OnePlus is in the limelight again, and for a wrong reason, again. The OnePlus 6T will not have a headphone jack, and here’s our take on it.
It’s official, in an interview with Techradar, Carl Pei, the company’s founder confirmed this.
The OnePlus 6T will not have a headphone jack: Official “reason”
Pei defended this move, claiming it will help pack a bigger battery in to the phone. He went on to say that this is the right time, to remove the headphone jack. He quoted some stats, which said that:
“59% of our community already owned wireless headphones earlier this year, and that was before we launched our Bullets Wireless headphones”.
Wow, that is totally sensible, not. Need we remind you about the plethora of flagship phones out there, which have a massive battery and retain the headphone jack. Not to mention, this is the same company, which has always not given much importance to the battery capacity, and instead focuses on Dash Charging. So, what changed now? We don’t know.
We don’t think that these stats could be true, it is probably a marketing technique to drum up the sales of their own wireless headphones. Even if it was, that means 41 out of 100 people still used the traditional 3.5mm headphones. That’s 41 units of the OnePlus 6T which isn’t going to sell. If we look at it on a larger scale, OnePlus could be looking at a loss which could be monumental.
Why did OnePlus arrive at this decision. Is this the right decision? Well, no to put it mildly. Personally, I feel it is a completely idiotic move, one which will kill the phone’s sales, even before it has been launched. People who were waiting for the OnePlus 6T, will buy something else now, and they are right to do so.
Pei’s excuse about including a bigger battery is a facade. The real reason why the OnePlus 6T will not have a headphone jack is because of Apple. Almost every OEM (with the exception of Samsung), has copied whatever the Cupertino company does. They included a notch in the iPhone X, the rest of the world follows. They ditched the headphone jack, and companies including the mighty Google which mocked the decision when the OG Pixel was launched, followed suit.
OnePlus is no exception. About 6 months ago, OnePlus made fun of Apple’s decision to get rid of the audio port, and now they are going to do the same, shamelessly.
Here is a Tweet from Pei, in March 2018, which says the demand for headphone jacks is stable.
https://twitter.com/getpeid/status/974277638603747328
Here are a few more tweets from the company, which has come back to haunt it.
You have headphones. The #OnePlus3 has a headphone jack. It’s not rocket science ;) pic.twitter.com/jdfZWlfMMi
— OnePlus (@oneplus) September 7, 2016
Excited to see what headphones you plug into the #OnePlus5T's headphone jack!
— OnePlus (@oneplus) November 16, 2017
Is this the right time for OnePlus to ditch the headphone jack? NO
What makes this worse, is the timing. Poco released the Poco F1, which is available globally, and it packs everything you need for just $300. And that includes a headphone jack. The Zenfone 5Z has one, Samsung’s phones do too, and these are likely to benefit from OnePlus’ loss, though they are more expensive.
The OnePlus 6T is expected to be priced at about $550, which is nearly twice the price of the Poco F1, and the 6T still lacks a basic feature. One has to wonder, whether if this has anything to do with Oppo, OnePlus’ parent company. Yes yes, we know you are a startup, we believe you.
OnePlus usually follows the design pattern of whichever phone Oppo has released recently, in this case it is the Oppo R17. This includes the waterdrop notch display design. Do you know what is the irony here? The Oppo R17 has a 3.5mm headphone jack, but the Oppo R17 Pro doesn’t. This is what OnePlus is following.
The real reason why the OnePlus 6T will not have a headphone jack
OnePlus is about to launch its new wireless buds. So, you don’t have to wait for the device to charge. You can listen to your music or watch videos simultaneously, because of the new OnePlus Wireless Bullets. Yay? This is also a copy of Apple’s Air Pods. Really, do these people have any ethics?
The OnePlus 6T will not have a headphone jack because the company wants to make more money, by selling the wireless buds. This is the real reason why the phone does not have a 3.5mm headphone jack. Same goes for Apple and the others. It is simple sales logic, one which the users need to watch out for.
And of course, there is the fact that Bluetooth audio is still not good. It is slow, unreliable, has connection issues, and also requires an extra effort of charging the headphones. It is not convenient at all.
Should you go for a phone which isn’t offering a complete value for your money? Never Settle.
