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MagyarThe Best Smartphones with 3.5-mm Headphone Jack
A requirement for audio enthusiasts and a very useful feature for most other users: the 3.5-mm headphone jack is a defining feature on smartphones. Especially if you recently purchased an expensive high-quality headset with 3.5-mm audio connector you are not going to be too thrilled if your new smartphone lacks the proper connection. Unfortunately, many OEMs seem to view things quite a bit differently, and instead prefer to utilize the space inside the case for larger batteries or additional features. Instead of adding a dedicated 3.5-mm headphone jack they add audio output functionality to the already existing USB-C port in order to continue supporting analog audio equipment such as headsets or headphones.
The fact that not all users will be excited to carry around yet another piece of equipment – one that can get lost quite easily and causes audio quality to suffer to boot – is lost on most OEMs. Therefore, we decided to compile this list of our view on the best smartphones with dedicated 3.5-mm headphone jack. It features smartphones from both the sub $500 range, where you are much more likely to encounter a dedicated audio port, and much costlier devices where headphone jacks have become a rare and almost exclusive feature. Please consider the following top lists as well:
- The Best Smartphones (high-end smartphones of all sizes)
- The Best Phablets (smartphones larger than 6.8-inches)
- The Best Compact Smartphones (smartphones smaller than 6.5-inches)
The Best Smartphones with Headphone Jack
Position | Total Rating | Date | Image | Model | Height | Weight | Size | Resolution | OS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 88 % | 04/2021 New! |  | Asus ROG Phone 5 Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 5G Qualcomm Adreno 660 16 GB Memory, 256 GB | 9.9 mm | 239 g | 6.78" | 2448x1080 | Android 11 |
| 2 | 86 % | 06/2021 New! |  | Asus ZenFone 8 Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 5G Qualcomm Adreno 660 16 GB Memory, 256 GB | 8.9 mm | 169 g | 5.92" | 2400x1080 | Android 11 |
| 3 | 86 % | 11/2020 |  | Sony Xperia 5 II Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 Qualcomm Adreno 650 8 GB Memory, 128 GB | 8 mm | 163 g | 6.10" | 2520x1080 | Android 10 |
| 4 | 86 % | 09/2020 |  | Motorola Edge Plus Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 Qualcomm Adreno 650 12 GB Memory, 256 GB | 9.6 mm | 203 g | 6.70" | 2340x1080 | Android 10 |
| 5 | 86 % | 07/2020 |  | Xiaomi Poco F2 Pro Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 Qualcomm Adreno 650 6 GB Memory, 128 GB | 8.9 mm | 219 g | 6.67" | 2400x1080 | Android 10 |
| 6 | 85 % | 05/2021 New! |  | Motorola Moto G100 Qualcomm Snapdragon 870 5G Qualcomm Adreno 650 8 GB Memory, 128 GB | 9.7 mm | 207 g | 6.70" | 2520x1080 | Android 11 |
| 7 | 85 % | 05/2021 New! |  | Xiaomi Poco X3 Pro Qualcomm Snapdragon 860 Qualcomm Adreno 640 6 GB Memory, 128 GB | 9.4 mm | 215 g | 6.67" | 2400x1080 | Android 11 |
| 8 | 85 % | 09/2020 |  | Sony Xperia 1 II Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 Qualcomm Adreno 650 8 GB Memory, 256 GB | 7.6 mm | 181.4 g | 6.50" | 3840x1644 | Android 10 |
| 9 | 84 % | 04/2021 New! |  | Xiaomi Redmi Note 10 Pro Qualcomm Snapdragon 732G Qualcomm Adreno 618 6 GB Memory, 128 GB UFS 2.1 | 8.1 mm | 193 g | 6.67" | 2400x1080 | Android 11 |
| 10 | 83 % | 05/2021 New! |  | Samsung Galaxy A52 Qualcomm Snapdragon 720G Qualcomm Adreno 618 8 GB Memory, 256 GB UFS 2.1 | 8.4 mm | 189 g | 6.50" | 2400x1080 | Android 11 |
The table above contains an overview over the best compact smartphones reviewed by Notebookcheck over the course of the past 12 months as well as still relevant and available older products. In cases of identical score the more recent device is listed first. All prices in above table and price comparisons are updated daily and can thus differ.
1st – Asus ROG Phone 5
The Asus ROG Phone 5 is a device at the bleeding edge of what is currently possible. Its popping 6.78-inch AMOLED display supports HDR and a smooth refresh rate of 144 Hz. Its touchscreen also features a very high sampling rate of 300 Hz.
The Asus ROG Phone 5 is a smartphone with many advantages and features.
