Intel has also come to play a role in accelerating the extinction of the 3.5 analog headphone jack, and intends to launch a USB Type-C Audio program.

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Rumor has it that Apple is planning to replace the original 3.5mm analog headphone output with a Lightning digital headset, and that LeEco's second-generation superphone has also heroically canceled the 3.5mm analog headphone jack to replace it with a USB Type-C digital headphone jack, and now Intel is planning to participate in the process by releasing the USB Type-C Digital Audio program and USBAudioDeviceClass2.0. The USBType-CDigitalAudio program and the USBAudioDeviceClass2.0 specification.

The reason for this program is simple: it allows the 3.5mm analog output to be replaced by a USB Type-C interface, which simplifies the design of the device side, although it is not the first time that the industry has wanted to use a universal connection interface to replace the 3.5mm analog headphone terminal invented in the 1960s, like the early days of feature phones when a number of brands tried it, but it did not shake the 3.5mm terminal. The 3.5mm connector has been in place since the 1960s.

The use of USB Type-C as an audio output can be seen as an attempt to promote full digital connectivity on the device side, by moving the DAC chip that drives the headphones and the headphone amplifier chip out of the device side (but the device itself should still need a set of digital-to-analog converters and amplifiers to drive the speakers) and, for digital electronics sound, the digital signals on the same board tend to interfere with the analog signals, which are often not as good as the analog signal. For digital audio, interference with analog signals on the same board is often the key to poor sound quality, and it can also be claimed that this helps to improve sound quality.

Intel's USBType-CDigitalAudio program will also be accompanied by the USBAudioDeviceClass2.0 specification, in the hope that the new specification will improve the previously criticized power management and communication model, and of course be downwardly compatible with the existing Class1.0; in the new program Intel is hoping to make it possible for the USBType-CDigitalAudio program to be used in digital headphones. In the new program, Intel hopes to install MPU processors on the digital headset side for signaling, anti-interference, AES and AEC processing, as well as add HDCP on the device side to avoid the output signal being duplicated, but this will inevitably increase the cost of the headset.

While most manufacturers are looking to replace the analog headphone interface with a USBType-C digital connection, USBType-C's own terminal definitions can also be used as an analog output, mainly because the analog output is based on electrical signals, and USBType-C's front and back sides are equipped with an electrical channel. The main reason is that the analog output is based on electrical signals, and USBType-C has electrical channels on both sides, so as long as the analog signal of the audio corresponds to the position, it can be used as analog audio output. But Intel's idea of a digital headset is still pushing the envelope.

In fact, there are several digitally driven headphones that are relatively expensive compared to the analog version, but they are also ideal for use with cell phones because of the advantages of external connectivity, often compared to cell phones that don't have an independent audio chip, and just for the average consumer, the difference in price between these digital headphones and 3.5mm analog headphones is still unacceptable. If you want to promote a digital headset, how to reduce the price difference of the chipset due to digitalization is the current issue to be faced.

Anandtech