7 Of The Best Android Phones With A Headphone Jack In 2026 – BGR

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The idea of wires becoming obsolete has slowly but surely gained steam, with the convenience of wireless technology being too great to ignore. This revolution has improved audio devices, telephonic communication, gaming controllers, and internet connectivity … well, mostly. As great as this convenience may be, there’s no denying that wired connections are more stable and have lower latency. This is an issue that audiophiles are especially sensitive to. People who are passionate about music can discern the difference between high-fidelity output and audio that has been compressed to transmit wirelessly.

For some people, this reduced audio quality is enough of a deal breaker that they’d prefer to stick to wired audio connections, but it’s a shame that the current tech leaves them behind. Many smartphone makers have stopped including the 3.5mm headphone jack that used to be a staple of these devices. Can you blame them? Most modern headphones and earbuds either add an additional AUX cable or stick solely to wireless connections as the only way to transmit audio. People love to point fingers at the iPhone 7 as the perpetrator behind this paradigm shift, but you’ll be surprised to know that it was an Android phone — namely, the OPPO Finder — that decided to remove the headphone jack. Thankfully, not all Android devices followed this trend, and you can still find some great smartphones that will make your wired headphones cool again in 2026.

For a list price of $249.99, the TCL 60 XE Nxtpaper is a great budget smartphone that is far more competent than you’d expect. For this price point, you get a device with a gorgeous matte screen, using TCL’s Nxtpaper technology to minimize blue light on the display and make it easier on the eyes. The tradeoff is that this phone becomes unreasonably dim during the day, but that’s not a huge deal. A 5,010 mAh battery will last you throughout the day with plenty of charge to spare, and you can preserve even more of it by switching to one of TCL’s three unique display modes. Color Paper Mode and Ink Paper Mode are both decent options that make this Android phone a bona fide Kindle replacement. However, for extreme battery conservation, switch to Max Ink mode. Not only does it turn your phone screen black and white, but it also reduces power consumption, mitigates background processes, and lets you access a special home screen that is less battery-intensive.

Basically, the TCL 60 XE Nxtpaper lets you listen to your favorite tracks and read a litany of e-books for days without worrying about your phone dying. Of course, this budget phone has some caveats you should be aware of. The camera isn’t the greatest, the Mediatek Dimensity 6100 Plus processor can falter at times while multitasking, and the phone heats up when handling intense activities like gaming. However, for its extremely reasonable price, you’ll get a good Android phone with the elusive 3.5mm headphone jack. A 7 out of 10 score on both WIRED and supports the argument that the TCL is a competent phone. 

The audio experience is something many gamers prioritize. Amazing scores and immersive sounds feel even better with surround sound and technology like Dolby Atmos. Expecting the same level of audio quality from mobile games seems unrealistic, but people who underestimate this form of gaming will be pleasantly surprised by the sheer number of notable ports and excellent experiences made from the ground up for mobile devices. Connecting your phone to a home theater system to play these games is overkill, but there’s nothing wrong with players using a wired headset to enjoy the highest possible audio quality while gaming on the go. This is why the REDMAGIC 11 Pro is so great: It understands that serious gamers don’t want to compromise on any front, no matter the platform.

At the starting price of $749, you’ll get your hands on a powerful, portable piece of gaming hardware that is perfect for running games with serious hardware requirements. The 4.6GHz Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 processor and a revolutionary liquid cooling system — a first for mobile phones, according to REDMAGIC — ensure you can play power-hungry games on your phone for hours. The 7,500 mAh battery is also a beast in its own right, with the phone running demanding games like Asphalt Legends for almost eight hours on a full charge before it needs to be plugged in. Given how impressive the phone’s performance is, it’s easy to see why the REDMAGIC 11 Pro scores very well across the board. PhoneArena gave it a solid 8.3 out of 10, TechRadar and PCMag gave it 4 stars out of 5, and Tech Advisor didn’t hold back, awarding a glowing 4.5-star rating.

While you can expect headphone jacks in some cheap Android phones and smartphones designed for gaming, the same can’t be said for most flagship devices. Take a look at the latest Samsung Galaxy, Google Pixel, or Apple iPhone — these flagship smartphones discarded the 3.5mm jack a long time ago. It’s disheartening to see some of the best phones on the market pay no heed to people who prefer wired headsets, which is why the Sony Xperia 1 VII is such a breath of fresh air. Let’s address the elephant in the room first — the $1,219.99 asking price is high and the biggest barrier to entry. However, once you overcome this hurdle, Sony’s flagship smartphone will wow you with the bells and whistles you’d expect from a device of such caliber. Gorilla Glass Victus 2 and dual IP65 and IP68 certification guarantee its hardiness. Meanwhile, the Snapdragon 8 Elite processor and 12GB RAM help bolster this phone’s performance.

Sony hasn’t phoned it in when it comes to the headphone jack, either. The same tech used in its Walkman devices has been implemented in this phone to enable accurate sound reproduction. This means that you don’t have to settle for a subpar headphone jack in a 2026 smartphone, since the Xperia 1 VII will satisfy all your needs and then some. This utility extends to its expandable microSD storage— yet another so-called relic that most modern smartphones have left behind. This combination of new and old hardware has helped the Sony Xperia 1 VII carve out a niche for itself, something that reviewers appreciate. Trusted Reviews and What Hi-Fi? gave this phone 4 stars out of 5, while Tech Advisor and Android Authority were slightly more restrained with 3.5-star ratings.

