Well, they had my attention because I was looking for new earphones, but they are another stupid tailed design one so guess this is a pass.
Why does it seem like nobody can make minimalistic earphones anymore. They all gotta be huge goady “LOOK AT ME WORLD I HAVE EARPHONES IN” style ones. If I wanted the entire world to know that I was wearing something I would wear headphones. The entire point of earphones is to keep them minimalistic in design, but we’ve lost that along the way.
Can we get back the headphone jacks instead?
I used to share this opinion but grew out of it tbh.
From an engineering perspective headphone jacks are: a) a huge waste of space for no real functionality as the function is integrated in USB-C or lightning.
b) an unnecessary weak point in water- and dustproofing.
If you need an audio jack, specialised models still have it or a dedicated android audio player (fiio make great ones) will serve you better.
I say this as an audiophile btw.
I wouldn’t miss the audio jack, if phones had two usb-c ports, one for charging and one for audio. But all adapter I tried that allowed charging the phone while listening to audio where very flimsy and/or unhandy.
I just would like not every device to have is own built-in or custom battery. Them being changeable is good, but I would also love if we start having a smaller set of standardized formats.
There were water- and dustproofed jacks.
There are, but they’re even more bulky, and they are waterproof in the sense that the water wouldn’t damage the device, but the port itself is still vulnerable, and very much so. Unless it has a flap, but no regular phone used that ever.
I’m OK with flaps.
That’s what she said.
There are several models that still have it. When I bought my most recent phone it was one of my personal requirements. I think there were 6 or 7 models to choose from that were all essentially the same as any other modern phone, but had a 3.5 jack. That was a while ago, but there are still some new models rocking it. I use it all the time.
I have a cheap, perfectly serviceable 2026 Motorola that has one.
Its over. The jack is dead
I don’t care, I still won’t use overpriced earbuds with subpar converters and speakers, just because techbros really liked an anime cyberpunk girl art who happened to have them, and then reposted it to 9gag million times with the text “Apple needs to make this now!”.
You will wear ze buds
Gotta defend wireless earbuds a bit. They do add a lot of convenience for everyday activities. I’d never want to go back to wired for running, the cable flapping around is just too annoying. I also like them more for commuting and (grocery) shopping, I just kept getting tangled up when putting a bag or backpack on and off.
But nobody is forced to use them. If you’re on a budget, get an adaptor that isn’t clunky. For audiophile needs, adaptors, different cables, mobile DACs or dedicated music players are usually used, the latter usually with headphone jacks.
I’m so fucking sick of AirPod designs. It’s fucking stupid. I lose them frequently and they’re never comfortable, and they’re expensive as hell.
[Edited grammar]
Ah so they’re making money because you’re replacing them because that’s how they designed them, to get lost. I just never used them. At this point, I’d rather enjoy honking headphones over those troublesome nuggets.
I despise them, my favorite headphones are the sort of sport Bluetooth headphones that have a soft wire holding the headphones together.
I’ve been using them for years but it’s getting harder and harder to find a quality pair these days.
When I just bought a Fairphone a few weeks ago, I just barely missed the free fairbuds deal. I inquired about it and they gave me a $100 discount code for each phone. I held off buying them because I had a feeling there were about to drop new earbuds. Glad I did.
How hard is it for them to include a DAC and aux port in their phones? They’re tiny! I tried using Bluetooth headphones with the OnePlus 5 but the poor sound quality and constant need to recharge and replace due to their batteries dying every few months was exhausting. That experience was enough to drive me back to the exceptional reliability of plug and play traditional headphones with a Galaxy Xcover 6 Pro.
I don’t care how easy it is to replace the batteries in Fairphone’s new headphones. Their ethos should compel them to include a jack for those who don’t want to waste rare earth metals.
Phone thickness is the excuse, but adtech is the reason. Just look at how camera lenses are handled.
Forcing everyone to use Bluetooth means you’re more likely to leave it permanently enabled. And that means a lot more data for adtech. All those beacons in shopping and urban areas make population-scale measurement trivial.
An audio jack is anything but tiny in a mobile phone form factor… Theres just no way to keep it without sacrificing something else.
It already has a dac, so the only thing missing is the 3.5mm jack. Otherwise, where do you think the signal for the speaker comes from?
Techbros have mastered their hardware enshittification skills with the headphone jack fiasco.
