The best phones with a headphone jack

For the crazy people like me who won't let it go

nah, it's crazy that phone designers let it go
- I mean, I can count how many times I've thought "damn I wish I still had wired headphones" on zero hands.
It's not us who are crazy!
It's not crazy to want to keep using your excellent wired headphones and not rely on battery powered bullshit
- I have a pair of Etymotics that i have had for 20 years, ficks no 3.5mm jack. Have a Nokia phone I use that has uSD and earphone jack.
- It is when you act like adapters don't exist
  
  This is written by someone who's using IEMs on a pixel, this weird obsession with jacks on the phones should have died years ago
My daily driver is a Poco F2 Pro which has the jack port.

My car is old and I still wire it to the speakers for using Spotify and such, my gf has to use the adapter thingy for her iPhone and she can't charge and play music at the same time, I can do that without an issue.

Too bad companies keep getting rid of ports.
- A fellow F2 Pro owner here. I don't have use for the aux port that often, but whenever I do, it's great! Older cars, mixers, etc, everything is just plug and play like it should be.
  
  However the notorious charging port ribbon cable seems to have broken again and this might be some of the last things I write with the phone :(
- There are adapters with charger throughput. Or else a car phone holder with wireless charging capability that's connected to the cigarette lighter port will do the trick.
Bluetooth audio is terrible. And 2.4 GHz doesn't seem to be very common.
Your not crazy, just underserved by capture capitalism
I just got a USB-C to 3.5" adapter and done. The phones listed here are either overpriced or shit.
- Extremely hard disagree. Have you used a modern Sony phone before? What makes the Sony over priced compared to it's Apple, Samsung or Google counterparts?

Problem is finding one and an unlocked bootloader so you can get rid of all the Google crap.

A15 + 5g both have a headphone jack and can be unlocked apparently. Probably the A25 versions too.
- Useful advice
  
  Edit: it appears that this is only accurate for the models not sold in North America

I'm satisfied with my https://moondroplab.com/en/products/miad01

It's got two jacks!

This one has TWO headphone ports!

I love the official brochure for the camera: "It's not good but it works".

Edit: Damn you, you edited the thing i said while i was writing it. :D
Wtf is a "pulyarbnnntelpc shell"?
Damn this thing looks awesome, having issues finding the bands it works on.
- Is it not right at the top of the page?
Looks pretty great, though I'd never buy it due to the lack of software support. I wish that developers making these phones would just allow easy bootloader unlock and give the device trees needed for custom roms. The community would do the rest, just like Xiaomi phones in the old days.
Most western banking apps won't work on that phone.

F
Looks amazing!

What's the catch?
- Android 13 is listed as the OS, so absent support is my guess.
- Some banking apps and stuff wont work properly, and it's not amazing value

No mention of the DAC quality of any of the models. I’d hope the Sony one is decent.

I got the Xperia 1 VI, the headphone port seriously lacks power. It's like half of what i'd expect from a phone. They might have bent a knee to some EU regulation. All my older cheaper phones could drive my larger cans, this one doesn't leave much headroom.
Sony

Can't trust them ever again. Had an XZ Premium, and they took away Miracast in an update.

And I'm still not over them taking away Linux support on the PS3....
One of the reasons I'm using an lg g8 as a Digital audio player
Is that a big concern in 2024? Devices are much more powerful and audio is cheap and easy.
- You’d be surprised. Good quality compact DACs are very expensive unless the manufacturer engineers a better version.
- It isn't so much power because that's cheap and easy. It's the hardware processing the data. A DAC is what decides whether or not sound is clear at any given volume, and the cheaper ones have a tendency to distort or otherwise suck as volume increases
I can't speak on the xperia 1 vi, but I have the 1 iii and the DAC is great.

Now do one for phones that still have a microsd slot

Sony has both! I'm rocking a 1tb SD card at the moment that I swap into my drone and laptop for quick file transfer and it's amazing.
- Dual SIM plus MicroSD? Or either/or?
Moto stylus 5g has both. The review said it had bloatware, but it had way less than my S9 or z fold 4. It's running pretty lean out of the box, with just a few moto apps you don't really need.

