To take heed to music on any iPhone because the age-old iPhone 7, you both want a pair of Bluetooth headphones, a 3.5mm to Lightning adapter (not included within the field since 2018) or a pair of wired Lightning headphones, that hook up with the Lightning port.
It isn’t one thing you see in each retailer or from each model, however Lightning headphones do exist, and so they assist you to plug a pair of headphones instantly into the port on the underside fringe of your iPhone.
That was a job that was fulfilled by the bundled Apple Earpods, however Apple stopped together with the wired Lightning earbuds within the field again in 2020 as a part of its try to cut back digital waste.
In fact it is price us stating that wireless headphones are infinitely extra handy, and the vast majority of folks can be higher served by them. However if you’re on the lookout for the perfect wired headphones in your iPhone, listed below are our prime picks.
Best Lightning headphones
Belkin/Pocket-lint
Belkin SoundForm iPhone Headphones with Lightning Connector
1. Best Lightning headphones overall
Great all-round option
These wired Lightning headphones come with a tangle-free cable and are at home with calls or music, while there’s also an in-line volume control.
- Very affordable
- Tangle-free cable
- In-line mic/control hangs off one ear
- Not the most secure fit
The Belkin Soundform makes our top pick because we believe what most people want is an affordable, unfussy pair of in-ears to replace the wired earpods that used to come in the iPhone box. These are arguably the closest thing to those you’ll find.
Available in both black and white, these wired Lightning headphones also come in a USB-C version for Android phones. They’re Apple-certified and come with a tangle-free cable. Naturally, they’re at home with calls or music, while there’s also an in-line volume control.
As you can see, they’re inexpensive compared to many other Lightning-headphone options, too.
Pioneer/Pocket-lint
Pioneer Rayz Plus
2. Best Lightning headphones for noise cancelling
Simple and dependable
A genius charging port elevates the Rayz Plus over its competition.
- Competitive price
- Active noise cancelling
- “Hey Siri” hands-free
The Pioneer Rayz Plus have built-in noise-cancelling technology that promises to adapt to your ears, but also lets in enough external noise to make sure you stay aware of your surroundings. When you take them out of your ears, the music you were listening to automatically pauses and starts again when you put them back in.
A convenience key on the in-line controls can be set to open a music app, mute calls or launch Rayz controls, which allows you to adjust various headphone settings. Perhaps one of the best features of the Rayz Plus though, is they let you charge your iPhone while listening to music.
All this is great, and the sound quality is brilliant for the money as well. But the fit is one area that has let some users down. They often need pushing back in or adjusting to maintain the sound quality and noise cancelling.
Still, for the money, it’s hard to argue with what’s on offer here.
1More/Pocket-lint
1More Triple Driver In-Ear Headphones
3. Best Lightning headphones for sound quality
Great sound, poor mic
These triple driver headphones sound fantastic for the price – just don’t use them for phone calls.
- Great sound quality
- Nice build
- Great value
The sound quality on these 1More Triple Driver in-ears is superb for the money, with three drivers in each bud handling every element of the frequency range – plus a 24-bit/48kHz DAC for distortion-free sound.
The aluminium alloy design looks the part too, while a 5-in-1 control handles playback – and can be controlled with one thumb for ultimate convenience.
The mic isn’t great here though and call quality suffers because of it. There’s no noise cancellation either, which you’ll find elsewhere in our picks if that’s important to you. But for great sound quality alone, for under $100, these are a great option.
Libratone
Libratone Q-Adapt in-ear
4. Best Lightning headphones for style
Ideal budget selection
Libratone knows how to make great, affordable headphones, and these in-ears are a prime example.
- Great sound
- ANC equipped
- Fashionable design and colours
- Not the cheapest
- Not the most durable
Libratone’s Q Adapt in-ear Lightning headphones use the power from the Lightning port to power their CityMix noise cancellation technology. There are four varying levels of noise cancellation, which either lets some external noise in, so you’re aware of your surroundings, or blocks it out entirely.
What Libratone has going for it, as with a lot of its products, is style. The Q-Adapt in-ears look fantastic. They’re sleek, pretty, and come in four different subtle colours.
While they might not be that cheap – considering they’re wired – they’re far from being very expensive. If you want good wired sound without having to pay a small fortune, these are the buds for you.
