Bluetooth headphones have improved by leaps and bounds in terms of quality in recent years. Alongside this, more phone manufacturers have also dropped the headphone jack, pushing consumers to adopt the wireless audio standard. According to a recent poll, the majority seem to be Android Authority Readers haven’t cut these cables yet.
In this article, we asked you if you still use wired headphones on your smartphone. Here’s what you told us:
Are you still using wired headphones (3.5mm or USB-C) with your phone?
Results
We received over 9,000 votes on this poll on the website – it remains a passionate debate among readers. That means there is a clear winner. More than 7,000 (72%) votes were cast by users who are still using wired headphones on their smartphones, be it via the 3.5mm or USB-C ports. Readers cite a number of reasons why wired audio continues to make sense. No latency, no batteries to charge, and convenience were among the main reasons.
On social media, that gap is a little narrower. On Twitter53.4% of voters admit they still use wired headphones, while 59% of the votes on YouTube are similarly inclined.
Continue reading: The Best Under $ 100 Headphones You Can Buy
It is unlikely that wired headphones will have no space in the tech closet anytime soon. Although the existence of the 3.5mm jack is being questioned by smartphone companies, it remains a ubiquitous standard for other personal technologies such as personal computers and laptops. USB-C audio is also an alternative for devices that have been disconnected. Given the availability of both standards, it’s unlikely that wired headphones will fail completely anytime soon.
Just because readers are still using wired headphones doesn’t mean they’ve escaped the idea of bluetooth buds. Read through the comments, a number of Android Authority Readers use both technologies at different times in their day. Check out the comments section for more thoughts.
Here’s what you told us:
- Farhan Ahmad Tajuddin: I’ve been a wireless bluetooth user for a long time, so I know the feeling of living with latency lag, short range, and extra charging despite the benefit of portability. I’ve now switched to wired headphones and never look back.
- Brian Fowler: I use wireless most of the time, especially at work or on podcasts, but when I really want to listen to music I still prefer wired. One of the main reasons I stayed with LG for years.
- KEdRuss: I’ve been mostly Bluetooth for a while now, but I think all devices really need to keep the 3.5 jack as a backup and hate that both Google and Apple are doing without it in hopes of boosting AirPod sales.
- pda96: wired headphones. Even if I bought a phone without a jack, I would be using my wired headphones (through an adapter). Dollar for dollar, wireless headphones don’t sound that good.
- Ryan Fehr: I just bought a Pixel 4a 5G specifically for the 3.5mm jack. I couldn’t stand having to use a dongle on my Pixel 2 XL.
- Mark Kendrick: Personally, I haven’t used wired headphones in years, some before the 3.5mm jack went away. The cable would interfere with training, so I buy high-quality BT headphones instead.
- TheTomatoes: Basically, I only use WiFi when I know I’ll be moving around a lot.
- Oscar Prøwiz Obians: I use both. But when it comes to pure audio quality, wired BT is still blowing out of the water.
- Abdul Muhaimin: Third option: USB-C and Headphone jack.
That’s it for this poll. Thank you to everyone who voted and commented. If you have any other thoughts about the survey results or the benefits of using wired or bluetooth headphones, please drop them below.