Sometimes one size does fit all. We are used to phones and tablets with two ports on the edge — a micro USB slot for charging the phone and a round hole to fit an audio jack and connect headphones or speakers. Prepare to say good bye to the audio port. Industry is all set to ditch the audio jack and let the USB port do double duty — charging devices and providing an audio path. Not the micro USB port as we know it now— but the newer Type C USB which is symmetrical.
The audio jack we now use is smaller, known as the 3.5mm jack, which became popular in the mid 1970s with the Sony Walkman music player.
Last week, in Beijing, the Chinese consumer electronics company LeEco, launched the industry’s first smartphones — Le 2, Le 2 Pro and Le Max 2 — which killed the audio jack to provide just one Type C port. The phones will soon be available in India.
There is more to this shift than an Alladin-like ‘new jack for old’. Once you use a USB connector to attach a headphone, it allows makers to embed electronics in it without having to include batteries — because USB draws power from the phone. A noise cancelling headset neutralises outside noise using special circuits, but the on board penlight cells tend to make the headphones heavy to wear.
In Beijing, LeEco showed some Type C headphones made by a partner, Fiil, with advanced active noise cancelling — yet very small and light and costing the equivalent of just Rs 1,500. Now that they could dispense with the audio jack, LeEco engineers exploited the change to create a whole new standard — Continual Digital Lossless Audio.
In the US audio leader JBL, unveiled the “Reflect Aware C” noise cancelling Type C sports earphones. Last week the US Patent Office released details of an application by Apple for a headphone which also ditched the Type C for a USB-type jack to provide enhanced listening experience. But a product may be months away.
So, let’s get set for phones in the second half of 2016 — and matching headphones or speakers — which sport a USB Type C connection. Also, you can buy Type C splitters, that plug into your phone and offer two sockets, one for charger and one for headphone.
Last week, one person who was quietly relishing the creative use of the Type C connector on a phone, was India-born, US-based scientist Ajay Bhatt, who 20 years ago, created the standard on which the USB was made. He was also involved in the development of the Type C standard.
In a mail with his reaction, Dr Bhatt writes, “During the definition of the USB Type C, I had conceived this idea and talked about it with quite a few people. Yes, this is a very compelling use case and I am glad to see it deployed!”
Let’s say jai ho to that, as we plug and play, the Type C way.