Here we won’t get into the debate of whether manufacturers should keep 3.5mm jack or move on with USB Type-C earphones. Anyway’s whether some of us like it or not, the 3.5mm jack is gradually fading, and there ain’t no stopping that. Even OnePlus 6T has limited itself to USB-C port only, Enraging a lot of their fans. Apple ignited the flame by doing away with the feature on its iPhone 7 in 2016 following with Google with its Pixel lineup, Samsung (our last and only hope for headphone jacks) might ditch it with the Note 10 next year.
So, the future is either wireless or the way things stand now, wireless probably has to be WiFi or Bluetooth. But if you still want a new pair of wired headsets, USB Type-C earphones is clearly the way to go.
USB Type-C has a very limited presence in India as of now, So we here are keeping it fairly affordable under 3k Indian Rs here ranging from higher to lower price’s. For the early adopters
Xiaomi Mi Noise Cancelling Type-C earphones:
Well, In my opinion, the only major advantage of having a USB Type-C over 3.5mm jack is the implementation of ANC (Active Noise Cancellation) for the earphones, which I don’t see the manufacturer’s taking major advantage of as such. For now, this is the only earphone that does it right under an affordable price and is available in the Indian markets.
This earphone features a hybrid configuration with 1 dynamic driver and 1 balanced armature and also have active noise canceling built-in. This earphone retail for around Rs. 3000 currently can be bought from the Mi Store has rounded cables and uses a half-braided and half-rubberized design, only the part from the USB Type-C up to the ANC module is braided and the remaining is rubberized. The Active Noise Cancelling module has 3-button control that allows controlling volume and play/pause/ skip songs & answer/reject calls.
On the rubberized section of the cable corresponding to the right earpiece is a small microphone with a good clear output. ANS works very well, Although this Xiaomi Mi Noise Cancelling Type-C Headphones is officially compatible with Xiaomi Smartphones other devices with a Type-C connection but are not officially guaranteed to be 100% compatible, the headphones will most probably work but the main issues could arise with the ANS not functioning.
Overall it’s pretty damn good especially considering the fact that these earphones are priced at Rs. 3000 which is expensive, yes, but for sound quality they bring with ANS, it’s worth it.
Buy Xiaomi Mi Noise Cancelling Type-C Earphones for 3000 rupees
OnePlus Type-C Bullets Earphones:
Next Up comes is ‘One Plus bullets’, these don’t come with ANS support. This is the only good budget type-c earphone under 1500 rupees.
They were launched before the OnePlus 6T’s launch, These earphones are priced at around Rs. 1,490 and they are available for purchase on Amazon.
OnePlus USB Type-C Bullets earphones come with flat style rubberized cable up to the control module then to the earbuds which are your traditional earbuds. Overall it has a simple rubber and plastic combination. There’s an in-line mic, This also comes with 3-button control that allows controlling volume and play/pause/ skip songs & answer/reject calls. Honestly, these do have a boring design but they also sound amazing. The earphones appear to be little biased towards bass but that’s something I prefer personally. I tried them with a variety of songs from Bollywood Sufi to Skrillex Banging EDMs songs are bassy, crisp and clear.
But to put it simply, they are the perfect companion to your OnePlus 6T Smartphone. In case you have older smartphones by OnePlus like OnePlus 5, OnePlus 5T or the OnePlus 6, you can still treat yourself with these and get a great music experience at an affordable price.
Buy OnePlus Type-C Bullets Earphones for 1500 rupees
Letv Type-C earphones:
For users that don’t wanna spend much and try out how audio coming out of USB Type-C would sound. This is the only cheap budget knockout I could find with a relatively positive score in India. These actually have a good build and sound quality. They look pretty sturdy and won’t look like will break soon and would last a long time. LeTV Type-C earphones are priced at Rs. 554 at Amazon
(The Google Pixel USB-C earbuds, Were not added in the list here cause it is not available in India and importing them from the USA would make it relatively less affordable.)
From here on we are entering the International market for affordable USB Type C options:
KZ Series of earphones:
If you never heard of these earphones then, In the Chinese market these are some of the most popular earphone manufacturers in the past few years. This Chinese company Knowledge Zenith are known for their cheap and cheerful offerings. They keep churning new earphones out at an incredible pace all with good quality drivers at incredible price’s. They have option’s ranging from Rs. 500 to Rs. 3000 earphones
So, Check them out Kz Earphones and the USB Type-C Cable
Most of their earphone’s come with a detachable mount via which you could attach the type-c cable, I know that would be an extra accessory but what’s wrong with experimenting I personally own the KZ ZST, they would give a tough match to higher ranking earphones up here.
Other potentially good Budget USB Type-C earphone’s I found on AliExpress:
- Buy PZOZ USB C Earphone at Rs.600
- Buy Baseus USB Type C Earphone at Rs.800
- Buy AKASO Stereo Headphones at Rs.400