No fuss headphones; do they exist?

[Paulette]

Hello,
I have had my Pixel 2XL phone for a few weeks now. It is great, but now that I need new headphones, I am disappointed that I would have to carry the strange little adapter with me, if I want to buy wired headphones. I have two questions:
1)There is a tiny little hole on the TOP of the phone. Does anyone know its purpose? I have researched this, but cannot determine its purpose.
2) Are there 'USB headphones' that are compatible with the 2XL USB port -- *without* having to add the little adapter thing?

 

[chanchan05]

1) It's the secondary mic for noise cancelling or stereo recording.
2) AFAIK the USB-C port ont the Pixel2 doesn't have audio pass through, but IMO you're over thinking it. Leave the dongle connected to the headphones you're going to buy. The connection of the jack should be pretty tight anyway, it's not going to fall off. I've had to deal with dongles similar to this before (3.5mm to 2.5mm) and I just leave the dongle on the headset no issues. Another option is to just buy bluetooth headsets.

 

[Mikestony]

Something like these?
https://www.amazon.com/Earphones-Cancelling-Headphones-Magnetic-Essential/dp/B07H68C559

Edit: ugh, posted a tad late, but bluetooth would be the way to go as I don't know much about the quality of the product I linked. I mean, 20 bucks for a no-name earphones...how good could they sound

 

[Paulette]

1) It's the secondary mic for noise cancelling or stereo recording.
2) AFAIK the USB-C port ont the Pixel2 doesn't have audio pass through, but IMO you're over thinking it. Leave the dongle connected to the headphones you're going to buy. The connection of the jack should be pretty tight anyway, it's not going to fall off. I've had to deal with dongles similar to this before (3.5mm to 2.5mm) and I just leave the dongle on the headset no issues. Another option is to just buy bluetooth headsets.

Thank you.
Re 1): Can a microphone be plugged into it?
Re 2): Overthinking it; I have been 'guilty' of that before! Yes, leaving the dongle connected to the headphone makes sense.

Re Bluetooth headset: that is probably the best solution. I think I will look for a set that also has 'wired' capabilities -- so there's lots of versatility.

 

[Paulette]

Something like these?
/ . . . bluetooth would be the way to go

Thanks. I don't think I want earbuds; I'd be sure to lose one! (I'm like a kid with mittens; I need the string attached.)

I will look for 'traditional' headphones that are lightweight and portable -- ones that can be both wired and wireless. Recommendations?

 

[svim]

Re 1): Can a microphone be plugged into it?
...

Absolutely no!. That little pinhole opening is not a jack or a port, inside it is a actual microphone component. If you were to push a pin or needle inside that hole, you'll risk damaging the waterproofing insulator and/or the microphone itself.

 

[chanchan05]

Re 1): Can a microphone be plugged into it?

What svim said. Plus I'm pretty sure there's no mic connector that small anyway. It's an actual mic.

I will look for 'traditional' headphones that are lightweight and portable -- ones that can be both wired and wireless. Recommendations?

You can't go wrong with Sennheisers and Sony. JBL also has options if you're looking for cheaper ones.

 

[psionandy]

Re Bluetooth headset: that is probably the best solution. I think I will look for a set that also has 'wired' capabilities -- so there's lots of versatility.

I bought a pair of Sony SBH60 headphones a couple of years ago.. (time flies...) and they work great on my pixel 2... they also have a wired socket so i can connect them to anything.

(I also have a sony SBH52 device.. which connects to your phone via bluetooth.. and then you plug your wired headphones of choice into that... its about the size of a packet of chewing gum.. so doesn't get in the way at all... )

 

[codesplice]

Google started including a very decent set of USB-C earbuds with the Pixel 3s. You can purchase them separately for $30 and I think they're well worth the price. They sound great, are quite comfortable to wear, include all the same Assistant-powered magic that are in the wireless Pixel Buds, and did I mention that they sound great?

I actually purchased a pair to use with my Pixel 2 when I ordered my wife's Pixel 3.

The little headphone adapter is great if you're stuck with "legacy" headphones, but if you're looking to buy new headphones already I'd definitely encourage you to look at ones which won't require an adapter.

https://store.google.com/product/usb_c_earbuds

 

[bcrichster]

I like Motorola S11-HD & Flex models, get like 10hrs use on a charge

 

[Deleted User]

Bluetooth headphones all the way. Mine work really well. Plenty of options available, depending on your budget.

 

[dixie_boysles]

https://www.skullcandy.com/shop/earbuds/bluetooth-earbuds/method-wireless

great sound, almost noise canceling. comfortable. connect everytime.

 

[oleb84]

Yeah, one of the best things phone manufacturers have started doing is removing the 3.5mm jack option.

Old tech and it forces people to enjoy the benefits of Bluetooth (4.2 upwards at least). Bluetooth all the way!

 

[Hadron]

Yeah, one of the best things phone manufacturers have started doing is removing the 3.5mm jack option.

Old tech and it forces people to enjoy the benefits of Bluetooth (4.2 upwards at least). Bluetooth all the way!

The benefit is no wires. I genuinely see nothing else.

The drawbacks are they need charging and the sound quality is not as good as a comparable wired pair (provided your phone has a decent DAC and amp - if you buy phones with garbage DACs then your experience might differ), and you'll pay more for equivalent quality (you need more components in the BT set, so if they cost the same then they've had to cut a corner somewhere else). Of course if critical listening isn't your thing you may not notice any of that.

But there's nothing to stop you using BT if you have a 3.5mm jack, so removing it is simply an anti-customer move: it forces you to either use some sort of dongle or buy new headphones. I'm sure it's no coincidence that Apple made this move shortly after buying Beats...

 

[svim]

Old tech and it forces people to enjoy the benefits of Bluetooth (4.2 upwards at least). Bluetooth all the way!

So you obviously see only the benefits but here in the real world, it's still a matter where consumers should be made aware that the convenience and usefulness of Bluetooth does introduce yet another attack vector to the gadgets we're all now addicted to.
https://thehackernews.com/2018/07/bluetooth-hack-vulnerability.html

https://cve.mitre.org/cgi-bin/cvename.cgi?name=CVE-2018-5383

https://csrc.nist.gov/csrc/media/pu.../rev-2/draft/documents/sp800_121_r2_draft.pdf

... and these are just an examples of some known exploits. Like anything tech-related there are always plenty of things that black hat hackers and our government agencies (the NSA, the GCHQ, the MSS, the GRU, etc., etc.) use that are yet to be publicly revealed or will never be revealed.