Agreed 100%. I’d buy a Fairphone instantly if it had a headphone jack.
I agree that phones should just come with an aux port, but I’ve also never experienced the issues with wireless earbuds that I see other people talk about.
In fact I think my original airpod pros lasted longer than any pair of wired earbuds I’ve owned. I had them for years and they were still working fine when I lost one. Currently I use wired earbuds to help keep track of them.
Why not just use usb-c if you want wired headset?
I ruined my iPhone 15’s usb-c port by using an adapter. I used it when I cut the grass with my phone in my pocket. Now the port doesn’t grip cables right. Not being able to use the adapter while my phone is in my pocket eliminates most use cases for me.
I don’t want to have to buy and think about bringing jack to USB-C adapters whenever I want to plug into a speaker at a party or a car stereo, and I want to be able to charge my phone in these situations, or while I listen to podcasts to help me fall asleep at night with some battery-heavy sleep tracking activated
I wasn’t trying to say you wanting a wired headset is somehow not valid. I just always felt that a $3 C to 3.5 adapter you can permanently attach to your wired headphones is a weird hill to die on. For about $15 you can buy enough for that to never again be a consideration when buying a new phone.
I see it as a question of convenience, economics, and waste. It’s so easy to plug and play a jack without worrying about your headphones’ charge level or pairing them. No aux ports also means you have to pay a USB C adapter tax for one that may eventually break or get lost and it forcing you to pick between quietly listening to your audio and charging your phone. I’ve personally saved about $60 USD a year on average by not having to swap out dead Bluetooth headphones as well.
I get it if you like the convenience but it really wouldn’t kill these phone manufacturers to keep such a useful legacy component in the hopes you’d buy some additional accessories from them to fix a problem they created.
If waste and efficiency are real concerns you should be against the old headphone jacks. They waste a lot of space and are an entrypoint for water and dust, for redundant functionality that already exists in usbc or lightning
They may be an entry point for water and dust yet my current 3.5mm jack equipped Xcover 6 Pro is IP68 rated at 1.5m of water for 35 minutes according to GSMArena. I’m not exactly looking to go snorkeling with my phone any time soon either so it’s not like it’ll be a concern for anyone in the vast majority of use cases. I’ve had water splash on it occasionally over the years and it never caused any harm either.
I can’t really talk about what the PCB footprint of a 3.5mm jack is but if it’s something that already comfortably existed on most previous phones along with micro SD and Sim card holders until very recently then I doubt it actually matters. Keep in mind phone manufacturers are incentivized to hold back on as many features as possible if it means they can cut down on BOM costs and make an additional sale through apps or accessories down the line.
Damn. The original fairbuds came with my fairphone and I was a big fan from the start. Zero issues with hardware or software, or sound quality. Sure glad I opened this thread to understand how lousy they actually are.
Guess there was a reason why they habded the old ones out
Woh ! 1700 partners trackers to accept before viewing this page ? Seriously ?
Here is the official press release.
It didn’t take that long to find, I wish people would link primary sources more often.
Here you go my brother in tech: https://archive.ph/G8uCm
domain blocked in my country because of csam material 😭
I would like to talk to you about our Lord and Savior VPN
I know, it’s just not enough! They are really tightening their belts to give you that content. /s
I daily the OG fairbuds, and while I love the repairability, I can honestly say they’re some of the worst earbuds I’ve ever used.
They have connection problems
they fail to charge when placed in the case half the time
The. touch controls are finicky and often miss taps, but somehow they can be activated by a single strand of hair landing on the case.
The app just doesn’t work, I have never been able to get it to connect to the earbuds.
I’ve reported all of these issues to Fairphone, and I’ve recieved little in the way of helpful responses. Hopefully they have managed to make their second gen product more usable, because I do genuinely think a repairable earbuds is a phenomenal idea. And yeah, despite all the issues I still use them everyday.
That’s really disappointing to hear (pun not intended). I’ve been looking for a pair of these earphones that are actually worth the money, because I got sick of paying for airpods only for them to fail within 2 years like clockwork.
Just throwing these things away is horrendous and I was hoping that fairbuds would be good.
As its a first gen product from a pretty green hardware company, it wasn’t super surprising to me they had serious issues. The real test will be to see if the second generation fixes those issues without adding a bunch more.
