Reply to post: 4 pole 3.5mm Jacks

Return of the audio format wars and other money-making scams

Mage Silver badge

4 pole 3.5mm Jacks

Nokia and Sony had a sensible pinout. Ground was closest to cover.

Apple chose a different pinout. Mic is closest to cover. I suppose they thought OV between audio outputs and mic was good, but it's only the connector.

Now the STUPID laptop makers put an Apple style 4 pole 3.5mm, so no stereo input. Just as Apple have stupidly removed the jack socket. Now there is DAC for on board speaker, BT Codec delay & artefacts and earbuds to charge.

At least you can still buy separate stereo in & out USB sticks. They do work on Kindle Paperwhite 2015 AKA PW3. Older Kindles had a socket and speakers. They also work on Android. In both cases an OTG microUSB to USB host socket is needed. No idea if they work on iPhones.

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