The new Surface Pro X is downright beautiful. We were impressed and just pre-ordered one for ourselves for a full review this November. However, there’s one thing we neglected to mention in all our coverage so far. Apparently, USB-C ports on the Surface Pro X comes at a small cost —there is no headphone jack.
Going the way of the Google Pixel Slate and the Apple iPhone, the absence of a headphone jack is a first for a Surface product. All Surface devices typically have the 3.5 mm headphone jack as standard, as do most Windows 10 PCs.
This is a first for a Surface, if I am not mistaken.
— Arif Bacchus (@abacjourn) October 4, 2019
It was something that slipped our mind during the hustle and bustle of yesterday’s Microsoft show. We only just noticed it when we went to pre-order the device at the Microsoft Store Online. As part of checkout, the online store recommended for us to purchase a Surface USB-C to 3.5mm Audio Adapter for $12.
Curious as to why, we went back and checked Microsoft’s tech specs for the Surface Pro X, and, indeed, there is no mention of a headphone jack. The Surface Pro X only keeps 2 USB-C ports, 1 Surface Connect port, the Surface Keyboard connector port, and one nano-SIM tray.
Alongside the limitations of Windows 10 on ARM, this might be a concern for some Surface users. Otherwise, it is nothing a dongle, or Bluetooth headphones can’t fix. Do you feel violated by the lack of a dedicated headphone jack? Let us know in the comments below.
