Be Honest: Your Next Laptop Doesn’t Need a Headphone Jack

It’s been years since we’ve had to debate the merits of analog headphone jacks. But like it or not, we’ve all moved on to our smartphones, coming to terms with the fact that wireless earbuds, USB-C (or Lightning) headphones, and the occasional dongle will suffice. Even the iPad Pro has moved on from the beloved headphone jack.

But in 2022, the problem has returned – and this time it’s for laptops.

The Dell XPS 13 Plus is the company’s new flagship laptop, a device brimming with new ideas and innovations. Among those features are an invisible haptic touchpad, an edge-to-edge keyboard, and even a row of capacitive touch buttons to replace the function keys.

The extremely compact and refined design, however, left no room for a conventional audio jack. It’s not that the device is too thin to house a headphone jack – after all, even the ultra-slim MacBook Air M2 includes one.

Instead, it’s about how Dell’s designers choose to use the space they have. The XPS 13 Plus’ keyboard extends to the edge of the sides of the chassis, giving the device an extremely efficient design. No space is wasted, allowing the extra-large keys to extend to the edge of the laptop. It’s a spectacular look.

But that also means that the only place available to include the ports is in the small area between the keyboard and the hinge. Without wanting to give up either of the two USB-C ports, that left the headphone jack on the cutting room floor. In other words, it’s the removal of the headphone jack that enables this kind of design innovation.

That’s far more warranted than what was given when the iPhone first ditched its headphone jack. We were told this would allow for thinner devices, bigger batteries and more functionality – but we were never given the proof. With the XPS 13 Plus, Dell showed how certain designs were discarded due to the need for a headphone jack.

This will not be true for all laptops that decide to remove this port in the future. Some manufacturers will undoubtedly jump on the bandwagon just to look edgy or trendy. But who knows what other innovation extra space in the chassis might allow? Every millimeter counts and one less port can sometimes make all the difference.

And because smartphones have paved the way for the accelerated adoption of wireless audio, we’re much more ready to leave the headphone jack behind. Wireless headphones are cheap and widely available, although connectivity standards such as Bluetooth 5.2 continue to improve.

Personally, I found myself using the headphone jack less and less on laptops – and I bet you will too. You do not believe me ? Go ahead and count how many times you actually need to use it over the next week. I bet it’s less than you think.

Back when I was using the XPS 13 Plus, I only encountered one situation where I actually wished I had a headphone jack. My wireless headphones were dead and I wanted to listen to music while I worked. Lo and behold, there was nowhere to plug in my spare pair of wired headphones. Thing is, the Dell adapter included in the box fixed that problem in seconds. Before I knew it, I was back at work. It’s a bit of a clunky solution, but hey, it showed me just how small my perceived “need” for a headphone jack really was.

Now I know what you are saying. You love your set of old wired computer speakers that you use at your desk. Or maybe you appreciate the ease of connecting to your living room entertainment system. Or maybe you just hate Bluetooth.

I’m not saying that every laptop in the future will have to give up headphone jacks. The sheer variety of designs in the world of PCs and laptops is its great strength, and that means there will always be room for devices that carry older ports. Heck, even Apple reversed course on its MacBook Pros to bring back ports like HDMI and an SD card slot. There are some use cases with laptops that certainly make sense to include a headphone jack.

But don’t poop innovation. I agree that removing features for the sake of removing them doesn’t help anyone. But Dell has already proven that there are benefits to taking the plunge – and, for one, I’m ready to accept what a future without a headphone jack holds.

Editors’ Recommendations