The new OnePlus Nord earbuds celebrate the headphone jack. Wait ... what?

I'm that 5G guy. I've actually been here for every "G." I've reviewed well over a thousand products during 18 years working full-time at PCMag.com, including every generation of the iPhone and the Samsung Galaxy S. I also write a weekly newsletter, Fully Mobilized, where I obsess about phones and networks.

It's such a tease. OnePlus yesterday announced a pair of $13.99 wired earbuds(Opens in a new window) that don't plug into any of the company's higher-end phones—or indeed, into any flagship phone in America.

The gag here is that, of course, they're based on a 3.5mm plug, the headphone jack standard for most of the universe for decades. But high-end phones such as the OnePlus 10T have cast off the headphone jack, forcing all of your 3.5-mm headsets to live the #donglelife.

OnePlus has given these earbuds the Nord brand, and indeed, OnePlus's more affordable Nord phones—like a lot of lower-end phones—have a regular headphone jack.

Adding insult to injury, OnePlus appears to have stopped selling the affordable, USB-C-based wired earbuds that it used to offer for its higher-end phones. While USB-C earbuds do exist, it can be tough finding good ones. (There are a lot of those bad Amazon brands, where the brand name looks like your cat is sitting on your keyboard.) Samsung, Skullcandy, and Razer all offer decent pairs, but not all USB-C earbuds work with every phone.

OnePlus clearly wants to drive people to wireless earbuds, and the price of wireless earbuds has come down. Its least expensive OnePlus Nord Buds cost $39, and the Anker Soundcore Life P2 Mini earbuds are now $39.99.

But wireless earbuds still lack some of the simplicity of a cheap wired pair. My own Bluetooth earbuds can lose connection when worn cross-body, and yesterday they ran out of battery in the middle of a long day. While wired earbuds have their own down sides—you can trip on them!—those issues will never happen with wired headphones.

Want a good phone with a real headphone jack? "Good luck," I'd say, but also, I made a list. Check out our rundown of The Best Phones With Headphone Jacks.

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I'm that 5G guy. I've actually been here for every "G." I've reviewed well over a thousand products during 18 years working full-time at PCMag.com, including every generation of the iPhone and the Samsung Galaxy S. I also write a weekly newsletter, Fully Mobilized, where I obsess about phones and networks.

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