The Best Phones With an Actual Headphone Jack
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It’s been over eight years since Apple removed the headphone jack from the iPhone. Yes, you can get excellent wireless earbuds nowadays, but maybe you prefer plugging in or don't want to charge your headphones. The joy of the 3.5-mm headphone connector is that it’s universal. You can use any pair of corded headphones—no need to worry whether the connectivity will blip in and out, no batteries to charge, no dongles to attach, and no earbuds to lose (or earbud cases to run through the washing machine).
There are times when Bluetooth is preferable, but it’s nice to have the option. Unfortunately, every year, a major manufacturer decides to officially cut the headphone jack from its list of features. In 2025, that's Samsung, which no longer offers the venerable port on its Galaxy A-series phones. But don't lose hope! You still have some options, like Motorola's Moto G Power 5G 2025 and the Asus ROG Phone 9. As WIRED's smartphone reviewer, I go through handsets big and small, cheap and expensive—these are the best phones with the headphone jack.
Read our Best Android Phones, Best Samsung Phones, Best Motorola Phones, Best Pixel Phones, Best iPhones, and Best Cheap Phones guides for more.
Updated March 2025: We've added the Motorola Moto G Power 5G 2025, Moto G 2025, Nubia RedMagic 10 Pro, Asus ROG Phone 9, HMD Fusion, and Nuu N20.
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What Happened to the Headphone Jack?
It all began when Apple removed the port on the iPhone 7 in 2016—yes, technically Oppo did it first, but it was Apple's decision that sparked an industry trend. Apple famously cited space-saving reasons to make the phone slimmer and fit a bigger battery, but it was also to nudge along the burgeoning wireless headphone market (guess who sits at the top right now?). Since then, other companies followed swiftly, until the port was only found on budget and midrange phones.
Now, cheap phones are beginning to lose the port, likely because you can buy decent wireless earbuds for as little as $25 these days. It's very likely that within the next few years, the 3.5-mm port will disappear entirely from all smartphones.
You Can Use a USB-C Adapter
Not having a 3.5-mm port doesn't mean you can't use wired headphones at all with a smartphone. You can buy a USB-C headphone dongle, which plugs into the USB-C port of your smartphone and adds a 3.5-mm port.
Apple USB-C to 3.5-mm Adapter for $9. This adapter from Apple will do the job for any smartphone with a USB-C port—that means Android phones and the iPhone 15 and newer. I recommend buying a few because they’re easy to lose. If you have an iPhone with the Lightning port (iPhone 14 and older), you'll have to go for a third-party dongle as Apple officially discontinued its adapter. However, the company does sell a Lightning to 3.5-mm cable you can use with your headphones.
Google USB-C Earbuds for $30: Alternatively, you can use USB-C earbuds. They're standard wired earbuds but instead of a 3.5-mm connector at the end, it's a USB-C one that connects to your phone's charging port. I've used these earbuds from Google for a few years—they sound decent and are cheap. You can probably find plenty of other USB-C headphones, just make sure you check reviews to see what's worth your money.
Scosche Car FM Transmitter for $20: This isn't a solution for people with wired headphones, but if you're like me and have an older car without Bluetooth and have had mixed results with dongles, I recommend this adapter. Plug it into your car's 12-volt port, and turn on your FM radio to the station displayed on the device's screen. Once you pair your smartphone to it via Bluetooth, your music will transmit over the air to the FM station, almost exactly as if your car had Bluetooth. It's seamless, and this comes with a 3.5-mm cable that goes from this device to your car's auxiliary port.
- Photograph: Julian Chokkattu
Best Overall
Motorola Moto G Power (2025)Wireless charging? Yep. NFC so you can tap to pay with your phone? Sure thing. Headphone jack? You bet. It only costs $300, but Motorola's Moto G Power 2025 (7/10, WIRED Recommends) is a stylish phone that checks off a lot of boxes. Performance isn't as smooth as its predecessor, but it's got enough horsepower to run most apps without frustration.
The main camera takes some decent photos, and the display is sharp and bright (with a 120-Hz refresh rate). Motorola has improved this device in two key areas—it's now IP68 water resistant so it can survive the elements and a drop in the pool, and the company is promising two Android OS upgrades (up to Android 17), with the usual three years of security updates. That might mean holding onto this phone a little longer than before, which is always a plus, considering the e-waste crisis.
