Antonio Villas-Boas/Business Insider
- Samsung's Galaxy S10 includes a standard headphone jack, which has become increasingly rare in today's smartphone landscape.
- Companies such as Apple, Google, and Motorola have cut the headphone jack from their flagship smartphones.
- Most smartphone makers instead require users to connect wired headphones via a dongle.
Apple may be convinced that the future is wireless, but for Samsung the headphone jack is still as relevant as ever.
The company revealed its Galaxy S10 lineup on Wednesday, which includes four different variations of Samsung's new smartphone. Each model, from the less expensive Galaxy S10e to the pricier Galaxy S10+, includes a port for connecting traditional wired headphones.
Samsung remains one of the few major smartphone manufacturers to keep the standard headphone jack on its flagship smartphones. Apple famously parted ways with the headphone jack starting with the iPhone 7 in 2016, which predictably caused a stir. Google's newest Pixel smartphones also lack a headphone jack, as does Motorola's Moto Z3 and the OnePlus 6T. Many of these smartphone makers include a dongle that plugs into the device's USB C port for those who wish to connect wired headphones. LG joins Samsung as being one of the few handset makers that refuses to get rid of the standard headphone jack.
Although it's keeping the option to plug in headphones without a dongle, Samsung did unveil a new pair of wireless earbuds that can automatically pair with compatible devices, similar to Apple's AirPods. It also showcased a wireless charging feature that essentially allows the Galaxy S10 to double as a wireless charging mat for compatible products.
Samsung's new phones will be available for preorder starting on Feb. 21 and include a range of improvements compared to the Galaxy S9. New features include an enhanced display that the company claims offers better color accuracy and a refreshed design that crams the phone's front camera and other components into a single cutout, removing the need for a "notch" above the screen. Samsung also showcased its much-anticipated foldable phone during the event, which it calls the Galaxy Fold.
- Read more from Samsung Galaxy Unpacked:
- LIVE: Samsung unveils new Galaxy phones, watches, and more
- Samsung has finally showed off its new foldable smartphone, the $1,980 Galaxy Fold
- These are the new Galaxy S10 and Galaxy S10 Plus smartphones from Samsung
- Samsung's new wireless earbuds can do one crucial thing that Apple's AirPods can't
- I tried the entire lineup of Samsung's new Galaxy S10 phones. Here's what they're like in person
- Samsung just revealed the Galaxy Watch Active, its new challenger to the Apple Watch
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