Essential Phone Headphone Jack: Now An Adapter

This week the folks at Essential decided to go the dongle route when it came to a headphone jack for PH-1. Their device already had the ability to administer sound through its USB-C port, but barring that or Bluetooth, there was no traditional way to plug in and jam. Now, with the Audio Adapter HD, there's a headphone jack again. It connects through the pogo-pins at the back of the PH-1 phone.

According to Essential, the Audio Adapter HD is "one of the first to sport a high-resolution ESS Sabre DAC that does hardware MQA rendering." That means you've got high-quality audio, amplified through the accessory. This accessory connects to "almost all types of 3.5mm headphones" and will likely come with more than one color option – since it matches the phone.

No word yet on when this device will be made available to the general masses other than "summer." Pricing has not been revealed as yet, either – but it's safe to assume it'll cost more than a slice of pizza at your local pizzatorium.

Essential also just became "MQA certified" which means some sound authorities said that yes, the Essential Phone is capable of delivering high-quality sound through its USB-C port with the proper equipment. That means you'll need the Audio Adapter HD or one of a variety of MQA-certified DAC devices, as listed over at MQA right this minute.

Essential also just teamed up with Tidal to deliver 3 months free Premium membership to the streaming audio service. Essential device owners will find a Essential website button for that, too. You'll likely need to sign up with a credit card, but will be able to cancel before it gets charged anything – hopefully.