True wireless earbuds don't necessarily have to end up as electronic waste when their batteries reach the end of their lifespan. Fairphone demonstrates this with the Fairbuds 2, whose batteries can be easily replaced. The earbuds also offer active noise cancellation and support for Sony LDAC.
Can we get back the headphone jacks instead?
Its over. The jack is dead
I don’t care, I still won’t use overpriced earbuds with subpar converters and speakers, just because techbros really liked an anime cyberpunk girl art who happened to have them, and then reposted it to 9gag million times with the text “Apple needs to make this now!”.
You will wear ze buds
Gotta defend wireless earbuds a bit. They do add a lot of convenience for everyday activities. I’d never want to go back to wired for running, the cable flapping around is just too annoying. I also like them more for commuting and (grocery) shopping, I just kept getting tangled up when putting a bag or backpack on and off.
But nobody is forced to use them. If you’re on a budget, get an adaptor that isn’t clunky. For audiophile needs, adaptors, different cables, mobile DACs or dedicated music players are usually used, the latter usually with headphone jacks.
There are several models that still have it. When I bought my most recent phone it was one of my personal requirements. I think there were 6 or 7 models to choose from that were all essentially the same as any other modern phone, but had a 3.5 jack. That was a while ago, but there are still some new models rocking it. I use it all the time.
I have a cheap, perfectly serviceable 2026 Motorola that has one.