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Best OverallMotorola Moto G Stylus 2026Read more$500
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Runner-UpMotorola Moto G Power 2026Read more$400 $370 (8% off)
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A Phone With a Matte ScreenTCL 60 XE Nxtpaper 5GRead more$250 $180 (28% off).png)
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An Uber Budget PhoneMotorola Moto G Play 5G 2026Read more$250 $220 (12% off)Amazon
It’s been 10 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 its universal compatibility. You can use any pair of corded headphones—no need to worry about connectivity blips, batteries dying, dongles, or misplaced earbuds.
There are times when Bluetooth is preferable, but having the option is nice. Unfortunately, every year, another major manufacturer decides to cut the headphone jack from the feature list. In 2025, that was 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 Stylus 2026. 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 July 2026: We've added the Moto G Stylus 2026.
What Happened to the Headphone Jack?
AccordionItemContainerButtonLargeChevronIt all began when Apple removed the port on the iPhone 7 in 2016—yes, technically Oppo did it first, but Apple's decision 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 found only 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 $30 these days. The 3.5-mm port will likely disappear entirely from all smartphones within the next few years.
Does Plugging In Improve Audio Quality?
AccordionItemContainerButtonLargeChevronYes, plugging in a pair of wired headphones means the audio is not compressed, so it can transmit more detail, offering a higher-fidelity audio experience. There's also little or no latency, meaning there's no delay between the music coming from your phone and the audio playing through the headphones. Wired connections also offer zero connectivity issues, and you won't have to worry about battery life. Some wired earbuds also have physical buttons for music playback controls, which always beats out the finicky touch controls on most earbuds.
On the other hand, today's Bluetooth codecs are significantly better than those from even five years ago. Most people will not hear a major difference in audio quality between wired and wireless headphones.
You Can Use a USB-C Dongle
AccordionItemContainerButtonLargeChevronNot having a 3.5-mm port doesn't mean you can't use wired headphones with a smartphone. You can buy a USB-C headphone dongle that plugs into your smartphone's USB-C port and adds a 3.5-mm port.
Apple USB-C to 3.5-mm Adapter for $9. This adapter from Apple will work with 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 a Lightning port (iPhone 14 or earlier), you'll need to use a third-party dongle, as Apple has officially discontinued its adapter.
Google USB-C Earbuds for $31: Alternatively, you can use USB-C earbuds. They're standard wired earbuds, but instead of a 3.5-mm connector at the end, there is a USB-C connector that plugs into your phone's charging port. I've used these Google earbuds for a few years—they sound decent and are cheap. You can probably find plenty of other USB-C headphones, but make sure you check reviews to see what's worth your money.
What Happened to Asus Phones?
AccordionItemContainerButtonLargeChevronAsus was one of the few companies churning out flagship smartphones with the headphone jack. Sadly, the company confirmed earlier this year that it is exiting the mobile business altogether—say goodbye to the Zenfone and ROG Phone series. It'll continue supporting the phones as promised, but there are no new device launches for 2026. The company claims it's a “temporary” pause, so there's always a chance it could return to the market.
Best Overall
- Photograph: Julian Chokkattu
- Photograph: Julian Chokkattu
- Photograph: Julian Chokkattu
Motorola
Moto G Stylus 2026
$500Amazon
$500Best Buy
$500Motorola
If a headphone jack is a must-have on your next phone, Motorola's Moto G Stylus 5G 2026 is hands-down your best option. Not only does it have the jack, but it also stores a stylus inside, an embarrassment for any other company that cited space-saving reasons to nix the port. The problem is that Motorola didn't add much new in the 2026 iteration, yet it upped the price—it even has the same processor as the 2025 model but less storage to start. That's par for the course with most electronics these days.
Performance is completely fine, thankfully, and you get a 120-Hz, 6.7-inch OLED screen. It's slim, despite the 5,200-mAh battery, which can last two full days with light to average use. The 50-megapixel main camera is reliable day or night as long as you keep still when tapping the shutter button and your subject isn't moving; otherwise, you'll get a lot of blurry images.
Even if it now starts with 128 GB of storage, there's a microSD card slot to expand space, something you won't find on most smartphones these days. It also sports wireless charging and an IP68/69 rating so it will survive an accidental drop in the pool. Motorola's offering two Android OS upgrades and 3 years of security updates, which is not great considering the price of this phone—the Google Pixel 10a, for example, will receive seven years of blanket updates.
At $500, it's not great value like its predecessors, but if you can find it on sale, this is still one of the only phones on the market with good performance, a headphone jack, a microSD card slot, and an embedded stylus, if you care about that perk.
