With Apple finally integrating the universal USB-C interface in their latest iPhone 15 device, there’s a huge demand for USB-C earbuds on the market. The shift from a lightning connector to a USB-C connector in the latest iPhone allows you to connect any type of USB-C buds to it.
So, in this guide, we will list the USB-C earbuds that can take your audio experience to the next level. You can connect these buds with all the versions of iPhone 15 without any hassle.
The reason Apple has adapted to the USB-C interface is because it’s the universal standard set for most devices these days. This means you can now use the same USB-C buds with your iPhone that you once used with your Android phone.
Moreover, USB-C cables can transfer data up to 40Gbps whereas Apple’s lightning port was only limited to 480Mbps. On top of all, USB-C can transmit a wider range of frequencies as compared to a 3.5mm jack.
Lastly, USB-C offers more power for active noise cancellation, spatial audio, and head tracking as compared to a 3.5mm jack port. Overall, you can expect higher bandwidth and lower latency with a USB-C interface.
Reviews of the Best USB-C Earbuds for iPhone 15
| Product Name | Sound Quality | Design | Controls | Noise Cancellation | Brand Reputation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apple EarPods in-Ear | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ❌ | ✔ |
| SAMSUNG AKG Earbuds | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ❌ | ✔ |
| Razer Hammerhead USB-C ANC | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
| Google Pixel USB-C | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ❌ | ✔ |
| OneKer | ❌ | ✔ | ✔ | ❌ | ❌ |
1: Apple EarPods in-Ear Earbuds – Overall Best Pick
Reasons to Buy:
- Made by Apple
- Highly Compatible with iPhone
- Sturdy Build Quality
- Easy-to-Use Controls
To be honest, if you are just limited to listening to calls on your iPhone 15, then you should go with the wired Apple Earpod USB-C earbuds. These are the most comfortable earbuds that you can connect with your iPhone.
These are the most simple-looking earbuds with minimal aesthetics that you can find on this list. But this is something that you’ll find with most Apple products like Apple Airpods and Airpods 2, all of these don’t stand in the crowd.
Moving on, with a one-size-fits-all design, these earbuds won’t create any issues sitting comfortably in your ear canal. However, some users with small ear canals could have issues fitting these in.
Apple USB-C Eardpods earbuds are lightweight and you won’t feel any fatigue or soreness wearing them for long hours. I must say that these buds are fairly breathable as they have no silicon tips on them.
The only problem that I’ve found so far is that these earbuds make few contact points with your ears, which makes them a little bit unstable if you jerk your head too much. Still, they won’t get out of you easily if you use them for light workout sessions
When it comes down to listening to casual music, these will work just fine. However, don’t expect too much bass or noise blocking from these earbuds.
I liked the easy-to-use interface that includes track skipping, call/music, and volume controls. The buttons on the interface are well-spaced, so there are fewer chances of hitting the wrong button.
Overall, the Apple EarPods USB-C earbuds are a classic yet decent option for listening to calls or music. These are comfortable to wear for long hours for listening to casual music. On the downside, there’s no noise cancellation and they easily fall out of your ears if you jerk your head too much.
2: SAMSUNG AKG Earbuds – Best Value for the Money
Reasons to Buy:
- Comfortable to Wear
- Portable
- Decent Bass
- Affordable
If Apple iPhone 15 welcomes any USB-C earbud, then why not give a chance to its competitor, Samsung? Well, these in-ear earbuds from Samsung come with a non-detachable USB-C cable to pop up your audio experience.
Samsung AKG Type-C is more comfortable to wear as compared to the Apple AirPods earbuds. It’s because these have soft silicon ear tips at the end that prevent any soreness or fatigue caused to your ears by non-silicon tip earbuds.
Moreover, their lightweight nature makes them sit within your ear canals for long hours without hurting your ear tissues. Moreover, the silicon tips keep these buds sitting perfectly and prevent them from falling out.
Just like the Apple EarPods USB-C earbuds, the Samsung AKG Type-C buds have simple and easy-to-use in-line controls. You can adjust the volume, listen/pause music, receive/reject calls and even activate the voice assistant.
However, these controls lack skipping tracks forward or back which we found on the Apple’s EarPods earbuds. But these buds are portable and lightweight. So you can put them in your pocket or bag and carry them anywhere you want.
What I liked about these buds is the overall build quality. You will find silicon tips at the end and the back panel is made up of plastic. This ensures the comfortability and durability in a single package.
The silicon tips do keep these buds in your ears if you are listening to calls or music, but they will eventually fall out if you are doing intense exercises. So, I won’t recommend you go with these if you wear earbuds and go out for a workout or running.
