Deep down, I’m not really over the death of the headphone jack in smartphones.
They’re one of those Android features you don’t know you need until they’re gone … and save for a few recent jack-packers, they’re certainly gone.
This upset isn’t only because I like plugging in physical headphones into my smartphone to enjoy higher-quality, drop-out-free music. Although that’s one reason.
The best wired headphones are a step above anything wireless, even if smartphone companies want them gone.
No, my annoyance is about more than that.
When I’m not testing tech for a living, I also do content creator work, recording videos or movies using my phone.
And with headphone jacks dropping from most headphones, this job is a lot trickier, as is enjoying audiophile music.
Thankfully, a few years ago I found a solution, which I’ve been employing ever since.
I bought a $10 accessory at the beginning of the COVID-19 lockdowns, and my phone has barely gone anywhere without it since.
Meet my budget phone splitter
Simple and elegant
My accessory is a very simple one. It plugs into the USB-C port of your phone, and lets you plug in both a USB-C and a 3.5mm jack at the same time.
That’s it.
You can buy splitters with a greater number or diversity of ports, but I don’t need that. I wanted something lightweight and cheap that let me get USB-C and 3.5mm at the same time.
Some might opt to introduce a headphone jack into their phone simply by getting a USB-C to 3.5mm adapter, but that’s only a half-measure.
Part of the usefulness of having these separate on a phone, is that you can plug in multiple things at once.
Because I bought it six years ago, I can’t recall the exact brand, which is why I’m not recommending an exact product right now.
But Amazon is chock-full of versions for as little as $10.
Naturally, a more expensive model can offer you greater protection or longevity, but I know back in 2020 I wouldn’t have been shelling out for pricey models.
As you can probably see from the pictures, it’s a little scuffed and worn, and that’s because of years of use.
It offers a few solutions to problems that the lack of a headphone jack brings.
Playing music while my phone’s connected
Turn my phone into an audio player
I’m somewhat of an audiophile, and a core trait of that is a distain of wireless audio.
I like using wired headphones because they can allow for a higher playback bitrate to enjoy lossless music, and lower latency while gaming.
I also prefer to use cables to connect to my stereo speakers, for the same reason.
Bluetooth is fine if you don’t care about music quality, but I find that things can get messy when you have too many music players or speakers.
Different devices will connect than you want, and I often spend ages trying to make sure the right player is connected to the right speaker when I want to enjoy tunes. Cables are simpler.
Nowadays, plenty of wired earbuds, headphones and speakers let you plug a cable straight into your phone’s USB-C port to play.
Listening to high-quality music for any amount of time, though, drains the battery. And naturally, you can’t plug in a charger while you’re streaming music from the port.
Enter the splitter.
I can use this to continue feeding power to my phone, while it outputs audio via the 3.5mm port.
Sure, the splitter slows down the charging somewhat, but I like to ditch my fast charger anyway.
Keeping the battery charged isn’t the only use of USB-C, though. It can often offer me a way to expand my library
For example, I could plug my phone into my computer, drop high-quality WAV files onto my phone, and play them straight away.
Capturing audio recordings while my phone is wired up
Avoiding wireless issues with the splitter
I sometimes use my phone for “content capture,” which is the Gen-Z way of saying “taking pictures or recording videos.”
I particularly like using my smartphone to capture audio while I’m using a camera to record video.
While companies like DJI sell wireless mics to use on your phone, I avoid these like the plague.
I’ve had issues with wireless lapel mics in the past, with shoots ruined by choppy audio, and so I refuse to use them.
Wireless microphones can suffer from signal interruptions or dropouts, particularly in areas with loads of interference, and they’re not as reliable as good old-fashioned wired alternatives.
So several years ago, I bought a simple $60 wired Rode lav mic, and it’s been my go-to ever since.
This plugs into a 3.5mm jack, and since those barely exist on phones anymore, a phone adapter was always going to be important.
But, just as I like an extra plug for power with my music set-up, I find it useful to have a free port for the same purpose when recording audio.
There’s no telling how long you’ll be recording for sometimes.
Having a spare USB-C port also lets me plug my phone into a computer to download the recorded files, without having to plug and unplug various other cables to do so.
This gives me extra storage than what the phone offers natively and lets me back up data, which every content creator knows is a vital part of the job.
My potential next purchase for my accessory is using its USB-C port to unlock extra storage, which will give me even more versatility when recording audio.