I would love buying a Sony Xperia if it had a better update policy and wasn't that expensive

The price is insane. Have never been able to own a Sony phone, which is a shame
- Look into the Xperia 10 VI, their mid-range. It's not in this list, but it does have a headphone jack.
Also have you seen how narrow and tall it is? Feels like an extended switchblade >.<
- Good analogy ha ha
- Xdd. Although, not anymore. 1 VI is now 18:9
- I love the aspect ratio of Sony phones, It actually allows me to use it completely with one Hand, normal phones are just a bit too wide to do so comfortably.

I'm still using a Samsung S10e and its starting to show signs of wear, but I honestly don't like any of the replacements I've seen that are under $1000 and I don't want to spend that much on a phone. And unfortunately it looks hard to find older versions too.

I tried looking into old version of the Asus ROG or Red Magic phones that still performed better than my S10e but even those were still so pricy.

S10e is great. It's what I've been using as well, but it doesn't get security updates anymore. Been using a custom rom which does get Android security updates, but there was a pretty serious SoC level security vulnerability which won't get fixed for the S10e.

I'll get a Pixel 8a instead. No headphone jack, slightly larger, only 1 physical sim. But can run GrapheneOS and have a long promised update period.
- Yeah, that's the part I'm worried about. I have the US snapdragon S10e, which cannot be modded to extend it's lifespan. Which is a mistake I hope to fix with my next phone.
I'm still running an s10e as well, God I love this phone. It might be the best phone ever made, I'm not joking. I'm on my third battery and second back glass but otherwise it feels like new.

I did a little test with my dad, who has an iPhone from last year, where we would see how long a bunch of different apps would take to load. For all of them, my phone was within a second of load time (one or two was even faster). It hasn't slowed down at all and it works flawlessly. Only problem now is it doesn't get security updates anymore:(

Which ones have 1/4" jacks?

Some people just can't be pleased, lol

Would that be for a direct input from an instrument, say?
- nah i got some studio headphones and they got a 1/4 inch connector
I'm holding out for one with mini-XLR myself

Still mostly loving my cheap Motorola g84. Rarely use the headphone jack but it's there. The stereo speakers in it are pretty good.

Biggest gripe is it kills Facebook messenger in the background no matter what you do. WhatsApp unaffected though.

it kills Facebook messenger in the background no matter what you do

Sounds like a feature rather than a bug! Seriously though is it something like memory usage and fb wants way more resource? Is messenger light still a thing you can try instead?
- Hehe. As a small town Facebook group admin, it's useful to have it reliable, but not the end of the world.
  
  I don't know for sure - my suspicion is that messenger relies on some other service which doesn't appear in the battery optimisation UI and thus can't be kept awake. (Opening the Facebook app causes Messenger to also wake up.)
  
  My previous Realme phone had the same issue.
Motorola g84

G84 gang!

I have a Samsung xcover 6 pro. It has the jack + 2 sims + 1 microsd + removable battery

You too? Right on!

I honestly would have never touched a Samsung phone again had I not discovered the XCover - Pro line of phones.
I did not know about this line of phones, very interesting!

I want to throw Unihertz a shout-out. I only have the JellyPhone for its novelty, but as far as devices go, it does all the things an Android phone should, even with the silly form factor. It being stock Android is a big plus as well

I can’t necessarily speak for their other phones, but if the build quality is the same, I really like what they’re doing.

Never heard of them before, but part of me wants a phone with a projector.

the Sony would be the perfect phone if it was rootable, in the usa, and was a pixel.

The Moto G Power 5g 2024 has been a great phone for me. Hard to find a phone with all the features but a headphone jack as well.

My phone doesn't have a headphone jack but has an FM radio. It took me ages to 1) realise I needed a pass through cable without a DAC and 2) find a pass-through cable without a DAC.

Does it use the cable wire as the antenna, and that didn't work through an external DAC?
- Yes exactly, so you need a special kind of usb-c adapter that doesn't have an external DAC.
  
  Most adapters, even the cheapest, have a dac because a lot of phones (mostly iPhones) don't support audio pass through mode.

Yeah.. a headphone jack is nice for charging and listening at the same time, but I'll say it, the 10$ usb-c apple dongle does the job just fine and covers 99% of use cases. Plus it can also be used on devices with shitty DACs because the dongle is essentially one and it's pretty good as well

I was disappointed Android Authority didn't list the iPhone.....

So glad the phone model I have is not only on the list but also a 4 star. Budget phones for the win!