Apple EarPods
5. Best Lightning headphones for value
Basic buds
The original Lightning headphones, Apple’s Earpods are a great choice for a cheap price.
- Lightweight, comfy fit
- Decent sound
- Easy controls
- Great price
- Not the most stable fit
- Sound is leaky
While Apple has stopped putting the Earpods into the box with its iPhone, it has continued to offer them at a very reasonable price for those who would prefer to have the option of straightforward wired headphones.
The fit will divide opinion. There’s no doubt it’s comfortable and lightweight, but they aren’t the most secure and certainly aren’t a good option for workouts. Sound isn’t bad at all though – far from the very best but for under $20 there’s nothing to grumble about here.
The mic on the cable makes you easily heard on calls and also makes for easy track and call control via the in-line remote. Sound can be a little bit leaky to those around you, but for basic wired Lightning buds, these will do the trick for most people.
Sennheiser Ambeo Smart
6. Best Lightning headphones for workouts
For those who need a fit that can handle workouts, this is a great offering.
- Affordable
- Over-ear hook design for a secure fit
- 360 sound is quirky
- The mic unit is chunky
This one’s a bit of a wild card entry: Sennheiser’s Ambeo Smart headset. They have been among the many first to launch with Lightning connector included, however Sennheiser did not need to launch a median on a regular basis pair of in-ears. As an alternative, it launched with a really distinctive promoting level.
The Ambeo headphones characteristic two omnidirectional microphones to supply a 360 impact in recorded audio, which suggests they double as a microphone for if you’re recording movies in your cellphone. The concept is that you just’re immersed in your audio panorama.
They characteristic ANC however may also enable sounds by way of with the intention to hear what is going on on round you. Plus, now that they are older, they’re very inexpensive.
How did we select the perfect Lightning headphones?
We checked again to our opinions (once we have been nonetheless reviewing Lightning headphones), and had a take a look at which of these we appreciated and which ones are nonetheless out there. Then, we took a take a look at the market, learn lots of of first-hand consumer opinions and mixed them with our expertise of the manufacturers – by way of sound high quality, construct high quality and repute.
FAQ
Q: Ought to I purchase Lightning headphones?
We’d most likely advocate investing in wi-fi headphones as an alternative, since Lightning headphones are tied to Apple gadgets and likewise fairly restricted in availability now. Nevertheless if wi-fi is not for you, or if you’d like the perfect sound out of your Apple machine (and have the supply materials to take advantage of it), they’re nonetheless a viable possibility.
Q: Do Lightning headphones sound higher?
When Apple first debuted the Lightning connector on its gadgets, higher audio was one among its sweeteners for eradicating the three.5mm jack. Specs acknowledged it was able to receiving lossless 48kHz stereo digital audio output from Apple gadgets and people with microphones may additionally ship a 48kHz mono digital audio enter.
Apple additionally hoped to see extra superior Lightning headphones with built-in digital-to-analogue converters (DACs) and amplifiers inbuilt. With these, audio travelling by way of the Lightning port would move into the headphones digitally, thus avoiding typical analogue sign interferences you get with different headphones – creating purer sound high quality.
Nevertheless, funding into these sort of Lightning headphones by manufacturers was comparatively low and Apple’s proprietary connector was quickly snubbed in choice for funding in wi-fi headphones as an alternative. Even Apple itself has eliminated the Lightning connector from its most up-to-date iPads. Nevertheless, if you happen to do need the highest quality audio attainable from an iPhone, a wired Lightning connection is the way in which to do it, since iPhones do not help lossless Bluetooth codecs, like LDAC or aptX Lossless.
Q: What occurs if I am unable to discover any Lightning headphones I like?
There are a few choices right here. First, you might fortunately simply purchase the Lightning-to-3.5mm adapter from Apple, after which the world of wired headphones is your oyster. Plus if you have already got cabled buds you like it means you do not have to do away with them. However in any other case (and we do not imply to labour the purpose however keep on with us), take into consideration attempting wi-fi headphones. Bluetooth applied sciences have superior so much because the early days, to the purpose of them being near lag-free with a lot improved sound high quality. Apple AirPods are fashionable for a cause.
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