Intel makes pitch for USB-C and headphone jack replacement


The Verge:

At the Intel Developer Forum in San Francisco yesterday, Intel architects Brad Saunders and Rahman Ismail explained how improvements to the USB-C standard, slated to arrive later this year, could make it a far better port for the modern-day smartphone, according to CNET. The most obvious advantage, at least to devices manufacturers, is slimmer phones. Without needing to route analog circuitry, a phone maker could switch to digital audio and shave off precious millimeters from the device's body.

It seems USB-C would be a logical change for Apple's iOS devices, however, there are things Apple likes about Lightening port. Namely, it owns and controls it. Either way, such a move won't be seen in this next upgrade cycle.

Apple does though has set a path to consolidate ports down to USB-C, so it would make sense for iOS devices to follow. If the headphone jack does in fact go away as widely expected, it would be nice to have an industry standard option for wired audio.