I'm in the US so no Sony option but I had to stay away from Asus with their terrible update support/longevity and bootloader unlocking support. Samsung is similar on the latter portion, Motorola is bad on the former but may have to revisit their stance on bootloader unlocking for ROM support.

I stopped caring about the headphone jack when every pair I used, the wire eventually wore out. Having to buy more every couple months was getting old. I'd rather recharge my Airpods every 4 or 5 hours for 45 mins than continue buying wired headphones repeatedly for enternity.

But that's just my personal experience. I use headphones at work, so obviously with all the constant moving around, it was hard on the wires. I don't wish for the jack to be removed but I will never use it again for my purposes.

Xperia 1 VI works in USA, just not with all bands and carriers

Slight ramble / off topic, I've owned a few Sony phones over the years, granted this was some time ago bit they were my go to here in the UK before they decided to add too many digets too the price, my last one was an Xperia 10 (I think, Sony's naming convention and all that) great phone at the time, headphone jack and microSD cards, nice toolless SIM tray (which the still do I believe), spec sheet was decent etc.

But one thing I did not manage to notice while doing my research was the performance was god aweful in Sony's android implementation at the time (at least on the 10) the underlying OS was so poorly optimised it kind of fell inside its own arse whenever doing anything more taxing than watching a video, everything surrounding it was perfect but the software.

Great phone held back by poor software, many years late I flashed Linage and rocked it as a dedicated music player, with my wired headphones and 128GB microSD and it was night and day.

On an unrlated note, I still kind of miss old Sony design language in their OS that kind of mirrored XMB in some ways especially the UI sounds and icons, but anyway the battery was going on it years ago and I lost it during a move, I still miss that phone.

USB-C to 3.5mm Headphone Jack Adapter

Plenty of easy solutions. I'm not here to tell anyone their preferences are invalid but I personally don't consider the lack of a headphone jack to be a deal breaker when there are easy solutions.
- I bought 3 until I found one without awful background noise. I'm not an audiophile it was just unbearable.
- Some people like IP68 rated phones, and some dont.
- Go with something like FiiO's excellent line of Bluetooth/USB-C DACs,
  
  btr7, btr5, btr3k. They support high fidelity Bluetooth codecs, but the USB-c option is really nice, I've had a btr3k for years and it's an easy recommend. FiiO in general do really nice audio products for the price in my experience.
  
  I'd still like to have a 3.5mm jack on my phone though and a decent internal DAC, give me an option, use something external to drive higher impedance stuff if I want.

I've said it before and I'll say it again: for phones a headphone jack has been fucking stupid for almost a decade now

Blame the headphone manufacturers that refuse to release products with a connector that fits the vast majority of devices now, forcing adapter use, not the devices bailing on an outdated connector

Every whiny person on this topic is fucking hilarious, you're all fucking stupid as fuck

What are you talking about, the headphone jack is the superior connector. It works on all devices, it doesn't need power, you can use it on a walkman from the 80s if you want. It can also rotate and is a lot more durable than USBC.
- The headphone jack quite literally uses power to produce sound.
Weird, my headphones plug into my phone, tablet, Switch, Steam Deck, & laptop; additionally the bus & airplane with ease. These are all devices I've used in past 2 months.

How do you use your headphones on those devices?
- I am firmly in the 3.5mm jack camp because having more options is always better, but I don't think this is a valid argument. All the devices I find on a daily basis have Bluetooth. For rarer things that you don't deal with daily such as planes, a £10 Bluetooth dongle provides way better quality than the garbage entertainment system in an airplane can provide anyway, while taking just as little space as a 3.5mm jack's cable does in your pocket.
outdated connector

This guy is actually insane
I'm about to be installing my 3rd usb c on my fairphone because using my earphones all day phone in pocket kills the port. I've used devices like this mostly daily since mini discs came out, only ever broken one 3.5mm in that time.

If I didn't have a fairphone I'd have to go back to wireless iem over crappy Bluetooth that last about 12-18 months.
- How much does a USB-C replacement cost?
Every single phone I've had with no headphone jack, the USB C port has lost the ability to transmit music. It just stops working. I clean the port, so it's not lint buildup. I've used a wireless charging pad since day 1 with this phone, and the port is still fucked.

The best phones with a headphone jack - December 2024