Plan to stop the headphone jack being killed off for good revealed by Microsoft

Microsoft has patented a new type of headphone jack that can expand and shrink.

Apple caused a huge amount of controversy when it decided to ditch the 3.5mm port last year and, to the fury of many consumers, other phone manufacturers have since followed suit.

Both Apple and Xiaomi say that the headphone jack takes up valuable space, which could be filled by other components.

Ditching it could also help manufacturers produce ever-thinner handsets.

Microsoft’s patent describes a new kind of headphone jack that’s designed to take up less room than the existing version.

“The plug receptacle may comprise a receptacle housing having a passage configured to receive at least a part of a plug of a plug connector, a front side having a first opening and a top side having a second, elongated opening that intersects the first opening, the passage opening to the front side via the first opening and to the top side via the second opening,” reads the technical description.

“The plug receptacle may further comprise at least one plug receptacle cover that is reversibly extendable between a cover position and an open position, wherein in the cover position, the at least one plug receptacle cover covers the second opening at least partially; and in the open position, at least a part of the at least one plug receptacle cover is extended outwards, the plug receptacle thereby being configured to receive the at least the part of the plug so that the at least the part of the plug partially extends through the second opening.”

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The receptacle would essentially expand when a set of headphones are plugged into it, and collapse again when they’re unplugged.

It looks like an intricate solution, but a lot of consumers will be keen for it to be developed further, if that meant being able to continue using wired headsets far into the future.

Wired headphones tend to sound superior to wireless headphones. They also don’t need to be charged.

What’s more, a lot of consumers who want to keep hold of their wired headsets feel aggrieved at having to purchase an adapter in order to be able to keep on using them.

“Standard audio connectors or plugs are popular in three sizes based on the outside diameter of the plug: 6.35 mm, 3.5 mm and 2.5 mm plugs,” Microsoft explains in its document.

“Standard receptacles for such connectors may include an opening having an interior diameter sized so that it can receive and engage the plug and may, for example, therefore exceed 3.5-4 mm for a 3.5 mm audio connector.

“For thin electronic devices, the thickness of such a standard receptacle may be challenging to accommodate. The standard receptacle may be thicker than the electronic device, or the standard receptacle may take up so much space within the electronic device that it may be more challenging to fit internal components such as a display, electronics, a battery etc. inside the electronic device.”