1y ago

Phones should have 2 USB C ports

One should be at the bottom one at the top. I understand space on the phone is a premium but a second port would make the phone so much more usable. Wired headphones, flash drives, camera modules, speaker modules, keyboards, even connection to a TV, all could be used while charging. It's a shame it's not a thing, USB is extremely versatile port, but you only get one and it's used for charging half of the time. (I am aware dongles exist)

147 comments

Wired headphones... could be used while charging
Sure is a shame nobody ever came up with a way to do that before.
- The person who decided a headphone jack is superfluous should be found, tarred, feathered, and left naked and alone deep in the alaskan wilderness covered in pigs blood for the wildlife to enjoy.
  
  I believe Steve Jobs is already dead. And those who inherited his billions probably don't mind all those extra AirPod sales, especially if people keep losing them.
  
  They should also be be required to use a dongle for every tool they use to survive with a limit of only 1 tool at a time
- I hate how we're stuck in a limbo between headphones jacks and usb-c. Like the change was bad to begin with, but if you're going to switch to usb-c, then do it fully.
  USB-C for everything honestly would have been good if they had. But we're stuck in a limbo

Bring back the headphone port! Bring back the headphone port! Bring back the headphone port!
- It never dissapeared - you just started buying devices without one
  
  The selection is pretty slim.
  
  Can't be that important if people don't actually choose with their wallets (Xperia 5 II owner btw)
- headphone jacks are still available for mid ranged androids, even along with a charger. pretty much the only win we can get for purchasing a mid ranged androids.
  
  Not being ridiculously overpriced is another advantage imo.
- I'd rather have another USB port actually. It's just so much more versatile.
  
  Honestly, this. I'm not happy that they took away my headphone jack, but if they'd replaced it with a second USB port I would have been okay with it.
  
  Occasionally, I'll use my phone to play a show, with a USB to HDMI. I used to keep a wireless charger next to the TV for that use case.
- Lg v60, 2 screens, headphone port, Microsd.
  Good night, sweet prince.
  
  Man I miss LG being in the phone market.
- Sony says hi :)
- Bring back the the headphone port!
- I would rather have 2 usb c ports that way you can use it fir other stuff as well
- I used to think this but a dedicated mp3 player is superior to using a phone for audio anyway
  
  What do you use for a dedicated mp3 player? These days all I see are dying (flash chips) used SanDisk Sansa players, cheap Amazon ones, and super audiophile level $400 ones...
  
  If all you play is local media then maybe. I like to stream music from my own server though and also listen to podcasts on the go.
- I started using wireless headphones back when I had Sony Ericsson 530i dumb phone. Also phones back then didn't have headphone ports either. Who the hell cares about it?
  
  Owners and enjoyers of good headphones.

Soon you're gonna feel lucky that your phone has even ONE port.
Give it 5 years and Apple will have removed their lightning and/or USB port and gone wireless on everything.
- Apple is going to be compelled to offer USB-C as a wired charging connection in Europe if it offers a wired charging option.
  
  Which means bye bye charging port
  
  Well, if they are forced to bring back removable batteries which may be seem the case in a few years (unless they befuddle the EU authorities), they might have to bring back X if they remove it as well...
  
  Apple itself or rumors have already shown they have thought about removing the port altogether.
  
  The "if" is the kwy here. The rules said "if it has a port ... it must be USB-C. They won't have a port soon.
- "Brave"
- The worst part is AirDrop sucks. BT audio is still mediocre at best too.
  
  I'm sure Apple is working on some new wireless standard called "magic connect" or some shit like that. It will be 13.8% better but make all previous devices obsolete and incompatible pushing people to trash their old stuff and buy some new overpriced, proprietary stuff.
  Then when they introduce this new standard, their next presentation slide will pat themselves in the back because they are such a "green" company.
  
  Agree on Bluetooth audio but what are you on about, AirDrop works fine and I use it to push large files between my iPhone and my Mac all the time.
- Wireless is the future 🔮
- Is wireless charging even possible?
  
  To give more details since somebody else gave you the short answer: Not only is it possible, most mid-to-high-end phones and all watches have that feature today. Google "Qi charging", which is the modern global standard (although many devices are still on their own incompatible standards -- Galaxy Watch, I'm looking in your direction).
  
  Yeah, you set your phone on this pad, and it charges without being directly connected.
  
  Yes but it currently wastes a lot of electricity and doesn’t charge the phone as fast in general.
  
  I've been wireless charging for a long time now. Does Apple not have wireless charging?
- On the plus side it'll make waterproofing way easier. And ports are often the first thing to break on phones in my experience. Honestly my biggest disappointment will be the loss of the SIM slot, since e-SIMs give me the creeps. I like that my relationship to the cellular provider is on a part I can pop out.
  
