OnePlus 6T: Here’s why OnePlus is getting rid of 3.5mm headphone jack

OnePlus is readying a new flagship phone 'OnePlus 6T' which is expected to launch later this month. The new phone marks OnePlus' boldest design change - removing 3.5mm headphone jack. OnePlus co-founder and CEO Pete Lau has now finally explained why the company has chosen to do so after resisting in last OnePlus 6 and OnePlus editions.

While talking to CNET, Pete Lau admitted that removing the 3.5mm headphone jack was "one of the most difficult decisions" for the company. "The most difficult task in the day-to-day is… finding a balance in what's ultimately going to be part of the end product and what has to be said 'No' to," he said.

The decision, however, is driven by the new screen unlocking technology which the company has already teased on the social media. OnePlus 6T is going to come with in-screen fingerprint technology.

As the name implies, the new technology allows users to unlock the phone by simply tapping on the screen. To include the new technology, OnePlus had to sacrifice the 3.5mm headphone jack.

Pete Lau, however, believes the trade-off is worth it.

"After you experience the Screen Unlock you'll fall in love with it," he said. "[You'll] realize that it's the experience that you wanted."

Despite Pete's confidence in the new design, OnePlus is set to face big backlash from its vocal community. Interestingly enough, Pete Lau ran couple of Twitter polls in the past to gauge public view on the headphone jack. Both the times majority in favour of keeping the headphone jack.

Just before the OnePlus 6 launch, the company quashed rumours about the removal of headphone jack.

"The more important question we ask is "how important is the headphone jack to our users?". The answer we've had back is overwhelming. Every year I do a Twitter poll and the number of people taking part increases each time, this year there were over 19k votes, and 88% said they like physical headphone jacks," said co-founder Carl Pei in an interview to Forbes.

And before OnePlus 6, Pete Lau had stressed the need for keeping the headphone jack.

"First, audio quality. When we surveyed the OnePlus community, 70% of users told us that their priority was sound quality. On the whole, wireless earbuds aren't there yet to provide the same quality of audio. Are the best wireless headphones comparable to the best of the wired? That's possible. But as you get closer to the under $200 category, the options are more limited. Keeping the headphone jack allows our users to continue to take full advantage of the excellent range of audio choices on the market. Not to mention our own Bullet V2 earphones," he had said.

OnePlus 6T is also going to come with a new screen design. It will include a much smaller waterdrop notch. The new smartphone is also expected to come with slightly better cameras. A bump in the battery capacity is also expected. According to reports, the phone will feature a larger 3,700mAh battery -- which will be the highest on any OnePlus phone so far.