The recently released Razer Phone has received a lot of flak for the lack of a headphone jack despite coming with thick top and bottom bezels. With other OEMs, the usual excuse has been that the reduction in front bezels has led to a reduction in the available internal space inside the device as well. Thus, to make maximum use of the internal space, OEMs end up removing the headphone jack from their devices.

This excuse does not work with the Razer Phone since it comes with a 16:9 display and huge top and bottom bezels. Now, clarifying Razer’s stance on the removal of the headphone jack, the company’s CEO Min-Liang Tan has explained what the company gained by removing the jack from the phone.

Razer’s CEO says that by removing the headphone jack, the company was able to increase the battery size by almost 500mAh while also improving the overall thermal performance of the device. As if this was not already enough, the included USB-C DAC with the Razer is 24-bit THX Certified which gives better sound output than what would have been possible with a DAC built into the phone and a headphone jack. Thus, while the removal of the headphone jack might create a temporary inconvenience for many, its pros far outweigh the cons.

To be honest, I am not sure if the explanation from Razer’s CEO is still a good enough excuse to remove the headphone jack from the device. There are still no good USB-C earphones in the market and wireless headphones are expensive and only the super expensive ones offer decent sound output.