I got the Earfun Air Pro 4 about a year or so ago on sale (I think about 45 dollars) and have never looked back. The app works without having to create an account or sign in, they sound great (for sub-100 dollars earbuds, but I’ve never paid more than that so have nothing to compare to), the noise cancelling is brilliant too.
The only issue I’m having over the last couple of months is that the battery on the earphones (but not on the case) seem to be draining a bit faster now. I’m guessing that’s to be expected, as I use them all the time, but thought it was worth mentioning.
Thanks, I’ll have a look at them!
As another user of the og Fairbuds, the issue with charging is actually due to the rubber they use to make the battery compartment a little sweat resistant. If it moves it can stick out a hair enough to visibly keep the case from closing all the way. Grab the rubber and rotate it back to where it should be (there’s a notch) and it’ll charge just fine.
As far as daily use, audio isn’t amazing, it’s also not terrible. I’ve had worse earbuds in quality come with iPhones. Touch controls were a bit finicky but have gotten easier as I’ve adjusted to using them. It seems like people expect pro-audio speaker level of quality out of Bluetooth earbuds nowadays and that isn’t what they’re getting with any of these between the quality loss of the Bluetooth codec and the tiny speakers in the earbuds. Maybe I’m crazy but earbuds just need to play music acceptably while traveling, they’re not a replacement for good headphones or good speakers…
This is pretty much my experience so far, audio quality is mid but better than I’d expect from earbuds. I wish they’d just charge when they are in their slot instead of needing to close the case, it’s just weird requiring that the case be closed. The app is pretty terrible, but it isn’t required and doesn’t do much anyway. Touch controls are similar to what I’ve experienced with all the other touch control buds I’ve used, with better control over volume. The noise canceling works, but isn’t amazing. I’d like a little more battery life, but I’m happy to sacrifice that for being able to replace the battery when I need to rather than throwing them out. I wish they had a zero delay mode as I can notice it when watching videos, but it’s not a big of a delay as others with a delay.
Man I’d forgotten about the app it never worked for me!
Good of you to share your experience, any idea if this is general consensus or more your specific unit?
Not ideal, but hopefully you just selflessly funded their beta and V2 is stable
Don’t forget that the Bluetooth is outdated to the point that it doesn’t sync with video properly so can only really be used for listening to music. Insane. Source(also a daily driver)
Bluetooth has a delay for most codecs. Do not ask me how it is exactly done but there is a feedback to the application so that it delays audio to match video for the bluetooth delay. Some years ago a new Linux audio subsystem was developed, and this thing did not work at start but they fixed it later. From that time is my memory.
I haven’t had that issue fortunately, I use mine to watch video all the time and have had no synchronization issues. Maybe later batches updated the BT modem?
that’s not true, i use bluetooth headphones regularly to watch videos.
They’re talking about fairphone earbuds… how did you fail to understand that?
Uff
I bought the original fairbuds at launch. I’m not gonna pretend they are good sound quality for music - bass especially is terrible - but they are fine for podcasts and the like.
I’ve had to have one bud - right iirc - replaced under warranty, no hassle beyond the obvious annoyance of it breaking.
When they break again, I’ll likely replace them with whatever version of fairbuds exist then. Ultimately I care more about how fairphone source their materials, the reparebility, and setting a precident, than if a pair of buds I use for maybe 3 hours a week are a bit crap.
Not a glowing review, but yknow.
The new Fairbuds sounds like (pun intended) it’s going to have a better audio quality.
AFAIK there’s an upper limit to how good can they sound anyway because Bluetooth is kinda crap for audio.
I’ve tried telling apart 256 kbps compressed music from uncompressed. I couldn’t do it using wired headphones
Most people cannot. Anyone using Spotify has probably never even gotten into the audio quality settings to change the bitrate as it defaults to Auto. Auto shifts the bitrate down unless you’re on WiFi and you’ve set it to max quality. If you’re on mobile data it goes way down. I’ve had friends who are listening and it sounds awful, you can hear the aub-mp3 quality compression. They never care when I point it out.
Depends upon the codecs supported by all hardware involved. If your sending device supports it, these new buds support decent quality.
The modern Bluetooth 6.0 chip is also intended to contribute to the improved sound, as it supports LC3 and the Sony LDAC hi-fi codec in addition to SBC and AAC.