  Yeah gadget makers were able to water proof Walkmans back in the 80s and these were devices with probably a dozen real physical buttons, a headphone jack and battery compartment, and hinged wide open to let a cassette tape inside. Waterproofing as well as durable buttons was something that was solved decades ago regardless of what Apple's marketing bullshit has led people to believe.

ASUS ROG Phones have them. Also with a headphone jack I think.

Weird headphones don't use ucb-c, there is already a standard for headphones and it's the 3.5mm audio jack.
- That's not the only standard though. There is also 6.3mm jack, XLR and many other open and proprietary connectors.
  
  I want XLR my next phone! 😀
- a) I have a USB-c headset at work
  b) the 3.5mm headphone jack can't be used to transfer data (at a good rate)
  
  Not sure what exactly you mean by headset. But headphones and IEMs will use a 3.5mm or 1/4" jack. My sennheisers use it, my beyerdynamics use it, my audio Technicas use it. Even my KZ IEMs and moondrop IEMs use it. This is a universal standard for a reason.
  And not sure what the data rate has to do with anything. It's an audio connector, it's not used to transfer data, it's used to move the drivers in a set of headphones. As usb-c doesn't output line level audio, any headset you have that uses it needs its own DAC and amp which is problematic for e-waste reasons.

This is what life is when all viable phones are made by two giant tech companies.

You can plug a USB hub into your phone. That'd give you more ports.
I'm fairly certain there are hubs out there with a pass-through for charging as well
- Having something built in is so much better than needing a dongle. There's a reason why even Apple brought back ports like hdmi and sd card slot to their Mac book pro line to eliminate even the needing a dongle for some people.
  
  Yeah I'm not saying it's ideal, but it could be a solution to the specific problem that OP was running into
- i know, but it's an extra thing to carry in my pocket
- Am I the only one who uses magnetic cables?
  
  I use them too! My phone usually fast charge at 30W, but with the magnetic cable it is capped at 5W (thanks God). I've seen drastic improvement in term of battery life because it charges slower and do not stress the battery as much as at 30W
- That's what I use to connect external storage on my Chromecast w/ Google TV, kinda useful while traveling and the Internet sucks.. Shame it only supports FAT32 for external drive tho..
- Dongle-life!!

We could even... Charge twice!
- | |
  
  BOOM!
  
  Found the Fedora user!

are you also aware that some phones do have 2 ports ?
just buy one of those
- ROG phone

I never understood why space should be at premium. A phone does not need to be as thin as possible. 1½-2cm thickness is reasonable in my eyes, and would allow so much more ports and/or buttons. I would have use for 2-3 extra buttons.
The biggest pro of two opposing ports: you could always charge your device regardless of orientation. With just a port on the bottom charging while scrolling in the bed is often uncomfortable
- The biggest pro of two opposing ports: you could always charge your device regardless of orientation. With just a port on the bottom charging while scrolling in the bed is often uncomfortable
  This is my biggest problem with my switch! I have to awkwardly hold it when I'm trying to ay laying on the couch or in bed. I hear the Steam Deck has a port on top for charging so it's already begun!
  
  Can confirm top port for the SteamDeck. Perfect for relaxed gaming while charging. :-)
- And most people add a bulky case anyway. Just integrate that shit into the phone!

I think you're crazy 🤣

I agree. If we're going to lose the headphone port in favour of connecting to a universal connection (either directly or via an adaptor) then it's time we have two of them. As for positioning I gather that there are lots of handheld PC's with the one on top and one on bottom configuration and that it's generally accepted to be the best way (and my on top 3.5mm and on bottom USB-c seems to work pretty well) so I think you're right but it would be nice to see manufacturers try out a few different configurations to see in practise what people prefer.
- I think on a phone it would make sense for bottom and side, which is the top of a handheld PC. That way you could have the cord sticking out whatever direction was handy for you by turning your phone.
  
  Asus ROG does this
  
  We'll to be clear, on handheld PC's I'm talking about having them on opposite sides rather than at a right angle to each other. But I can definitely see the advantage to the right angle orientation. Personall I prefer to have them in line, yesterday for example I had my phone plugged in to power, with audio out connected via cable and wanted to be able to watch video in landscape orientation. With top and bottom connections it all paid smoothly in a line, had they been at a right-angle then one of them would have had to go straight up into the air out of the middle of the device.
  I suspect that right angle is better for flexibility in how to connect a single cable at a time but in line is better for connecting multiple cables at once (really side-by-side is best for multiple at a time but you lose nearly all the flexibility for single cable connection.)

Wireless USB never took off. Essentials company was promisimg with PH1, it had wireless USB port. only released two wireless USB compatible devices for it though.
- Well modern USB is great because of decent throughput, high power delivery, multiple protocols over it, and good compatibility.
  Of course removing all of those didn’t work out.

