USB Audio Over USB-C Could Spell Trouble For Headphone Jacks

Although USB has long been able to ferry digital audio data, recent events in the mobile world have put that capability under a microscope. Specifically, the prophesied death of the 3.5 mm audio jack. As if putting the proverbial nail on that decades-old connector's coffin, the USB Implementers Forum has just announced a new USB Audio Device Class 3.0 standard that, well, standardizes digital audio output via the young USB Type-C connector. And even in its announcement, the USB-IF mentions how the new feature could help OEMs remove the 3.5 mm hole from their devices.

If there were any doubt that Apple still has the clout to be a trendsetter, this would probably put those to rest. The latest standardized capability practically combines two things that could arguably be traced back to Apple: the push for USB-C as a standard, all-in-one connector and divesting audio responsibilities from the headphone jack.

Trying to preempt what would be a key feature of the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus, various Android OEMs already jumped the gun with a USB-C only device, like the Moto Z and Moto Z Force. This new standard, however, lays the ground rules for how digital audio should be transmitted via USB-C, ensuring the lowest power consumption possible, and the availability of features like, hotword detection for voice controls.

This development follows roughly a month after HDMI Licensing announced an HDMI Alt Mode that would let USB-C devices and HDMI displays talk directly with one another with no need for converters. Both announcements have the same goals of making USB-C the one connector to rule them all, be it for video or, in this case, audio.

That said, there will, of course be some drawbacks to this vision of USB-C, particularly for devices that have a single USB-C port and nothing else, be they a smartphone or a laptop like the new MacBook. This would mean, of course, that you can only have one peripheral attached to the port a time or, at the very least, be a the mercy of having a multi-port adapter always at hand.