Runner-Up
- Photograph: Julian Chokkattu
- Photograph: Julian Chokkattu
- Photograph: Julian Chokkattu
Motorola
Moto G Power 2026
$400 $370 (8% off)Amazon
$400Best Buy
$400Motorola
Motorola may have cut wireless charging from the 2026 iteration of the Moto G Power, but thanks to some under-the-hood optimization, it performs better than its predecessor. That's a fine trade-off, though it's odd considering the two phones are powered by the same MediaTek Dimensity 6300 chip with 8 GB of RAM. Yes, you'll still notice some slowness here and there—it's a step down from the Moto G Stylus, after all—but it's not a stuttery experience. The other notable hardware upgrades are an improved selfie camera and a slightly larger 5,200-mAh battery capacity.
Battery life is the next best thing about this phone, easily lasting two days with average use. The 6.8-inch LCD screen is bright and sharp enough, and the phone is IP68/69-rated to survive dips in the pool and inclement weather. Don't expect much from the camera system. If you have steady hands, you can capture passable photos from the 50-MP primary shooter, though it struggles in low light and high-contrast scenes. Introduce any kind of handshake, and you'll get a blurry photo.
If you can deal with those flaws—including the limited software policy of two Android OS upgrades and three years of security updates—the Moto G Power 2026 still checks off a lot of boxes for its $400 price. (Yes, it originally was $300, but Motorola jacked the price by $100.) It has NFC for contactless payments, a microSD card slot to expand on the 128 GB of storage, and, naturally, the coveted headphone jack.
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A Phone With a Matte Screen
- Photograph: Julian Chokkattu
- Photograph: Julian Chokkattu
- Photograph: Julian Chokkattu
TCL
60 XE Nxtpaper 5G
$250 $180 (28% off)Amazon
A surprisingly good phone for $250, the TCL 60 XE Nxtpaper 5G's spotlight feature revolves around its matte, paperlike display. While TCL says it lowers blue light from entering your eyes (supposedly to reduce eyestrain and improve sleep quality), there's no substantive evidence that these blockers do much. Instead, you should buy this phone if you think you'll enjoy the antireflective screen, which feels almost like an e-reader. There's even a switch on the side of the device that lets you swap modes, like Ink Paper Mode, which converts it to a black-and-white screen with a warmer color temperature, and a Kindle-like reading experience.
Performance is solid for the money, and you get additional perks like a microSD card slot, NFC for contactless payments, and wireless charging. It works on every major US carrier, too. TCL's lackluster software update policy means this device won't receive Android 17. Worse, the newer TCL Nxtpaper 70 Pro no longer has the headphone jack.
An Uber Budget Phone
Photograph: Julian ChokkattuSave to wishlistSave to wishlistMotorola
Moto G Play 5G 2026
$250 $220 (12% off)Amazon
$250Best Buy
$250Motorola
Want to spend as little as possible? You can probably make do with the Moto G Play 2026, which features 5G connectivity for the first time. Performance is just OK—apps can take a beat to load, and everything generally feels sluggish. Folks I spoke with on the phone said my audio quality didn't sound great either. You do get a decently sharp and bright screen, two days of battery life, a microSD card slot to expand the 64 GB of storage, and a headphone jack. I spent a week using it, and other than being patient with its performance, it was serviceable.
If your needs are minimal, the Moto G Play 2026 will do the job, though you may want to go for the nearly identical Moto G 2026, which has the same specs but with upgraded cameras and 128 GB of storage. That, or catch the aforementioned Moto G Power 2026 when it inevitably goes on sale.
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A Distraction-Free Phone
Photograph: Julian ChokkattuSave to wishlistSave to wishlistMinimal
Phone
$499 $450 (10% off)Minimal
If you want to jack in, but also unplug from the world, consider the Minimal Phone. This Android handset has a tiny, 4.3-inch e-paper screen and a physical keyboard. It lets you access all of your favorite apps, but since the screen constantly ghosts and isn't suited for video playback, you'll find yourself barely using social media (the cameras are also pretty bad). That's kind of the point—suffering through a subpar experience in some apps more than others means you're also relying on your phone less. You can still access modern-day amenities like Uber, authenticators, and banking apps.
Minimal promises to support the phone with updates for five years, though it's a new company, so there's always the risk that it could go under and halt support. The phone has most of the perks you'd want, from contactless payments via NFC to wireless charging. Just know that it's designed to be used less than a normal smartphone—except if you want to jack in and jam out to Radiohead all day.
