Apple, rather controversially, ditched the standard headphone jack on this year’s iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus. Calling itself brave for doing so, Apple maintained that it did it so it could do other things on the handset, like make it thinner and improve the built-in speakers.

Understandably, the move to remove the headphone jack irked a lot of people – this writer included. And now Samsung is apparently gearing up to do exactly the same thing on its upcoming Galaxy S8 handset, which will launch inside Q1 2017.

Why? I honestly do not know. I get that the headphone jack, for some people, is an old technology that needs to be replaced by something “better”… but for millions of normal users it is just one of those things you expect to be included on a phone – like a display and the ability to make calls!

“Samsung is going to remove the standard 3.5mm headphone jack from the Galaxy S8,” notes SAM Mobile, the source of the news.

The report added: “This means that all of your existing headphones will not be compatible with the upcoming flagship unless you use a USB Type-C adapter as the Galaxy S8 will feature a USB Type-C port. This also means that you won’t be able to plug in the Galaxy S8 and use wired headphones at the same time.”

Samsung is also getting rid of the Home key on the Samsung Galaxy S8 as well. Interestingly, Apple is expected to do exactly the same thing with its iPhone 8 handsets. In its place will be an all-touch display with a fingerprint sensor built into the actual glass – this, at least, sounds cool.

The upshot of removing the headphone jack, according to sources, is that Samsung can make the handset thinner and put a larger battery inside it. However, I’m willing to wager a lot of Samsung users would prefer to have a removable battery and a slightly thicker handset with fully headphone jack support.

One other feature that could come to the fore aboard the Galaxy S8 is improved speakers: specifically, dual-stereo Harmon speakers which could be used to down play the need for headphones. Samsung officially acquired Harmon this year for a reported $8 billion, so it stands to reason it will want to start putting its investment to work right away.

Either way, Samsung will inevitably face some backlash for removing the headphone jack. I get the logic behind it, I really do, but I also do not see the actual point – the CONS, in my opinion, outweigh the PROS, even if the handset does feature improved stereo speakers.

Other rumours specs for the Samsung Galaxy S8 include: 

What say you?