Microsoft found a way to fit a 3.5mm headphone jack in half the space

In my limited capacity as a reporter here at TNW, I’ve been pushing an agenda for gadget makers to retain the 3.5mm jack on phones and other devices so we can all enjoy high-quality audio as we please. One of the arguments against this idea has been the notion that the jack takes up too much room – but Microsoft may have hit upon a way out.

The company has been granted a patent for an expanding plug receptacle; the idea here is that, instead of fitting an entire 3.5mm plug into a device, the jack will only be large to fit part of the plug. Meanwhile, this jack will sit flush with the side of your device and expand to accommodate the plug, kind of like a pant pocket.

It’s proposed three ways of doing so, including one that uses a soft stretchable membrane, another that features a more rigid pleated material which can expand, and yet another that shows both sides of the jack stretching to make room for the plug. The way these would work is that only one side would contain electrical contact points to connect with the plug.