Apple USB-C to 3.5mm headphone adapter
Hacker ApprovedHeadphone adapter in Audio
Recommended for cheap, good-sounding DAC that brings headphone jack to USB-C phones; critics note fragile port and cable strain.
Recommended for cheap, good-sounding DAC that brings headphone jack to USB-C phones; critics note fragile port and cable strain.
31 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 22
- criticize it
- 9
- approval share
- 71%
Recommended in 6 of 13 months
- November 2025: recommended
- December 2025: recommended
- January 2026: recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: not recommended
- June 2026: not recommended
- July 2026: not recommended
- August 2026: recommended
- September 2026: not recommended
- October 2026: recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it carries the badge
- 22 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, met.
- 2.4 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 6 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Good sound for the price
“The DAC in Apple's $10 adapter is higher quality than most "audiophile" DACs because Apple has a larger R&D budget”
Comment from 1 Jan 2026 in “Bluetooth Headphone Jacking: A Key to Your Phone [video]” “they are on par with other $10 chinese DAC, which is quite achievement for Apple”
Comment from 2 Jan 2026 in “Bluetooth Headphone Jacking: A Key to Your Phone [video]” “Apple's dongle is a marvel in that it is both cheap and sounds lovely”
Comment from 23 Oct 2026 in “Sony Exits UHD Blu-ray Player Market as Pull Back from Physical Media Continues” - Comment from 10 Dec 2025 in “Valve: HDMI Forum Continues to Block HDMI 2.1 for Linux”
- Comment from 5 Dec 2025 in “Jolla Phone Pre-Order”
- Comment from 3 Oct 2026 in “Sudo – A dedicated music player designed around listening to music”
- Comment from 26 Jan 2026 in “Apple introduces new AirTag with longer range and improved findability”
- Comment from 14 Mar 2026 in “Wired headphone sales are exploding. What's with the Bluetooth backlash?”
- Comment from 29 Dec 2025 in “I switched to eSIM in 2025, and I am full of regret”
- Comment from 21 Nov 2025 in “Apple's iPhone overhaul will reduce its reliance on annual fall spectacle”
- Comment from 4 Mar 2026 in “Apple Introduces MacBook Neo”
- Comment from 1 Jan 2026 in “Bluetooth Headphone Jacking: A Key to Your Phone [video]”
Cheap, around $10
“The DAC in Apple's $10 adapter is higher quality than most "audiophile" DACs because Apple has a larger R&D budget”
Comment from 1 Jan 2026 in “Bluetooth Headphone Jacking: A Key to Your Phone [video]” “Apple's dongle is a marvel in that it is both cheap and sounds lovely”
Comment from 23 Oct 2026 in “Sony Exits UHD Blu-ray Player Market as Pull Back from Physical Media Continues” “the highest quality mini DAC on the market for the low price of €10”
Comment from 10 Dec 2025 in “Valve: HDMI Forum Continues to Block HDMI 2.1 for Linux” - Comment from 3 Oct 2026 in “Sudo – A dedicated music player designed around listening to music”
- Comment from 14 Mar 2026 in “Wired headphone sales are exploding. What's with the Bluetooth backlash?”
- Comment from 29 Dec 2025 in “I switched to eSIM in 2025, and I am full of regret”
- Comment from 1 Jan 2026 in “Bluetooth Headphone Jacking: A Key to Your Phone [video]”
Works with Android and iPhone
“the Apple adapter does seem to work fine now on Android 17 on Pixel phones”
Comment from 13 Aug 2026 in “Google launches Pixel 11 Pro Fold” “Apples USB-C 3.5 Adapters work with Android and iPhones and all headphones”
Comment from 14 Mar 2026 in “Wired headphone sales are exploding. What's with the Bluetooth backlash?” “tend to have excellent audio quality and should work with Android devices”
Comment from 30 Aug 2026 in “GrapheneOS project: pixel 11 no longer supports hardware memory tagging (MTE)” Measures better than pricier DACs
“The DAC in Apple's $10 adapter is higher quality than most "audiophile" DACs because Apple has a larger R&D budget”
Comment from 1 Jan 2026 in “Bluetooth Headphone Jacking: A Key to Your Phone [video]” “they are on par with other $10 chinese DAC, which is quite achievement for Apple”
Comment from 2 Jan 2026 in “Bluetooth Headphone Jacking: A Key to Your Phone [video]” “audiophiles were very impressed with the measured performance”
Comment from 5 Dec 2025 in “Jolla Phone Pre-Order” - Comment from 3 Oct 2026 in “Sudo – A dedicated music player designed around listening to music”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Fragile port and cable
“It's not a good solution though. In particular I find the USB-C port gets worn out pretty quickly.”