I’m not arguing about what is technically possible. I’m arguing about what is practically possible: Samsung (biggest market share) supports LC3 for example, but they can also break it and replace it with their custom codecs to lock people into their ecosystem. Making Sony LDAC the only real choice, and there’s no telling when they will break that too. This means that in practice, only SBC and to a lesser extent AAC and SBC-XQ are the only codecs you know for certain will work.
Bluetooth can support lossless.
Only if both your device and your earbuds both support aptX Lossless, which in practice means it almost never gets used because Samsung (holder of most of the market) does not pay for the licence or enable it in their phones, and the Chinese brands only do so for specific tiers and processors.
That is true. Fairphone 6 supposedly supports lossless, but with e/os it only goes to regular aptX. I have yet to try it with different phone to see if I can spot difference.
Seeing all the moderately negative reviews for the 1st gen earbuds they made, I just want to add, if you are in the market for over ear headphones, the fairbuds xl (I think that is what they are called), are pretty good in my opinion.
They also released a 2nd gen model of these like last year, I had mine since February or so, I really like them. I am no audiophile but they sound good to me.
The 1st gen model had some issues with stability of some plastic parts for some customers, I haven’t had any issues with these 2nd gen ones and I use them almost every day.
I love the build quality of my gen 2 XLs but the ANC is garbage.
Yeah, can confirm. It wasn’t something that was important for me so if it is for anyone, do not buy these.
For me it works well enough at work in the office. Doesn’t block out everything but enough that I can concentrate on what I am doing.
Just give me a fucking headphone jack. I’d buy one of these phones in a heartbeat for a headphone jack dude.
I used to agree; but I haven’t had to deal with cord noise in the same amount of time as has passed since the headphone jack went away. Inexpensive Bluetooth earbuds are a dime a dozen now. Besides having to charge my earbuds in addition to my phone, I’m struggling to find the inconvenience here.
For me personally, charging is the inconvenience. That and having to buy new earbuds over and over when I shouldn’t have to.
To each their own though
Why are you buying new earbuds over and over when you shouldn’t have to? I’ve got a pair of Skullcandy Dime 2’s that cost around $25 and I’ve been using for at least four years now. My wired earbuds didn’t last any longer, and it was usually the cord that would get messed up first.
Maybe I’m just not finding the right brand, every Bluetooth earbud I’ve tried have been pretty lackluster. Either the sound isnt good, the batteries don’t last or both. Haven’t had good experiences with them thus far.
Fair enough. If you can’t get a phone with the aux jack, then I’d recommend the Anker Soundcore P31i. Got them for around $30 on sale. Comfortable, active noise cancelling, the battery in each bud can go all day, and the case has enough battery to keep recharging the buds for weeks. I’ve only plugged them in two or three times in the 6+ months I’ve had them.
I’ve got a pair of Skullcandy Dime 2’s that cost around $25 and I’ve been using for at least four years now
Same. I have some Anker model for 5 years now or maybe even longer. All of the previous wired earbuds (I even bought an expensive pair) didn’t last this long. I use them regularly as well. Battery seems to last ok even now, enough for most tasks.
From their website:
Why newer Fairphone models do not have an audio jack
Removing the traditional 3.5mm audio jack gives us space inside the phone to make key hardware improvements. Without this opening, we can fit a larger battery, design a slimmer smartphone, and preserve room for repairable spare parts. Removing the port also helps seal the phone against water and dust, allowing modern models to reach IP ratings like IP55 on Fairphone 4 and IP68 on Fairphone 5. Moving audio to the USB-C port and Bluetooth connections lets us build a more durable phone that lasts as long as possible.
I still call Bullshit though. So annoying. And the PP NTS that the make are not even really true. Its not like you can’t do this things with a headphone jack.
It’s not bullshit. I deal with the repair and engineering side of 1/8” phone jacks and they’re fucking stupid ass miniaturized versions of designs from 70 years ago that have to maintain mechanical backwards compatibility with several profiles and conductor arrangements, literally cannot be reliably implemented in a high IP way, cost a bunch, are worse to clean than even usbc and provide a very high leverage thing to torque on your board as well as necessitate additional pcb space for the dac and its power conditioning, shielding and other stuff.
And people who like 1/8” will just buy a dongle anyway.