Overall, the Samsung AKG Type-C is a good option if you want to pair it with the latest iPhone that supports a USB-C interface. These are comfortable to wear for long hours if you are listening to music or watching movies on your iPhone. As far as the sound is concerned, they offer a good balance between bass and treble. On the downside, they don’t offer noise cancellation and you cannot customize the sound.
3: Razer Hammerhead USB-C ANC – Best Performer
Reasons to Buy:
- Powerful bass
- Active Noise Cancellation
- Low Latency
- Robust Build Quality
- Aesthetics
The Razer Hammerhead USB-C is one the best USB-C in-ear earbuds you can find on the market. I was amazed by the build quality, aesthetics, and solid build quality of these buds, so I thought of testing them with the latest iPhone 15.
The Hammerhead buds come up with a sturdy build quality. The braided audio cable offers protection while preventing tangling issues. The aluminium casing around the buds prevents any audio leakage, which is hard to find in buds at this price range.
When it comes to fit and comfort, I’ve found the Razer Hammerhead USB-C similar to that of the Samsung AKG Type-C Buds on our list. But the former is more comfortable to fit for long hours as compared to the Razer Hammerhead USB-C.
The Razer Hammerhead USB-C, though, offers a bit more convenience than the Samsung AKG Type-C doesn’t offer, which is the stability in your ears. The Hammerhead USB-C buds offer a deep fit, which makes them stay in your ears even if you are sharing your head too much.
Just like all the other buds on the list, the Hammerhead USB-C buds are also lightweight. You can fit them in your pocket or bag and carry them anywhere you want.
The in-line remote control on Razer Hammerhead has 3 buttons accept/reject calls, play/pause music, and adjust volume. Double-tapping these buttons skips the music track while triple-tapping takes you to the previous track. There’s a dedicated switch on the side to turn on/off ANC.
Although, the Razer Hammerhead USB-C buds are marketed for the reason that they offer the ANC, don’t fall for it right away. Yes, these buds have ANC, but it’s mediocre quality, not the best when it goes on one with the competition.
These buds can muffle low-frequency sounds like somebody talking far in the background. However, when the noise source is near these buds, they struggle to filter out the noise.
But they still manage to block ambient noise to some extent. I would say that these buds are better for reducing mid-range noise like people chattering in the background, water flowing, rain, etc.
Overall, the Razer Hammerhead USB-C offer the most convenience at a reasonable price. They are comfy to wear, offer a secure fit, and have a decent ANC performance. Moreover, these are low-latency USB-C earbuds that you can connect to your iPhone to experience high-end audio performance. Well, the bass on these buds isn’t that good, hope you won’t mind it!
4: Google Pixel USB-C Earbuds – Best Sound Pick
Reasons to Buy:
- Solid Sound Quality
- Ergonomic Design
- Durable Build Quality
- Very Comfortable to Wear
- HD Microphone
The Google Pixel USB-C Earbuds offer the right balance between sound quality and comfy fit. Apart from its bad noise isolation, these earbuds have decent performance when it comes to calling or listening to music.
These buds come with adjustable cable loops to offer you the right fit according to your ears. Google Pixel buds are all made up of plastic, but still, they are very comfortable to wear for long hours.
I thought of comparing them with the Apple EarPod earbuds which are also made up of plastic. I’ve found the Apple EarPods to be more comfortable than the Google Pixel USB-C Buds in the long run.
With a minimalistic-looking design and plastic build, Google Pixel buds are only available in white color. Again, the white color from top to bottom doesn’t make these buds stand out to a large audience. I wish Google would offer these buds in more vibrant colours in the future.
But these are lightweight when it comes to portability. You can simply stuff them in your pocket without any issue. Unluckily, there’s no case offered by Google to protect these earbuds when not in use.
Just like all the other buds, there are dedicated buttons on the remote to adjust volume, accept/reject calls, and play/pause music. Although the remote control natively supports Google Assistant, you can also use it for Siri on your iPhone device.
Moving down to the stability, these are the most stable buds you’ll find on the list. The adjustable stabilizer fin holds them in one place inside your ear canals while doing intense exercises.
At the same time, the absence of braided cables makes the wire more prone to be tangled with nearby objects. However, this isn’t a big issue to prevent you from not buying these buds.
Further on, the sound quality of these buds is acceptable. Listening to calls or music on Google Pixel Buds doesn’t sound cheap at all. These buds offer an excellent balance between treble and bass, which is hard to find in buds at this price.
Although there are no customized sound options, you can install SoundID on your phone and switch between pre-defined EQ options to bump up your sound quality.
All in all, the Google Pixel USB-C earbuds offer superior performance with all versions of iPhone 15. These are comfortable to wear for long-hour calls and music sessions. They come with a microphone that offers decent recording quality. Although the Pixel USB-C buds are made up of cheap plastic, they offer good durability. The only thing that might worry you is their expensive price and bad noise isolation.