As is expected of a gaming smartphone its performance is superb. It features one of the fastest currently available SoCs paired with 16 GB of RAM and 256 GB of internal storage for apps and data, which should be sufficient for most users. In addition to its excellent speakers it also comes with a 3.5-mm headphone jack with a quad-DAC to enhance and improve audio quality even further.
The Asus ROG Phone 5 is not officially sold in the US. The unlocked international version is available on Amazon for $800.
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2nd – Asus ZenFone 8
The Zenfone 8 is a particularly compact high-quality smartphone. Its system performance is excellent making for a very smooth everyday performance. In addition to fast Wi-Fi and a bright AMOLED display it also supports 5G. It comes with 256 GB of internal storage, which is more than most competitors offer. Alternatively, an SKU with 128 GB is also available.
The Asus ZenFone 8 offers plenty of performance in a compact high-quality case.
We grew particularly fond of its compact and robust case. Some might consider it too thick but at the same time it gives the ZenFone 8 a more premium touch and feel. It is also IP68-certified against ingress of dust and water, and its camera offers a decent quality good enough for everyday use.
The Asus ZenFone 8 is not officially sold in the US. The unlocked international version is available on Amazon for $940.
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3rd - Sony Xperia 5 II
Sony’s smartphone division was struggling in the recent years. While the OEM is behind many of the great smartphone camera sensors we see today its own smartphones suffered from their overall mediocre nature. The Sony Xperia 5 II is the manufacturer’s attempt at a fresh and better start, but at almost $1,000 it is also priced very boldly.
Its unique feature is the professional-level camera application that is only available on Sony smartphones, and it does indeed help to capture great photos. In return, the default camera app is fairly slow, and Sony does not seem to be particularly interested in keeping its software up to date, as was shown by the outdated security patches on our review unit.
An expensive high-quality smartphone with special professional-level camera software.
We liked its thin case, its support for 5G connectivity, its unique design, and its good battery life. It also continues to feature a 3.5-mm headphone jack, which can almost be considered another unique feature.
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4th – Motorola Edge Plus
Motorola’s re-entry into the high-end world of smartphones left us undecided. On the one hand we liked the case design, and its communication technology is among the best currently available. At the end of the day you get a true high-end smartphone with 3.5-mm headphone jack.
The Edge Plus is Motorola’s first high-end smartphone in years. It is fast and offers long battery life but failed to score in all aspects we looked at.
On the other hand, it lacks numerous features we came to expect from expensive high-end smartphones these days. For example, it is not waterproof, it charges relatively slowly, and its speaker and sound quality in general was lacking. If, however, you fell in love with the design and are in the market for a fast smartphone with analog audio jack and decent battery life you might want to take a closer look at the Edge Plus.
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5th – Xiaomi Poco F2 Pro
The Xiaomi Poco F2 Pro is much more expensive than its predecessor, which turned out to be a great bargain. Nevertheless, you get a lot for less than 500 Euros: great performance decent battery life, a fast and bright OLED display, and a decent speaker.
The affordable Xiaomi smartphone comes with a 60 Hz display, which turned out to be its biggest limitation when compared to real flagship devices. Once you get used to the smooth scrolling and handling of a 90 Hz display it is hard to look back.
If you are looking for high-end performance and a 3.5-mm headphone jack the Xiaomi Poco F2 Pro is hard to ignore.
Another limitation is the Poco F2 Pro’s mediocre camera, which lacks a telephoto lens and features a somewhat poor ultra-wide angle camera.
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6th – Motorola Moto G100
The Moto G100 is a fast smartphone with 128 GB of fast storage. Its performance is high enough for smooth gaming at 60 FPS, and its 6.7-inch display performed very well in our test. We also found no evidence of performance throttling under sustained load.
The Moto G100 is unique due to its desktop mode but it is also a very fast smartphone to boot.
One of the G100’s unique features is its ability to be converted into a desktop-mode computing device by using the appropriate dock. This worked well in our test and can be a very useful alternative should a full-fledged computer not be available. In addition, the device also supports 5G networks.
The Motorola Moto G100 is not available in North America.
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7th – Xiaomi Poco X3 Pro
The Xiaomi Poco X3 Pro offers plenty of performance in an affordable package. It features a high-end SoC that makes for a smooth overall system and application performance and supports the most important connectivity standards (NFC, LTE, and Wi-Fi 5). It also features a fingerprint reader and face detection. Its super bright display manages to display its camera’s 48 MP photos with well-balanced colors.
Xiaomi’s Poco X3 Pro is a very fast mid-range smartphone with great connectivity in an affordable package.
Battery life is on a par with other devices in its price range. The case is IP-certified against ingress of dust and water.
