Samsung Killing Headphone Jack in 2019 Galaxy Phones (Report)

While Samsung has previously poked fun at Apple users for not having a headphone jack, a new report from ET News claims that the Korean tech giant is going to follow the lead of Apple and Google and drop the headphone jack in 2019.

Credit: Tom's Guide

(Image credit: Tom's Guide)

Citing supply chain sources, ET News says that Samsung is considering removing the mini jack from the Galaxy S11 and perhaps even the Note 10, replacing it with a single USB-C connector. 

You can blame Apple, which made this possible. Almost every phone manufacturer — from Huawei to Google to the latest to drop the minijack shoe, OnePlus — seems to have followed the Cupertino company’s lead after it demonstrated that most people don’t give a damn about the lack of a minijack, preferring to rely on wireless or proprietary earbuds.

Indeed, the raging success of the jack-less iPhone and the AirPods have prompted a race in the industry, with AirPod-like headphones coming from all top audio manufacturers in the world.

MORE: Samsung Galaxy S10 Rumors: Everything We Know So Far

According to ET News, the ever increasing popularity of wireless headphone solutions is precisely one of the main reasons why Samsung may be dropping the jack:

“According to market researcher Strategy Analytics (SA), the global wireless earphone market is expected to reach 73.9 million units in 2019 and 100 million units in 2022,” reads ET News’ report. “It is 42% growth from 51.9 million last year to two years.” 

As the wireless headphone market explodes, Samsung is probably seeing an opportunity to promote its own earbuds.

The other reason cited by ET News is design: Samsung is on a race to offer a thinner and lighter phone, with radical design changes on the pipeline. The elimination of an extra port will help them towards that goal. 

And while there are many audiophiles who say they will never buy a phone without a headphone jack, the fact is that the industry is clearly going wireless in every respect. It’s not crazy to think that, in a matter of a few years, we will also see the USB-C port disappearing from every phone in existence. Better get used to it, because there’s nowhere to run from here, baby.

Jesus Diaz

Jesus Diaz founded the new Sploid for Gawker Media after seven years working at Gizmodo, where he helmed the lost-in-a-bar iPhone 4 story and wrote old angry man rants, among other things. He's a creative director, screenwriter, and producer at The Magic Sauce, and currently writes for Fast Company and Tom's Guide.

Latest in Samsung Phones
Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge next to Galaxy S25 Plus
Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge vs. Galaxy S25 Plus: Everything we know so far
Showing the front of a Galaxy S25 Ultra held in hand
One UI 7 will arrive late for US Samsung users — here’s when it’ll launch for you
samsung galaxy s25 edge mockup at galaxy unpacked
Galaxy S25 Edge is overhyped — I want Samsung to make this phone thinner instead
Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra
Older Samsung phones are finally getting One UI 7 — here's all the devices
The iPhone 16 Pro Max (L) and Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra rear cameras
I took 200 macro photos with Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra vs. iPhone 16 Pro — here's the winner
Try Galaxy home screen on iPhone 16 Pro Max
You can now try Samsung's latest One UI 7 software on your iPhone — here's how
Latest in News
Apple Watch Series 10
Future Apple Watch models could get a surprising new feature — what we know
NYTimes Connections
NYT Connections today hints and answers — Monday, March 24 (#652)
NYT Strands on a cellphone
NYT Strands today — hints, spangram and answers for game #386 (Monday, March 24 2025)
iPhone 16 Pro vs iPhone 16 Pro Max in hand showing displays
Forget iPhone 17 — iPhone 18 could get this huge upgrade
The new Husqvarna iQ series robot lawn mower.
Husqvarna’s new robot mowers offer GPS for less
Rendered images of rumored foldable iPhone.
Foldable iPhone report just revealed key details — here's what we know
  • BillBinNH
    I'm hoping that they consider a solution for the FM antenna. Currently phones use the headphone wires as the FM antenna.
    Reply
  • Kenneth_79
    That's just great. Copy the bad features from Apple. First seal the battery in and now remove the headphone jack. Might as well buy an Apple iPhone.
    Reply
  • daniel.arendt23
    Just when I was getting ready to go back to Samsung too. Hopefully the S10 has it, if not I guess I wont be going back to Samsung. At no point in my life do I want wireless headphones
    Reply
  • webworkings
    Rather they keep the headphone port myself.
    Reply