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A Flagship Phone With the Jack
Asus ROG Phone 9 and Phone 9 ProAsus continues to be one of the few Android manufacturers offering headphone jacks in its flagship smartphones. The long-running ROG Phone series is now in its ninth iteration and features not just the 3.5-mm jack, but two USB-C ports so you can charge the gaming phone in any orientation. If all you want is a high-performing device with a headphone port, this is one of your only options with the top-end Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset. However, it's hard to stomach the $1,000 price. Asus doesn't measure up to its peers in some areas—the software can feel clunky, the cameras are lackluster, and I ran into a few bugs in my testing. Not to mention, it will only get two Android OS upgrades and five years of security updates. That's not great value.
There are two phones in the ROG Phone 9 series: the ROG Phone 9 and ROG Phone 9 Pro. I only tested the former, but the latter is really what most people may want. If you're going to spend this much on a niche gaming phone, go big or go home, right? The primary difference is that the Pro model has extra Mini-LEDs on the back that light up to show personalized graphics and even enable fun retro games you can play using the air trigger shoulder haptic buttons. The Pro has slightly upgraded cameras, with a 32-megapixel 3X telephoto and a 13-megapixel ultrawide. You can also snag a bundle with Asus's Aeroactive Cooler, which adds extra buttons to map controls in your mobile games, plus a fan to keep the phone cool and enable longer stutter-free gaming sessions.
Just keep in mind that the ROG Phone 9 doesn't work on Verizon's network in the US. It'll be fine on AT&T and T-Mobile and their respective mobile virtual network operators.
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A Midrange Phone Worth Considering
ZTE Nubia Redmagic 10 ProSpun out from ZTE, Nubia's gaming phones focus on performance and battery life over everything else, and the RedMagic 10 Pro (7/10, WIRED Review) is no different. It has the same Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset as the ROG Phone 9 above, at an unexpectedly low price. It even has a lovely 6.85-inch AMOLED screen with a 144-Hz refresh rate. The caveats? There are quite a few. It's a bulky device with janky software, and Nubia only promises one Android OS upgrade, with three years of security updates. Unsurprisingly for a gaming phone, the cameras aren't good.
More importantly, while Nubia's hardware may have the bands needed to work on most US carriers (there's a carrier compatibility chart here), your mileage may vary. I've seen folks complaining about compatibility issues on every major US network, though it seems to fare best on T-Mobile. It's worth checking with your carrier to see if the device is supported.
Other Phones to Consider
There are several older phones from Motorola, HMD, and other brands with the headphone jack, but you should probably avoid them if they launched before 2024. If none of the above options strike your fancy, here are some others to consider, all tested by me.
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HMD Fusion for $300: HMD's Fusion (5/10, WIRED Review) is a decent-performing phone that's a touch too expensive for what you get. The software support is lackluster, and the screen is dim. Its whole schtick is the modular “Outfits” you can attach to expand functionality, though the options are slim right now and are a little uninspired.
Moto G 2025 for $200: A step down from the Moto G Power 2025, this phone doesn't have perks like wireless charging, but it still has NFC to make contactless payments and, of course, the headphone jack. Its performance is a little stifling—you might get frustrated as apps take their time to load—and its cameras are passable.
Nuu N20 for $114: I just set this phone up, so I can't make a proper judgment call yet. So far, it's a little sluggish, but decently built considering it's just over $100. It has a headphone jack, a microSD card slot, and a 90-Hz LCD, but it lacks 5G connectivity.
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Motorola's Moto G Power 5G 2024 for $180 and Moto G Stylus 5G 2024 ($242): I usually don't recommend previous-generation Motorola devices, but I think these phones are still decent buys at their lower prices (8/10, WIRED Recommends). They perform exceptionally well for the money—the Moto G Stylus is even smoother with an OLED screen and has nicer cameras. They feature perks like wireless charging, NFC for contactless payments, and the headphone jack. The G Stylus even has an integrated stylus to sign documents or doodle. Just be aware that the update to Android 15 is the only OS upgrade. They will get security updates for two more years, and that's it.
HMD Vibe for $103: The two good things about this HMD phone are its price and performance—it runs OK once it's set up and going (5/10, WIRED Review). Oh, and it has a headphone jack and microSD card slot. Outside of that, this phone will not get any Android updates (just two years of security updates), there's no 5G connectivity, no NFC for contactless payments, and even no fingerprint sensor.
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