Theoretically, any headphone that has a mini-jack can be used with a smartphone. Theoretically. In real life, there are a few things to keep in mind:
London calling
Anyone listening to music or podcasts on their smartphones will hear incoming calls via a ring tone. If one wanted to accept the conversation, miserable fumbling is necessary, which was already sufficiently documented in various funny movies.
So, the first requirement for a smartphone headset is: you need a microphone and a phone control. In simpler models, this is a button that interrupts the music and accepts the conversation. Better models have that feature set integrated in a controller …
Skip
Pause, back and forth, turn the volume up and down. You do not want to grab your smartphone when you want to skip a track or change its volume, especially when doing sports. So please consider a headphone with a good remote control, offering buttons for music control, but also additional features such as activation of voice assistants like Siri or Alexa.
Universal
One smartphone headset for all your mobile phone models? Many manufacturers offer different versions for different devices! Again, you definitely should pay attention to it. As certain smartphone protocols vary, manufactures sometimes sell the same model but optimized for Apple iOS or Android, i.e. Samsung, Sony, HTC, LG and others.
Impedance
Perhaps the most important thing to keep in mind comes at the end. Smartphones supply their headphone jack output only with relatively little power. This means that a headphone needs to have a low impedance to work properly, typically around 20 to 80 ohms. Here at headphonecheck.com we measure the impedance and you can find this important spec in the sidebar of the respective review. The higher the impedance, the less volume a headphone have!
The new Jabra Elite 4 Active aim to offer a lot for a price of just under 120 euros: IP57 certification, active noise cancelling, transparency mode, good sound as well as an app connection. We'll find out how well they work in this test.
With the ComfoBuds 2, Chinese manufacturer 1more maintains its product profile. These Bluetooth earbuds, available in matt black or white, are aimed at users who are looking for affordable headphones for everyday use. It's not just about the highest sound quality, but also about the other tasks that such a device fulfils in everyday life with a smartphone: Phone calls or the use of voice assistants. This results in a well-rounded package at an attractive price.
With the OnePlus Buds Z2, the smartphone manufacturer offers a price-conscious alternative to the Buds Pro, which features both two-stage noise-cancelling for attenuation and ambient mode for amplifying outside noise. These cable-free in-ears are also characterized by good speech intelligibility during telephone calls and support a high-quality audio codec with the AAC format.
The SoundPEATS Air3 come in the typical AirPods design, offer contemporary technology such as Bluetooth 5.2 and aptX Adaptive Codec with a dynamic bitrate and a gaming mode with reduced latency. This comes at a reasonable price with decent sound as well as good remote functionality, which is, however, far too sensitive.
The Skullcandy Push Active sports headphones pump your fitness playlist steadily into your ears. Their neatly designed bracket system hooks securely and softly onto the ear. During sports, the headphones can be operated either via voice control ("Skull-iQ") or alternatively with "real" buttons on the headphones so that you can instantly access Spotify at any time. With the smart Skullcandy app, you also have easy access to many features such as the EQ. This allows you to stay in control at all times in the gym while jogging or on the ski slopes – let the work-out commence.
The House of Marley Champion support a high-quality audio codec in the form of the AAC format and convinced us with a successful, fun-oriented tuning, which makes the price of these cable-free in-ears seem attractive.
The Austrian Audio Hi-X25BT are closed, circumaural Bluetooth headphones that aim to combine professional sound and wireless everyday use. In terms of sound, they are supposed to deliver precise sound down to the lowest frequency ranges with their High Excursion technology. In our practical test, we will find out if they succeed.
The 1more ColorBuds 2 are suitable for anyone who values style and is looking for affordable True Wireless in-ears with a balanced sound plus good ANC function (noise cancelling). In addition, the sound can be adjusted to suit your own taste via the app, thanks to SoundID. In contrast to its predecessor ColorBuds 1, version 2 has been thoroughly optimised in terms of function and features.
The wireless Shure Aonic Free in-ears feature versatile functionality and can be flexibly adapted to one's own needs via connection to an app. This applies to both the sound and the operation, as well as the amplification of external noise in ambient mode.
The EarFun Free Pro 2 are the successors to the EarFun Free Pro and offer good sound, a good fit, active noise cancellation (ANC) and a low-latency mode for a price of 70 euros. That might sound good at first, but all that glitters is not necessarily gold.