Andy Boxall / Digital Trends
Now the Apple iPhone 16e has officially been announced — and is available for preorder, no less — you might wonder what accessories you need to buy for it. This handset has been a long time coming and fits nicely into the lineup between the higher-end iPhone 16, holding to many of the flagship’s most useful features, while still remaining a budget-friendly option.
Does the iPhone 16e have a headphone jack?
Apple
You might wonder whether you should invest in AirPods, or if an old set of wired headphones will do the trick. And to answer that, you need to know if the new iPhone 16e has a headphone jack or not. Short answer: of course it doesn’t. Apple hasn’t changed course since its notoriously “courageous” decision to remove the headphone jack from its phones almost a decade ago, and so, the iPhone 16e has no headphone jack.
Given Apple has discontinued its Lighting to 3.5mm adapter — and that the iPhone 16e uses USB-C, not Lightning — that workaround is also out. But you will be able to use a third-party USB-C to 3.5mm adapter to listen to your favorite tunes with a wired connection, as well as any USB-C headphones you can find.
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The main go-to for any Apple user in terms of Bluetooth headphones would be the Apple AirPods, but we also have a list of some of the best wireless earbuds for 2025 that’s worth looking through.
Do you have any other options?
Simon Cohen / Digital Trends
Without a headphone jack, you’re stuck either going the dongle route with adapters or choosing a set of Bluetooth earbuds. Of course, you can also use Bluetooth headphones, too, and there are quite a few options that sound much better than even the best AirPods.
If you want to stay within the Apple ecosystem, here’s always the Apple AirPods Max, but those come with a high price tag. Options from Sennheiser or Sony are more affordable, and higher quality too. You can also get better noise cancellation with over-ear headphones than you can with earbuds, so if you’re in a busy office — or a busy home office — you can stay focused on your work, not on what’s going on around you.
Of course, listening alone isn’t the only way to listen to music, and if you want to share your beats with friends, or torture family members with the latest synth-nightcore-metal-funk fusion, then you can check out our list of the best wireless speakers too.
The iPhone 16e is bringing some serious changes to the iPhone 16 lineup, but don’t hold your breath for a headphone jack to return in this model or any future ones.
Patrick Hearn writes about smart home technology like Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant, smart light bulbs, and more. If it’s a…
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