A Gaming Phone
- Photograph: Simon Hill
- Photograph: Simon Hill
- Photograph: Simon Hill
Nubia
Redmagic 11 Pro
$749Redmagic
Asus may have exited the smartphone market, but Nubia is here to fill the void with its Redmagic gaming phones. The current iteration is the Redmagic 11 Pro—one of the only smartphones on the market with a headphone jack and the latest Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 flagship processor. That means you get some of the best performance around! Other perks include a large 6.85-inch AMOLED screen, a 144-Hz refresh rate, and a massive 7,500-mAh battery. It's designed to play top-tier mobile games, and it does it easily.
The cameras take a back seat, so keep that in mind, and the software experience is lackluster, though the company is now offering five years of updates. Still, if you desperately want a dedicated headphone jack on your smartphone and don't want to compromise on performance, the Redmagic 11 Pro is one of your only options.
You do need to be wary of carrier compatibility—the company lists supported US carriers on the product page, including AT&T, Google Fi, and T-Mobile. Some bands you'd find on other US phones are missing, so you may not have the strongest cellular experience even on some supported networks. There's a 15-day return policy if you want to give it a shot and test if it'll work on your network without problems.
A USB-C and 3.5-mm Adapter
Photograph: Julian ChokkattuSave to wishlistSave to wishlistBelkin
Rockstar 3.5mm Audio + USB-C Charge Adapter
$40Amazon
$40 $38 (5% off)Best Buy
$40Belkin
Dongle is a horrible word, but using one is far cheaper than buying a new phone outright. While a basic USB-C to 3.5-mm adapter will do the job, I prefer this Belkin adapter, which adds a USB-C port next to the headphone jack, allowing you to recharge the phone while playing tunes. The dongle itself is plasticky, so you'll want to be careful when handling it, but the USB-C connector is long enough that there's enough clearance for the adapter from your pocket. The charger supports up to 60 watts, which is plenty for phones, tablets, and even most laptops. Belkin offers a two-year warranty.
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Julian Chokkattu is Senior Editor, Gear at WIRED, overseeing personal technology, gadgets, and gizmos. He has been reviewing consumer products for a decade, specializing in mobile—from smartphones, tablets, and smartwatches to smart glasses and virtual reality. This is his sixth year at WIRED. Previously, he was the mobile and wearables ... Read MoreSenior Editor, GearTopicsShoppingbuying guidesAudiophileHeadphonesphonessmartphonesAndroidThe Best Phones You Can’t Buy in the USAvoid phone FOMO with our favorite smartphones that aren’t officially sold stateside but are available in markets like the UK and Europe.Simon HillWhich Motorola Phone Should You Buy?Motorola phones may seem old-school, but their reasonable prices, colorful designs, and simple software make them good, wallet-friendly Android smartphones.Julian ChokkattuThe Best Smart Rings for Tracking Your Health in 2026A svelte smart ring can track important activity, sleep, and health metrics. Plus, unlike most smartwatches, it doesn’t need to be charged every day.Boutayna Chokrane Stay Safe With These Personal Safety AlarmsMake some noise for safety with our favorite alarms, from keychain sirens to wearable bracelets.Boutayna Chokrane The Best iPhone 17 Cases and Accessories—We’ve Tested More Than 100Protect your expensive iPhone 17, iPhone Air, iPhone Pro, or iPhone 17e with our favorite cases and screen protectors.Julian ChokkattuOur Favorite Smartwatches Do Much More Than Just Tell TimeThese WIRED-tested wearables reduce your reliance on a phone while keeping you connected.Boutayna Chokrane The Smart Speakers We Can’t Stop Talking ToLooking to add a smart speaker to your house? Here’s which to choose, whether you’re an Alexa, Siri, or Gemini fan. Nena Farrell The Best Wi-Fi Routers to Reach Every Corner of Your HomeDon’t suffer the buffer. These WIRED-tested home routers will deliver reliable internet across your home, whatever your needs or budget.Simon HillQuell the Heat With Our Favorite Window Air ConditionersThese are the AC units we’ve trusted to cool our homes for months, if not years.Matthew KorfhageYour Shower Water Might Be Messing With Your Hair and Skin—These Filters HelpI tested leading filtered showerheads to see how well they remove total chlorine from your water.Matthew KorfhageSony’s New Mini RGB LED Television Is Good, Not GreatThis midrange mini RGB LED television has a high-end price but doesn’t match the brightness and contrast of more advanced models.John BrandonI Tried 12 of the Most Popular Indoor Gardening SystemsGrow a backyard’s worth of greens and vegetables in your house with a vertical hydroponic garden. Here are a few that might be worth the investment.Kat Merck
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