Phone manufacturers primarily remove the headphone jack to facilitate the creation of thinner devices.
The Drive for Thinner Designs
As innovation continues, screens on smartphones are getting larger, yet the overall thickness of the devices is decreasing year after year. While this makes phones sleeker and potentially more comfortable to hold, it presents engineering challenges for internal components.
According to the "Thin is In" perspective often cited in the industry, the traditional 3.5mm headphone jack is a component that occupies a significant amount of internal space relative to the diminishing thickness of modern smartphones.
To address this, smartphone companies have made design decisions that remove the headphone jack entirely. This removal makes way for thinner model devices, allowing engineers more room internally for other components or simply achieving a reduced overall profile for the phone.
Essentially, the physical size of the headphone jack has become incompatible with the industry trend towards ultra-thin smartphone designs. Removing it is seen as a necessary trade-off to achieve these thinner dimensions.
