etc. Unfortunately, the market has spoken, and keeping those features limits you to a more and more niche selection every year. By now the tradeoff just isn't worth it to me.
As far as USB dongles, I seem to have enough problems with USB-C ports becoming loose or flaky for charging that I avoid using them except when necessary. Wireless chargers abound in my house.
- I've had 4x as many C ports die as I have Micro USB (and I've used micro ports since 2009 on multiple phones, numerous headsets, speakers, and small rechargeable devices).
  C ports are awful for durability, despite claims they're better than micro.
  
  All my micro-usb phones have the port mangled or damaged over time. I had even to replace one, once.
  All my usb-c phones have had zero issues with the port itself. And that's as well true for my kids. Once they managed to break a micro USB but they never even had a single issues in USBC.
  They stand much better the forced insertion/unplugging in my experience. yMMv.
  
  @BearOfaTime That's odd. My experience with micro USB cables is actually the poorer one. Cables would have their pins worn down all the time and become loose. My current phone has USB C and I had no problem so far. I use the same cable since I purchased it.
  @dmention7
- I have had similar issues with USB-C ports but avoid wireless charging as it often causes damage to the battery via excess heating (particularly if not perfectly aligned). I'd give up a 3.5mm jack for a redundant USB-C.