Over the past few years, Apple’s earbuds became a viral sensation across TikTok and Instagram. No, I’m not talking about AirPods; I’m talking about EarPods, the buds that used to come with every iPhone and have been near the top of the list for the best budget earbuds for years. Wired headphones had a cultural moment leading up to the summer months, and we understood why when our senior tech writer Mike Andronico picked them back up and used them for jamming out to music, answering calls and more.
In short, they’re pretty great for almost everything, as long as you’re good with the wire and don’t need mind-blowing sound quality. And now Apple is setting the EarPods up again to go viral by introducing an updated pair with USB-C, aligning with the iPhone 15’s switch to the new connector from Lightning.
And you know what? For $19, these are killer earbuds not just for the iPhone but for your other devices too. Here’s why they’re one of the best products you can get for under $25.
Whether you’re looking to permanently switch to wired earbuds or you want an emergency backup for when your AirPods die, EarPods with USB-C are an excellent pickup — especially for the price.
How I found the Apple EarPods with USB-C
When your job is reporting on the latest tech, you get sent a lot of product pitches, press releases and spec sheets. During the second week of September when I was covering the new iPhone 15 like everyone else, I stumbled across press materials that mentioned a new pair of EarPods with USB-C. Immediately my mind said, “Yeah, there’s no way Apple would ship this; it must be a misprint.” After all, there are the AirPods — there’s no immediate need to ship another pair of wired EarPods to accommodate the iPhone 15’s new charging port.
But then I had a deeper look on Apple’s online store, and lo and behold, there they were: EarPods with USB-C. I was in awe — not because of their excellent craftsmanship or revolutionary feature set, but because I just assumed Apple forgot about them. But surprisingly enough, Apple didn’t, so I quickly added them to my bag and told my editor I would be covering them for Underscored. Why? I’ll tell ya why.
Why they’re a score
These seem like average, ordinary EarPods, and that’s because they are. Apple didn’t add any fancy features like noise cancellation or Spatial Audio. In fact, the only change between these EarPods and the previous Lightning version is the inclusion of the USB-C port.
But while it’s a small change, it means you can plug them into almost any device that has the matching port. If that sounds familiar, it’s because EarPods used to be that way when the 3.5mm headphone jack was around. EarPods used to work on any device that had the hundred-plus-year-old jack, then when Apple switched the port to Lightning, they only worked on iPhones and iPads.
Now, in the 2020s, all those devices (well, at least most of them) have switched to USB-C, and the EarPods are here to give you immediate access to your tunes regardless of what kind of device you have.
I plugged these bad boys into everything — my iPhone, my Mac, my Google Pixel Fold, my Surface Laptop Studio 2, anything that had a USB-C port and could play sound —?and, as you’d expect, they all worked like a charm. There’s no proprietary Apple “magic” in these earbuds; it’s quite literally plug and play.
Even the volume controls work on other devices, which has always been one of the best features of Apple’s EarPods. And, of course, you get that microphone, which has been called one of the best on any pair of headphones ever. I can attest to this: My voice regularly sounds the clearest when I use my EarPods for phone calls as opposed to my AirPods, which sound a lot murkier and wetter.
Is sound quality top tier? No, of course not. These are $19 headphones, so you can’t expect much. Luckily, they aren’t total disappointments; the sound is generally clear and has a decent amount of bass, which makes them good for casually listening to a playlist or taking phone calls. They’re not the greatest headphones to use if, say, your favorite artist just dropped an album and you’re listening to it for the first time (compared to my AirPods, the EarPods left much to be desired from The Rolling Stones’ “Hackney Diamonds”). But overall, for casual listening, they’re completely fine.
They’re also perhaps the best affordable earbuds with USB-C on the market. Other options like Sony’s EX155AP, JLab JBuds Pro and Belkin SoundForm earbuds are typically $10 more than what Apple charges, and you won’t enjoy the same sound quality that Apple has been able to fine-tune for the EarPods over their 11-year history.
Whether you’re looking to switch to wired earbuds over the long run or you just want an emergency backup for when your AirPods die, the EarPods with USB-C are an excellent pickup — especially at just $19.
