We used to have earbuds that don't need to be charged because they had a headphone jack, didn't get lost so easily because they had a cord attached to a headphone jack, never lost the bluetooth connection because they had a headphone jack, and they cost less because they had a headphone jack. https://bsky.app/profile/daisyfm.bsky.social/post/3l3mfjc6sn62k
This issue is solely the fault of capitalism. By removing choice you are forced to by a more premium product, but you're advertised it by all the supposed benefits: one less external opening on the phone, no more tangled headphones, no more dealing with headphones that only work when the cord is plugged in just right, no more chance of your headphone port going bad.
They skip over the fact that most of these issues are directly problematic because of cost cutting and designed obsolescence (aka engineered lifetimes). The opening is one thing, but headphones tangle in pockets easily because they use such thin flimsy cords. Same thing goes for cords breaking in the lining and only working at certain angles: a more robust cord would be less prone to issues.
On top of this, the entire designs of phones not having repairability in mind is the only reason that a headphone port breaking is a big deal. If they were designed to be disassembled with replacement parts being readily available, it wouldn't be an issue. They could even make the ports more robust to decrease failure rate.
One word:
Backwards compatibility.
see also: smart TVs, phones without replaceable batteries
Capitalism also solves the phone jack problem, with the retail availability of USB-C to 3.5mm stereo adapters. Here's a Pixel OEM one for $8 on ebay - https://www.ebay.com/itm/276001290580
I never got rid of my wired headphones, all I had to do was plug their jack into the USB-C dongle and plug that into the phone.
I also have bluetooth earbuds but they don't sound as good as my wired ones, and I also use them less because of 3 other minor hassles: battery charging, my wife steals them, and my wife loses them. Wired ones have none of those issues.
I'm sorry you liked something that is rightfully becoming obsolete 🙁 people liked landlines and beepers too ☹️☹️
My god you guys are a cringefest beyond believe
Grow up. Dude wrote a good comment highlighting how these policies harm the consumer and you reply with "wow how cringe, capitalism good , actually"
That's actually one that I don't think is specific to any instance. By being a Lemmy user we all share some vague view that large corporations are bad, otherwise why would we be here?
Every single problem we face is caused or exacerbated by the logic of capitalism.
So yes, capitalism is bad. Sorry that pointing it out triggers you, but it's important to do so that people begin to understand and we can collectively do something about it. Infinite growth on a finite planet isn't feasible and it's killing all of us.
Communist earbuds made with 14/2 romex
Go back to reddit then. There's a reason you left