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Galaxy S6 headphone jack placement

cr6

Super Moderator
Staff member
Those of you familiar with the Galaxy S line know that previous versions have always had the headphone jack on the top of the device. On the S6 & S6 Edge, Samsung has moved the 3.5mm jack to the bottom of the phone.
Does this concern you? Do you prefer the jack to be on the top of the device, or on the bottom? Or do you utilize Bluetooth only and so it's not a concern?

Being that my previous 3 smartphones have been Galaxy S models, I'm used to the placement being on top. I typically spend 45 min to an hour on my device each night before bed catching up on news, YouTube, etc....so having the device in hand, with the jack on top makes for a much more comfortable viewing experience. That said, I do typically turn my device horizontally to view videos, in which case it's not really a concern, but I do think it would bother me if I had to switch now.
My first gen Nexus 7 has the headphone jack on the bottom and I find it frustrating because the cord often gets in the way when holding the device vertically.

What are your thoughts? Do you prefer the top or the bottom when it comes to the headphone jack placement on your device? Will this in any way affect your decision to purchase the S6?

S5 tap'n
 
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I'm happy to see it moving to the bottom. I think it's a much better placement for a couple of reasons.

1) When I put my phone in my pocket, I do so with the screen against my leg and the top turned down. This is so that when I pull it out of my pocket, it's already in my hand exactly the way I'll use it with no need to rotate or turn the phone. With the headphone jack on the bottom, it's turned up in my pocket. If I'm using wired headphones, that's a huge plus.

2) When I have the phone vertically in my hand, I don't have to worry about finding a way to keep the cord in place. It's not hanging behind the phone or at times coming in front of the screen. It is a little annoying depending on how you hold the phone vertically, but it's an easy adjustment for me.
 
I plug mine into my truck. The holder for the phone makes a button plug not work unless I turn the phone upside down. I use Bluetooth when mobile but I've never liked a jack on the bottom when I used to use corded. I've always used a holster of some kind and a cord on the bottom made the cord too short.
 
Seems the only thing that stays the same is change.

But you have to ask, why? Was it employee or customer feedback?
 
Seems the only thing that stays the same is change.

But you have to ask, why? Was it employee or customer feedback?
It could also have been due to design needs. When planning out the internal components, moving it to the bottom may have provided a better overall layout. With devices getting thinner and thinner, internal space is extremely valuable.
 
It could also have been due to design needs. When planning out the internal components, moving it to the bottom may have provided a better overall layout. With devices getting thinner and thinner, internal space is extremely valuable.
In that case it would be employee, engineer. But you have a point.
 
The only time that the audio jack at the top made sense to me was maybe for use in the car. I've done it a few times and if the headphone jack had been used on the bottom on my s4, it would've drove me crazy. Otherwise when my phone goes in my pocket it's top first, so a bottom aux port makes more sense to me.
 
I guess it depends on how you pull it out of your pocket. I've always been used to pulling it straight out and up (from my back pocket.....I rarely put my phone in my front pocket while using earbuds) to look at my device without any problems. I'm impartial in regards to using it in my car as my dock rotates horizontally so it's never been in the way. I CAN however see how it would be more convenient with the jack on the bottom when placed in said car dock vertically.

S5 tap'n
 
I guess it depends on how you pull it out of your pocket. I've always been used to pulling it straight out and up (from my back pocket.....I rarely put my phone in my front pocket while using earbuds) to look at my device without any problems. I'm impartial in regards to using it in my car as my dock rotates horizontally so it's never been in the way. I CAN however see how it would be more convenient with the jack on the bottom when placed in said car dock vertically.

S5 tap'n
Definitely depends on person. Only a few times I've used my phone as my mp3 player on the go with the use of headphones. Putting it in my pocket that way always felt awkward to me, as putting it in my pocket top first was second nature.

As for the car situation, I don't have a car dock and always used one of the cup holders to rest my phone. With the headphone jack on the top on my s4 it was perfect, but with the headphone jack on the bottom now, would make for a bit of weird use. Now I have BT audio so doesn't matter anymore though.
 
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I have BT audio as well, but found I get much louder volume via the cable so I use it the majority of the time. Since the top of my cable is only a few inches from the input in my head unit, there isn't an issue with excess cable in the way. I'd rather have louder music than no cable. (But that could be due to hearing loss from too many rock concerts when I was younger) [emoji38]

S5 tap'n
 
I prefer the jack on the bottom because I run with an armband. Having it on top puts strain on the plug and jack if the cord is dangling while I'm running. I'm glad they moved it to the bottom like my GN. Now I want to know a little about the signal/GPS strength before I decide if it's time for a new phone.
 
With these phones getting thiner and thiner, it would not surprise me to see the headphone jack go away and replaced with some type of wireless experience.

I tend to think this as well. With a good equalizer app the Bluetooth headphones are just as good as the wired headphones so it doesn't make any sense to keep the hardware around.
 
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