OnePlus has officially confirmed to TechRadar that the OnePlus 6T will ditch the 3.5mm headphone jack. OnePlus has long made fun of Apple and other OEMs for ditching the headphone jack on their devices, but it is now joining them in killing the good old jack.

OnePlus CEO Carl Pei says 59 percent of its community already owns wireless headphones which would make the transition easier for a lot of people. Plus, the company has to “make decisions” to optimize the user experience and sometimes that means removing certain components. The 59 percent figure was before the company unveiled its own Bullets Wireless earphones so the figure is likely to be even higher now.

“We also had to think about the negative side [of removing the headphone jack] for our users. We found 59% of our community already owned wireless headphones earlier this year – and that was before we launched our Bullets Wireless headphones.

With wireless earphones growing in popularity and more people owning one more than before, OnePlus believes the time is right for them to ditch the headphone jack from their next smartphone.

So, what benefits will the next OnePlus device offer in lieu of removing the headphone jack? Well, Carl says removing the headphone jack has allowed OnePlus “to put more new technology into the product.” He does not mention anything about what this new technology is, though OnePlus has already confirmed the OnePlus 6T will come with an in-display fingerprint scanner. He also says the battery life will improve which would be “substantial enough for users to realize.”

To help make the transition easier for its users, OnePlus will be bundling a USB-C to 3.5mm adapter in the box. The company also unveiled a USB-C version of its popular Bullet earphones so that users can easily and directly jump on the USB-C earphones bandwagon. (elemergente.com)

OnePlus is bound to receive some flak from its community for removing the headphone jack from the OnePlus 6T. However, the company’s reasoning makes sense as well as more and more users are buying wireless earbuds every passing day.