Sony’s latest Android smartphones, the Xperia XZ2 and XZ2 Compact, mark a significant change for the company, but not all of that is positive for everyone. In a recent Q&A, Sony gives a little bit of extra insight as to why it removed the headphone jack from its latest flagships.
If you’ll recall from MWC, the Sony Xperia XZ2 and XZ2 Compact finally went official, and they both seem to be pretty compelling options from the company. Sony’s designs over the past several years have been stale, so the fresh new look on these devices is more than welcome.
One of the details about these new designs that flew under the radar a bit, though, is how thick these phones are. In a world where “flagship” and “thin” go hand-in-hand, it was a bit odd to see phones that are up to 12mm thick, especially when Samsung and Apple flagships float between 7mm and 8mm.
Regardless, the extra space makes room for bigger batteries and even a new enhanced vibration motor in the larger phone. However, it apparently didn’t make room for a headphone jack, which bothered some potential customers.
As Sony states in a blog post, the headphone jack is missing as “part of the shift to our new Ambient Flow design language.” The company goes on to say that its designers “needed to remove the headphone jack” to create that design. The thickness brings up some red flags with that, but Sony’s final statement on the matter is what really seems to reveal what’s happening here.
Plus, we’re aware of the major market trend toward wireless headphones over wired headphones.
It’s clear that Sony is following market trends with this decision, but at the very least, there’s still an adapter for wired headphones in the box which offers support for “Hi-Res Audio.”
9to5Google’s Take
From how I read this response, it’s clear that Sony has made this shift simply to follow the trends of the market. Some designs do indeed require the removal of a headphone jack, but we’ve seen devices on several occasions with thinner designs and slimmer bezels offer that hardware, so it’s pretty clear that removing it probably wasn’t completely necessary.
What do you think about Sony removing the headphone jack? Drop a comment below and let us know.
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