Lmao same 🥲
I literally had it in my shopping cart ready to buy when I discovered they removed the headphone jack.
I went with Motorola instead
I too just bought a Motorola. My pixel 8 developed a line in the screen. I missed the headphone jack so much I decided I care more about that than I do the privacy of grapheneos. I did put /e/os on it though.
What Motorola did you buy? I went with a moto 5g 2024.
Lmao my Pixel 8 also developed the line. I had the screen replaced once, but it happened again within a year and by then it was out of warranty.
I’ve had so many different Nexus/Pixel devices over the years, but Pixel 8 was a much worse experience than a Motorola and I had to pay 2x more for the privilege.
Now I’m on a Moto g power 2025.
People who also miss aux, could you share what you use it for?
I mean, for headphones.
I did buy the fairphone 6, and it does in fact work in the US (with some finagling).
The lack of a headphone port is a disappointment, but it’s fine as long as you get a GOOD dac. A shitty one will be the worst audio experience you’ll ever have. I use this: generic dac (sorry for the Amazon link, I’m sure they’re available other places.)
My everyday earbuds are essentially cheap studio monitors. I like these because the sound is great and if the cable breaks I can just replace the $10 cable and keep the high quality headphones. And there’s no battery to fuss with, you just plug them in and they work.
I can see the benefits not having another battery to take care of, or for long trips. I guess it depends what you hate more, extra battery or cables.
Yeah 100%. So hey, if the cable bothers you more, then the audio port doesn’t really matter. But I just hate the battery management, so that’s where I stand.
Connecting it to a mixing station and doing a sound check before the band.
Thanks. Have similar use, for that we’ve got an adapter, what sucks is than you need one for C one for lightning.
Different usecases. Free hands vs. good sound.
I want them to bring back more buds that are connected to each other, so it’s harder to lose them.
I still have my wired, lightning earbuds; of course, now, iPhones use USB-C so… what was the point, geesh.
I like the wireless. I just want more premium ones that have a cord between them. My old Jaybird X3s were spectacular, but they became a budget brand making cheapo devices.
I also miss having buttons instead of touch controls. The touch controls get triggered by getting wet.
I wonder whether they are as shitty as the first ones and whether they allow to disable the annoying “battery low” warning.
Sounds nice, though its over double the price of my current ones and the ones only held in place by being wedged inside your ear don’t really appeal to me, they can fall out easily. I use over ear ones instead as they allow you to hear a bit more of what is going on around you.
Has anyone used these or the previous model who can comment on their lifespan? Since there isn’t a typical operating system to become unmaintained I’d hope they could last many times longer than a smartphone.
I got mine for “free” with the phone. They are terrible. Microphone is unusable (nobody can understand me). Additionally for some reason fairphone reworked the app, breaking it in the process, making the buds even worse (e.g. EQ not working). Also i have hiss in the left one. Definitely would not recommend.
I have the old model that I bought because I am quite happy with my Fairphone 5 and also because I am a proud beta soyboy.
And oh boy, are they shit. I’m on the third pair, after returning 2 shortly after I got them because the right earbud stopped working in 2 slightly different ways.
My current pair recently started making a faint clicking noise in… You guessed it: The right earbud. After less than a year of light use. And people complain of poor sound quality when I use the mic on calls.
It’s great that you can replace the batteries and all and I have no issues recommending Fairphone, but I can’t recommend their earbuds.
I will likely look to Samsung when I grow tired of the clicking noises.
The new Sennheiser Momentums claim to have user-replaceable batteries fwiw.
I appreciate the reality check.
I’d say check on the new model once it drops and see if reviews are better after a year or so.
Fair
Is like to note that while the battery is replaceable and looks like a common battery, it’s actually priority. So if they stop making the battery, it’s over. I haven’t needed it yet but it irks me.
Your autocorrect made a booboo.
It entered priority instead of proprietary
Maybe proofread your comment before posting next time. This was hard to read.
I’d like to note that, while the battery is replaceable and looks like a common battery, it’s actually proprietary. So, if they stop making it, it’s over. I haven’t needed to replace mine yet, but it irks me.
Also sound quality and fit, that’s what I’m curious about
Can anyone tell you if it fits your ears?
Sound quality is mediocre, fit is good. The Bluetooth connection is rather short range. I got them with my Fairphone so I am OK with them but I also hope they are doing better with the new generation.
