Razer Phone CEO explains headphone jack absence
Apple may not have been the first to drop the headphone jack on a smartphone, but as with many things it does, others soon follow its lead en masse. While many were quick to decry the missing headphone jack on the iPhone 7, like Google did last year in promoting the original Pixel range, it then dropped the headphone jack on the Pixel 2 range the very next year. Among the latest to join the ranks of smartphones sans headphone jack is Razer, with its new Razer Phone. Why, you may ask?
Razer’s CEO Min-Liang Tan has taken to Facebook to explain:
I see a lot of feedback on the removal of the headphone jack on the Razer Phone - and I wanted to share some of the thought process when we made the decision.
By removing the headphone jack - we were able to increase the battery size significantly (I estimate we added 500maH more), improve thermals for performance and a whole lot more.
The trade-off was not having the jack - but what sealed it for me was that we were able to get audiophile quality sound with the dedicated 24-Bit THX Certified DAC adapter - and I made sure we included that with every phone. Which basically means we give even better-quality headphone audio for those who want to hold on to their analog headphones.
On top of that, we've released the HammerHead USB C (retails at $79.99) and the HammerHead BT with all day battery life (US$99.99 - or free with Paid to Play!) which makes it a complete solution.
So in short, removing the headphone jack gave better performance, more battery - and on top of that, better headphone audio performance with existing headphones and the option to go completely wireless or jacked in via USB.
I can't speak for other phone companies who made the decision to remove the headphone jack - but I think you guys can see why we did so.
So, there you have it. The removal of the headphone jack on the new Razer Phone was all about packing in more features while simultaneously offering users a superior listening experience, albeit, with dongle in tow. Or, you can buy one of Razer’s own USB-C-equipped headphones or its own Bluetooth headphones. I don’t know about you, but I’m pretty sure we’ve heard similar explanations from Apple, who, as it so happens, also has a nice set of (pricey) Bluetooth headphones you can buy for a “complete solution” (to a problem that didn’t need to exist).
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