Comment from 1 Jan 2026 in “Bluetooth Headphone Jacking: A Key to Your Phone [video]” “how incredibly flimsy its cable is, and how such adapters easily act as levers to mechanically strain the USB-C port”
Comment from 14 Mar 2026 in “Wired headphone sales are exploding. What's with the Bluetooth backlash?” “the dongle itself is fragile and ends up causing constant crackling after a while”
Comment from 1 Jan 2026 in “Bluetooth Headphone Jacking: A Key to Your Phone [video]” Inconvenient extra dongle to carry
“while the inbuilt DAC is really good, it's quite inconvenient as I'm an audiophile myself”
Comment from 3 Mar 2026 in “Motorola announces a partnership with GrapheneOS Foundation” “The adapter is annoying enough that very few people bother, and Apple knew it. It's also a bit flaky.”
Comment from 24 Dec 2025 in “iOS 26.3 brings AirPods-like pairing to third-party devices in EU under DMA” “it's an extra $10 dongle to buy and potentially lose”
Comment from 14 Mar 2026 in “Wired headphone sales are exploding. What's with the Bluetooth backlash?” Snags and breaks with movement
“It works well but does tend to get caught on things more easily than a pure jack.”
Comment from 17 Nov 2025 in “Israeli-founded app preloaded on Samsung phones is attracting controversy” “the connection is much easier to accidentally break through movement (e.g., walking) with a USB-C adapter”
Comment from 29 Dec 2025 in “I switched to eSIM in 2025, and I am full of regret”
What people said
32 of the 33 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“Apple's dongle is a marvel in that it is both cheap and sounds lovely”
“Apple's $10 dongle has measured better than many fancy DACs”
“They're still significantly worse than the builtin 3.5mm ports Sony provides”
“tend to have excellent audio quality and should work with Android devices”
“the Apple adapter does seem to work fine now on Android 17 on Pixel phones”
“But not with that issue unfixed.”
“I am hesitant to buy Apple accessories like these as I am having quality concerns.”
“It doesn't provide full volume output under Android, though.”
“Apples USB-C 3.5 Adapters work with Android and iPhones and all headphones”
“the Apple USB-C dongle is very good and only 9 USD”
“how incredibly flimsy its cable is, and how such adapters easily act as levers to mechanically strain the USB-C port”
“it's an extra $10 dongle to buy and potentially lose”
“badly shielded and picks up interference a lot”
“performs very very well for its price point”
“while the inbuilt DAC is really good, it's quite inconvenient as I'm an audiophile myself”
“contains very high quality output and driver hardware”
“It's 3 inches, 5 grams of weight, and it stays attached to the end of the headphone cord.”
“they are on par with other $10 chinese DAC, which is quite achievement for Apple”
“the dongle itself is fragile and ends up causing constant crackling after a while”
“The DAC in Apple's $10 adapter is higher quality than most "audiophile" DACs because Apple has a larger R&D budget”
“But the $9 Apple one is very high quality”
“It's not a good solution though. In particular I find the USB-C port gets worn out pretty quickly.”
“Apple's adapter sounds great and don't cost much”
“the connection is much easier to accidentally break through movement (e.g., walking) with a USB-C adapter”
“The adapter is annoying enough that very few people bother, and Apple knew it. It's also a bit flaky.”
“It technically works, but it's not a nice experience.”
“the highest quality mini DAC on the market for the low price of €10”
“audiophiles were very impressed with the measured performance”
“the buzzing when gaming completely stopped for me”
“the Apple USB-C to 3.5mm is quite good however”
“It works well but does tend to get caught on things more easily than a pure jack.”
“the 3.5mm USB-C dongle works perfectly and is tiny”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.