I very much like this idea, would be nice to be able to use a phone in more of a mini-computer manner, whereas at the moment they're somewhat hamstrung.
I'm always surprised phone docks aren't a thing, my work laptop has a USB-c dock that is bristling with ports that are useful.

You know what? As long as the second port isn't gimped in any way (can do video out + all the typical USB things), then I might forgive them for taking away the headphone jack.

I can't relate at all. My phone is a PHONE, with options of short-term entertainment. I have other devices for other "computery" activities. I personally almost never use even my single USB-C port, thanks to wireless charging and wireless headphones. Sounds like your phone is your main device.
- For what current flagship phones cost they should absolutely be capable of general purpose computing.
  Maybe come with a usb-c dock and screen as well for convergence.
  
  Well, it depends what you imagine "general purpose computing" is. Android OS is primarily targeted at phones, with specific set of requirements, so I don't think it can ever match desktop OSes, without major sacrifices from the both worlds.
- Many countries not so well off like us in the West do not have the luxury to have a smartphone and a computer. So options with 2 USB ports would be interesting. The bastardisation of the smartphone is a disgrace.
  
  What exactly is getting bastardized? Phones never had 2 USB ports. And there are still new phones with headphone jack (Zenphone 10 comes to my mind). Yes, many brands dropped it, but it's not a conspiracy (or at lest doesn't have to be), it's just basic economics.
- I have a desktop i use at least 50% of the time and a couple of laptops i barely use because i don't like to carry them, so when i need to do something away from the PC I'll do it with my phone if at all possible. Sounds like you don't use your devices in different places often.

random thing, the newly released Tab S9 series have 2 ports

And the 2nd one could go full thunderbolt too

I want a side port.

Can USB hubs even allow the phone to be charged and simultaneously control things through the same port? I know I tried that back in the USB2 days and found it infuriatingly false, since had set up a wired USB mouse and game controller to my tablet for portable shooters. One particular hazard is I've found that combining bluetooth headphones and game controllers can result in unplayably-bad latency on Android, so wired options would be nice.
- I think yes. USB-C docks are the proof.
- Yes they can and do. The pins are separate and power delivery is both faster and more efficient than it used to be.

I agree with this idea. But it would make it harder to pick up your phone blindly and know which end is the top. I instinctively feel for the usb port on the bottom so it's oriented correctly by the time my arm swings it into view.
- The phone screen can rotate based on orientation. I can use it upside down and it's fully functional
  
  This sounds neat until you need to use the camera or actually phone somebody on it. Which end is the mic?

I still keep a drawing of my ideal phone from years ago and I also has two ports like you mention. I totally agree!
- can i see?

The usb c port on my 2 year old phone is still virgin...never plugged in a cable, ever. My dash mount charges wirelessly, my overnight charger charges wirelessly. I have a wireless charger on my desk if I need it (but never use it). I cannot imagine needing a 2nd usb port.
- Damn I've never heard of a Virgin usb port on a phone before, good going
- i shudder to think about how how much electricity has been wasted for wireless charging..
  
  If you actually took the time to run the numbers you wouldn't shudder, because it is so miniscule that it could be confused with rounding error.

More likely dedicated camera shutter button.
- Why? The volume button does this
  
  The two-stage shutter button from Sony cameras and phones is something I miss dearly.
- Double press power button to start camera, use volume up/down to take image.
  Should work on almost any Android phone.
  
  I jiggle my wrist to open my camera app. And chopping motion turns on the flashlight
  
  Double pressing power pulls up Google assistant on my Motorola...

Never needed it but I could with wireless charging . Also I connect to my TV via Samsung Smart View, no USB required.

I can use my USB port while charging. I have wireless changing and also a dock that gives me hdmi and 2 usb ports that will charge as I use it.

Just get some dongle like this if you need more ports.
- That looks like a a great way to torque the port and break the solder joint.

You shouldn't be using your phone while it's charging. It's bad for battery health.
- thank god user replaceable batteries are coming back
  
  If this is anything like the first EU decision and how it is worded, people are vastly overstating what it actually means. The important part about that one decision is that devices with water protection should only be serviceable by certified professionals, which should include the manufacturer's repairmen and third parties, but not the end user. On the removable batteries part, having pull tabs already suffice the requirements, the batteries just can't be glued down requiring alcohol or other prying methods to remove.
  The devil is in the details
- More and more phones have a mode that is using only the needed power to do what you're doing without charging the battery, like if your battery were disconnected.
- How do I not do that when my battery is at 2% tho
  
  Switch to second phone I guess?
- What about when using it as a hotspot? There is no internet where I am, but I have data, so I use it for laptop use. It's actually my primary ise if data. The hotspot uses a lot of power, tho. Can the os not regulate charging? I thought that was the case now. No need to cycle to lower %s for battery health.

147 comments