Motorola is one of the few smartphone companies that hasn’t given up on the headphone jack, manufacturing numerous models that let you plug in a wired headset. The 2026 Motorola Moto G Power is a high-quality, affordable Android phone for people who don’t want to burn a hole in their wallet just to get the 3.5mm jack. For its $299.99 asking price, the Moto G Power sports excellent durability across the board. The Corning Gorilla Glass 7i, dual IP68 and IP69 certification, and a military-grade MIL-STD-810 durability rating are impressive for a device that is less than half the price of the base iPhone 17. The 5,200 mAh battery also pulls its weight here, lasting two days after being charged to 100%.

Now, to say that this budget phone doesn’t cut any corners would be a stretch. The chipset is the biggest culprit here, with Motorola sticking to the outdated Mediatek Dimensity 6300 for the Moto G Power. As a result, performance can be a bit disappointing, but that’s par for the course for a cheap Android phone and shouldn’t take too long to adjust to. A microSD slot to expand storage is also welcome, and the device’s sleek looks betray its budget roots. All in all, the Motorola Moto G Power is an excellent option for people seeking an Android phone in 2026 that still has a headphone jack. Reviews concur, with giving it a decent 7-out-of-10 score, and Android Authority rating this device 3.5 stars out of 5.

While Samsung’s flagships lack headphone jack support, their suite of offerings is so wide and diverse that the company decided to take a different approach with some of its cheaper smartphones. The Samsung Galaxy A15’s price tag of $169.99 making it the cheapest device on this list. If a headphone jack is the utmost priority for your ideal smartphone — so much so that a lack of an IP certification and a cheap plastic build is okay in your books — then keep your eye on this cheap smartphone. Despite its criminally low price, the camera is surprisingly decent. The 50MP main camera can click some surprisingly good pictures, although the same can’t be said of its 5MP ultrawide and 2MP macro lens.

Along with this, the 90Hz Super AMOLED screen looks great, and the 5,000 mAh battery can last you for two — or even three — days on a full charge. The mono speaker at the bottom of the device is woeful, but people buying this phone primarily for the headphone jack won’t care much about its built-in speakers. For a phone that barely crosses the $150 mark, the Galaxy A15 is an excellent package that shouldn’t be slept on. Just look at the consistent reviews of this device. Tech Advisor, Android Authority, and PCMag all awarded it a 4 out of 5 in their examinations. If the clear drawbacks of this device don’t put you off, this budget Samsung may have the jack you want and the functionality you need.

When people think of ASUS’ Republic of Gamers brand, the devices that come to mind include their high-end gaming laptops and — more recently — the weirdly-named ASUS ROG Xbox Ally and ROG Xbox Ally X. However, amid all their offerings is an excellent gaming phone that pulls no punches while running the most demanding games on the Play Store. The sheer power of the ASUS ROG Phone 9 Pro was more than enough to satisfy reviewers, despite its bulky design and an eye-watering $1,499 price point. Both and PhoneArena gave this device a score of 7.5 out of 10, Android Central and PCMag were slightly more positive with 4-star out of 5 ratings.

The general consensus is that the ROG Phone 9 Pro is the most powerful smartphone on the market, which is no small feat. The Snapdragon 8 Elite processor, an Adreno 830 GPU, and RAM that reaches a whopping 24GB on the higher 1TB model combine to power industry-leading performance. A unique gimmick of this phone is the LED display at the back that supports four simple games — Snake Venture, Speedy Runner, Brick Smasher, and Aero Invaders. While the speakers are not as good as the front-firing stereo speakers of the ROG Phone 7, the headphone jack ensures that this drawback won’t be a huge issue for audiophiles with state-of-the-art headsets. If you’re so particular about audio that you use In-Ear Monitors (IEMs) to enjoy the best audio quality possible, then you’ll be glad to know that the ROG Phone 9 Pro’s internal DAC is more than good enough to replicate this stellar audio quality without having to plug your IEM into a third-party unit.

A throwback phone in every sense of the word, the headphone jack is far from the only appealing thing about the Motorola Moto G Stylus. As the name suggests, people who miss the stylus trend that pervaded touchscreen phones in the past — or gamers who miss the days of spending hours playing on their DS — will enjoy tinkering with the built-in stylus of this smartphone. Clearly, reviewers share the same sentiment, since this phone managed to bag a 4-star rating on both Android Central and Android Authority, while PCMag held back a bit with a score of 3.5 out of 5. The attractive $347.18 pricing implies that Motorola has cut corners in some areas. The two biggest pain points are its unimpressive plastic build and a camera that falls short in any situation where the lighting isn’t perfect.

The Moto G Stylus’s positives far outweigh its negatives. The OLED screen is worth a mention, featuring a brightness level that reaches up to 3,000 nits, a 120Hz refresh rate, and HDR support. The battery life is also great, comfortably keeping the phone up and running for an entire day, but the real highlight here is the 68-watt fast charging. For a budget phone, it’s downright mind-blowing to see the Moto G Stylus outpace the charging speeds seen in the Samsung Galaxy or Google Pixel. To put this into context, the phone can go from zero to 100% in just under 40 minutes, which is unbelievably fast! The cherry on top of this package is the eye-catching design and appealing finish. Both Gibraltar Sea and Surf the Web are beautiful shades of blue, and you might find yourself regularly admiring this device’s craftsmanship every time you plug in your headset.

Only phones with headphone jacks that are still available have qualified here. Along with this, ratings from reputable outlets of 3.5 and higher out of 5 or 7 and higher out of 10 have been deemed worthy of mention. Reviews from sites like Android Authority, Tech Advisor, PCMag, , WIRED, Android Central, PhoneArena, Trusted Reviews, What Hi-Fi?, and TechRadar are taken into consideration here.