iphone headphone jack dongle case.
custom iphone 7 case with groove to house apple headphone jack dongle. winter 2018.
This project was motivated by several acquaintances whose iPhone's and Pixel's lacked the headphone jack to interface with my car's audio aux cable. Often times, their dongles would be connected to their own headphones (whose whereabouts always seem to elude us whenever we need them on the fly), and we would always be on short supply to connect devices. I wanted to find a solution such that a dongle would stay with the phone at all times instead of being left attached to the last used pair of headphones. Thus, I designed a prototype case with a groove to house the dongle, which can wrap around the bottom of the phone to plug in.
There were various iterations of the dongle housing during the brainstorming process, from sliding mechanisms to intricate folding of the cable. Ultimately, I knew that the case had to be as thin and unobtrusive as possible so as to not detract from the slim profile of modern smartphones. Therefore, I shifted away from mechanically intricate systems since they tend to add more material and structure to the case. In order to best allow the dongle cable to wrap around from the back was to align the dongle vertically along a sliding groove. Options to house the cable anywhere else besides the back jutted out considerably from the phone.
The rear sliding groove is in the shape of the cylindrical 3.5 mm audio jack housing of the dongle. This way, the audio jack slides smoothly along the groove. The groove is only slightly exposed so that there is a lip preventing the dongle from falling out. The rear positioning also provided the opportunity to create a more ergonomic back to the phone, which are rare in the smartphone market these days. Thus, the added thickness of the case manages the dongle through ergonomics.
Due to the nature of the ergonomic form and the curves of the iPhone, the practical manufacturing method to create this prototype is 3D printing. However, due to the simple design, the case can be easily split into a couple partitions for more manageable printing. This allows greater customization like color and other features, like stands, through successive iterations.
This project is still a work-in-progress, and was made for users who would like to connect to audio devices on the fly without hindrance. I also would like to explore a more permanent solution to housing the dongle, and cheaper methods to manufacturing the case. With the push towards wireless, there's likely going to be numerous more instances of discomfort due to the lack of the audio jack. Until we reach the age where everything is fully wireless, my non-Bluetooth auxiliary cord wielding car included, I want to find fun solutions to keep music playing through our dongle'd phones.
There were various iterations of the dongle housing during the brainstorming process, from sliding mechanisms to intricate folding of the cable. Ultimately, I knew that the case had to be as thin and unobtrusive as possible so as to not detract from the slim profile of modern smartphones. Therefore, I shifted away from mechanically intricate systems since they tend to add more material and structure to the case. In order to best allow the dongle cable to wrap around from the back was to align the dongle vertically along a sliding groove. Options to house the cable anywhere else besides the back jutted out considerably from the phone.
The rear sliding groove is in the shape of the cylindrical 3.5 mm audio jack housing of the dongle. This way, the audio jack slides smoothly along the groove. The groove is only slightly exposed so that there is a lip preventing the dongle from falling out. The rear positioning also provided the opportunity to create a more ergonomic back to the phone, which are rare in the smartphone market these days. Thus, the added thickness of the case manages the dongle through ergonomics.
Due to the nature of the ergonomic form and the curves of the iPhone, the practical manufacturing method to create this prototype is 3D printing. However, due to the simple design, the case can be easily split into a couple partitions for more manageable printing. This allows greater customization like color and other features, like stands, through successive iterations.
This project is still a work-in-progress, and was made for users who would like to connect to audio devices on the fly without hindrance. I also would like to explore a more permanent solution to housing the dongle, and cheaper methods to manufacturing the case. With the push towards wireless, there's likely going to be numerous more instances of discomfort due to the lack of the audio jack. Until we reach the age where everything is fully wireless, my non-Bluetooth auxiliary cord wielding car included, I want to find fun solutions to keep music playing through our dongle'd phones.