5: OneKer iPhone 15 Pro USB-C Headphones – Budget Pick
Reasons to Buy:
- Budget-Friendly
- Noise Isolation
- Advanced DAC Chip
Finding the earbuds for your iPhone doesn’t mean that they should be expensive. With the iPhone 15 Series natively supporting USB-C buds, you can go right away with cheaper options like OneKer.
OneKer’s earbuds sit right under the $10 price tag, but they are equipped with high-quality 10-millimeter speaker units and drivers for producing high-quality music. TBH, the bass and treble on these buds are way more powerful than Samsung’s AKG Type-C and Apple’s EarPods USB-C buds.
With the lower price tag, there are a lot of features that you cannot expect from these buds. However, these buds come with noise isolation to offer superior call quality in windy or noisy conditions.
Just like most buds out there in the market, this one also has a control interface which allows you to adjust volume, receive/reject calls, switch music, etc.
Despite being the cheapest on our list, these earbuds come with the latest DAC chip to bump up the music or call performance when connected to the iPhone 15.
Moreover, the magnetic end on both buds keeps them intact once you take them out. This also allows you to tie them around your neck rather than putting them back in your pocket or bag.
All in all, the OneKer earbuds are well-built, cheaper, and good for making phone calls or listening to casual music on your iPhone. The only downside with these buds is the bass, it’s not bad but not too punchy either to consider them for hip-hop or rap music. Other than the bass, these buds are a good choice if you are just limited to phone calls or casual music.
What to Look for When Buying USB-C Earbuds for iPhone
When buying USB-C earbuds, here’s what you need to look at:
Compatibility:
Older iPhone models do not support the USB-C port, so make sure that the model you have comes with a native USB-C port. Recently, Apple has introduced the USB-C port in their latest iPhone 15 phone. If you have an older iPhone model, then you will need to purchase a Lightning to USB-C adapter.
Sound Quality:
Always prefer earbuds that come with a wide frequency range response and balanced sound. Options like Active Noise Cancellation (ANC) would help you filter out ambient noise.
Comfort & Fit:
I’ve always stressed choosing earbuds that offer maximum comfort for a long period. Moreover, the earbuds that you choose must snugly fit into your ear canals. Look for earbuds that come with multiple silicon tips to achieve the right fit.
Build Quality:
Make sure that the earbuds are made up of durable materials. Some earbuds are made up of hard plastic whereas others are crafted by metal or aluminum. Metal or aluminium offers more durability as compared to plastic when exposed to hard environments.
Additional Features:
Earbuds that come with additional features make your life much easier. Especially, the in-line mics and controls to interact with calls or music on your iPhone make a lot of sense these days. Some earbuds allow you to interact with Siri right away by pressing the dedicated buttons.
Budget:
Always set a budget before you buy earbuds. A decent pair of earbuds range anywhere from $30 to $200 in the market.
Final Lines & Verdict
Well, these were some of the best USB-C earbuds that you can get for your iPhone 15. While USB-C earbuds have the potential to provide improved sound quality, the real performance depends on the quality of the earbuds, audio performance, and the types of DACs/amplifiers used in the manufacturing process.
As always, I highly stress going with reputable brands when it comes to getting more performance juice out of your earbuds.
We have chosen these buds based on the preferences and needs of users like you. No matter which earbuds you go with from the list, make sure they offer you better sound quality, comfort, fit, etc for your defined budget.
If I had to choose from this list, then it would be the Razer Hammerhead USB-C ANC. Not only do these earbuds offer better sound performance but they also offer features like active noise cancellation that everyone wants in Buds these days.
FAQs
Are USB-C earbuds any good?
Yes, USB-C earbuds offer way better performance than the ones that come with a 3.5mm jack. USB-C offers higher bandwidth and an advanced DAC chip resulting in superior sound quality.
Does any USB-C work with Apple?
Yes, the latest iPhone 15 Series now supports the USB-C port which means you can now charge your device or connect gadgets to it that support USB-C interface.
Do USB-C earbuds work with devices that don’t have a USB-C port?
SB-C earbuds may work with devices lacking a USB-C port through the use of adapters, although full functionality may not be guaranteed as there arise latency issues when using adapters.
How do I update the firmware on my USB-C earbuds?
You can check the manufacturer’s website or user manual for instructions on updating the firmware of your earbuds, it typically involves connecting them to a computer or a dedicated app.
I’ve been writing about gadgets for over 7 years now. I have a strong taste for music, no matter if it’s pop or classic. My passion for music has enabled me to come closer to audio equipment. I like writing and sharing my personal experience with audio equipment that passes by me.
