While we all miss the headphone jack, these days Bluetooth and USB headphones are commonplace, so it’s not that big a deal. However, it might not occur to you that some devices that have a headphone jack, can also work with USB headphones.
In some cases, even if there is a headphone jack, you might prefer using USB instead. Especially if that’s what you have. It turns out some gadgets you might not have thought support USB audio
5Nintendo Switch and Switch 2
Both generations of Nintendo Switch consoles have a perfectly servicable headphone jack, but if you plug a set of USB headphones into the USB-C port (even with a USB-A to USB-C adapter) it works great.
Most importantly, it works whether plugged directly into the console or into the dock. This means that any wireless headphones that use a USB audio dongle should work perfectly.
Of course, Nintendo enabled Bluetooth audio support late in the lifecycle of the original Switch, but to be honest, it doesn’t work very well. It’s prone to latency and the performance varies greatly based on which headphones you’re using.
The Switch 2 has much improved Bluetooth performance, but it also has two USB-C ports instead of one, and now you can choose to plug your USB headphones into the top of the console if that’s more comfortable.
4PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5
Maybe it’s obvious to you since Sony itself sells a wireless headphone set for the PS5 that inexlicably requires a USB dongle to work exceptyou literally have wireless audio built in Sony. Yeah, I have no idea why Sony’s PS5-specific wireless headphones can’t just connect to the console using the same wireless audio the DualSense controller use, but it turns out the console will work with any USB audio compliant device.
I’ve been doing it since the PS4, and it’s literally as easy as plugging your USB headset into the front of the console, whether it’s wired or wireless.
3USB-C iPads
Apple’s transition away from the Lightning connector is going well, and the only Lightning devices I have left is my iPhone 14 Pro and AirPods Max. My iPads have been USB-C for many years now, and with every update of iPadOS the things you’re able to do with that port expands. Basically, iPads are nearly as versatile as Macs and PCs when it comes to peripherals.
I generally use a clip-on USB hub to expand my iPad’s connectivity, but if you’re on the go, you can simply directly connect a set of USB headphones to the tablet, and it will work just fine. When you think about it, it seems obvious, but it does feel weird to plug USB headphones into a big 13-inch tablet. Nonetheless it’s handy for when you can’t use Bluetooth, and the iPad has enough juice to drive a big pair of phones well without tanking its battery.
Apple iPad Air (M3)
2025’s iPad Air upgrade features an M3 chip, is compatible with a new keyboard folio case, and has support for Apple Intelligence. It’s almost identical to the previous model in terms of look and feel.
2Some TVs and Streaming Boxes
While you won’t find a USB port on an Apple TV, most Android TV boxes have at least one, which you can use to connect external storage to play media files, among other things. In this case, the “other things” is USB audio.
Again, most Android TV boxes offer Bluetooth audio, so you might not think of the USB port for audio, but in my experience the lag is horrible in most cases unless you’ve sprung for a more expensive model with the latest version of Bluetooth. Alternatively, pop the wireless USB headphones you already own in the back, and you’re good to go.
As for smart TVs, it’s a mixed bag. Some smart TVssupport USB audioif you’re lucky. Sadly none of my TVs do, but if you have this option it could be better than using Bluetooth.
1Meta Quest
I discovered this one completely by accident. I have some of those wonderful AKG-tuned USB-C headphone buds that came packed in with certain Samsung Galaxy S phones. When I got my Meta Quest, the only wired headphones I had were big and bulky, so I took a chance and plugged in my little USB-C buds—they worked!
Since then, I much prefer to use this solution with my Meta Quest, since most of the time the USB-C port isn’t occupied while I’m playing, so why not? It might be just my imagination, but I feel the amplification and is better over USB than the headphone jack anyway, but I can’t prove it.
It seems you can find USB audio support in surprising places, so if your device has a USB port and you have a set of USB headphones, why not just plug them in and see what happens?
