USB-C Headphones vs. Dongle

I've seen a number of articles popping up in my various feeds complaining about USB-C headphone support on the Pixel 2 (not a large number, but definitely a non-negative, non-zero number... greater than 1 even).

I don't think these are super common or that too many people are reading them. In fact, I'm probably seeing a lot of them simply because I've searched Pixel 2 related stuff a lot. But, I think there is a small problem with these threads; they can be misleading, and they are missing the point.

Firstly, about the misleading bit. The first time I read such an article I was afraid it might have been implying that normal headphones plugged into the supplied dongle needed to meet certain specifications. This isn't the case. And none of these articles are really going out of their way to clarify this. They make this sound like a massive rampant problem that will affect tons of users. And that is why, without clarification, it becomes confusing. Because it is a TOTALLY niche problem. 

Now, the support situation does indeed suck. I've personally never seen a USB-C headset. It is a pretty new concept. Undoubtedly brought into existence by Apple's earlier push. And Google probably deserves a bit of flack over this. But not much. USB-C headphones are a relatively new thing, and as with every relatively new things (especially when Apple is involved) there is an initial period of turmoil.

So, who actually gets to complain? If you owned USB-C headphones BEFORE upgrading to a Pixel 2 device which you planned on using with it, I think you are in the right. And I'm honestly not sure if more than a handful of such people actually exist in the world.

The general complaint is that dongle's are easy to lose. OK? But you're buying dedicated headphones just for the port. Why can't you, oh, I don't know, buy any 3.5mm headphones you want and LEAVE THEM IN THE DONGLE!?!?!?!

I mean, don't get me wrong... this isn't the ideal situation at all and I'm not trying to sell it as such. But then, neither is the situation with availability of USB-C headphones long before we get to the support problems.

It is (hopefully) a timing problem. And if so, the situation will get better over time.

And, if you're willing to even consider buying dedicated headphones it shows that you're not against having a set of headphones dedicated to usage with USB-C. And if you're OK with that, and there is never any reason to take those headphones out of the dongle. And then the dongle is no easier to lose than a set of dedicated USB-C ear buds (or whatever style of headphone you have).

I've said time and again, I don't believe removing the audio jack was the right move, yet. And I agree, it is annoying and those things are probably easy to use if you're swapping headphones in and out between devices. Legit.

But these articles aren't talking about those scenarios. These articles are talking specifically about headsets whose only interface is a USB-C connector. Very few phone models have USB-C and even fewer have USB-C and no headphone jack. And outside of phones, even fewer things have USB-C. Which is why I question how many people legitimately end up in this situation.

There are definitely sides of the "USB-C and no headphone jack" debate worth actually talking about. In my opinion though, this isn't one of them. It does affect some people. But that doesn't make it a big deal.