Microsoft’s Surface Pro 9 is the newest main gadget to ditch the headphone jack

Today marks one other chapter within the sluggish demise of the headphone jack. Microsoft has quietly eliminated the three.5mm connector from its brand-new Surface Pro 9. The change is confirmed on the tech specs page, which not lists a headphone jack among the many gadget’s “connections.” But it’s very a lot current on the identical web page for the Surface Pro 8.

This appears to be the direct results of Microsoft bringing the Intel and Arm variations of the Surface Pro 9 collectively in the identical chassis. The Surface Pro X has by no means had a 3.5mm jack, so now, the Intel {hardware} is coming consistent with that design route.

But I’d argue it’s a extra controversial omission this time. Why? The new common outer enclosure is actually the identical measurement as that of the Surface Pro 8.

Surface Pro 9 and Surface Pro 8

The Surface Pro X {hardware} was fairly a bit thinner than Microsoft’s Intel {hardware} on the time (and nonetheless now). So excising the three.5mm jack made sense. But we’ve now misplaced the headphone jack for a chassis that’s mainly an identical in dimensions to final yr’s mannequin. They actually couldn’t match one on there someplace?

But we appear to have reached the purpose the place tech giants are totally comfy going with out one on tablets — or 2-in-1s, within the case of Microsoft. I’m nonetheless an enormous fan of that new forest inexperienced Surface Pro 9, however this development is a bummer.