Xiaomi devices are not available in North America.
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8th – Sony Xperia 1 II
If you’re looking for a slim and super-fast smartphone Sony is usually a decent go-to choice. High quality, a well-protected case, and its unique design were the first things we immediately noticed. In addition, this latest generation includes professional apps for photo and video editing. And last but not least it comes with a full-fledged 3.5-mm headphone jack for attaching analog microphones.
With its professional photo and video editing apps Sony’s Xperia 1 II is clearly aimed at professionals. Everybody else will probably find its MSRP too high.
On the flip side it suffers from short battery life, a very slow SD card reader, and a somewhat dim display with an admittedly extremely high resolution. Its high MSRP of $1,200 make this a hard sale at full price, unless of course you’re in it for the professional photo and video editing applications.
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9th – Xiaomi Redmi Note 10
The Redmi Note 10 Pro is better than its own predecessor, the Redmi Note 9 Pro. Among others, it features a great and very bright display running at a refresh rate of 120 Hz offering a good contrast ratio, a good 108 MP camera, and long battery life. With that said its Qualcomm Snapdragon 732G could have been a bit faster.
Xiaomi’s Redmi Note 10 Pro is an overall well-made mid-range smartphone with a very good display.
Internal storage and Wi-Fi are a bit on the slow side in direct comparison with its competitors yet still fast enough for everyday use. At its price point the Xiaomi Redmi Note 10 is a well-equipped smartphone.
Xiaomi devices are not available in North America.
Pricecompare
Platz 10 – Samsung Galaxy A52
The Samsung Galaxy A52 features hardware that is on a par with its competitors and is cheaper than the Galaxy A52 5G. As the name suggests it lacks support for 5G networks, which is not yet widely available anyway. It features the same camera with the same level of image quality but a different display. Unlike the A52 5G’s 120 Hz display the A52 LTE comes with a 90 Hz panel instead.
With or without 5G, the Samsung Galaxy A52 is a great smartphone.
In return, battery life is better on the LTE version and system performance is largely identical. It is thus capable of running all everyday apps smoothly and is even capable of running games. If you are looking for a mid-range smartphone and don’t have the need for 5G connectivity the Samsung Galaxy A52 LTE is a very good daily driver.
The Samsung Galaxy A52 is not officially sold in North America. The unlocked international version can be purchased on Amazon starting at $450.
Pricecompare
Verdict
High-end smartphones with 3.5-mm headphone jack may be a dying breed, but they are not quite dead yet. Affordable devices tend to be dominated by older flagship and high-end smartphones that dropped in price over time.
Even though current mid-range devices still tend to feature a dedicated 3.5-mm headphone jack and some OEMs such as LG even go above and beyond to ensure great analog audio quality we do expect the headphone jack to all but disappear in the next few years.
Test Results
| Asus ROG Phone 5 | Asus ZenFone 8 | Sony Xperia 5 II | Motorola Edge Plus | Xiaomi Poco F2 Pro | Motorola Moto G100 | Xiaomi Poco X3 Pro | Sony Xperia 1 II | Xiaomi Redmi Note 10 Pro | Samsung Galaxy A52 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Response Times | ||||||||||
| Response Time Grey 50% / Grey 80% * | 2.4 (1.2, 1.2) | 3.2 (2, 1.2) | 8 (3, 5) | 8 (3, 5) | 10 (5, 5) | 40 (19, 21) | 50.8 (23.2, 27.6) | 6 (3, 3) | 2.8 (1.2, 1.6) | 6 (1.2, 4.8) |
| Response Time Black / White * | 2.4 (1.2, 1.2) | 3.2 (1.6, 1.6) | 8 (5, 3) | 6 (3, 3) | 8 (5, 3) | 24 (13, 11) | 24 (9.2, 14.8) | 9 (5, 4) | 2.4 (1.2, 1.2) | 2.8 (1.2, 1.6) |
| PWM Frequency | 568.2 (22) | 495 (45) | 238.1 | 328.9 | 177.3 | 2404 (38) | 240.4 | 490.2 (54) | 183.8 (100) | |
| Screen | ||||||||||
| Brightness middle | 789 | 758 | 558 | 549 | 799 | 562 | 567 | 557 | 653 | 694 |
| Brightness | 795 | 759 | 562 | 582 | 801 | 535 | 524 | 561 | 651 | 696 |
| Brightness Distribution | 98 | 98 | 98 | 90 | 97 | 90 | 87 | 94 | 98 | 98 |
| Black Level * | 0.57 | 0.57 | ||||||||
| Colorchecker DeltaE2000 * | 1.4 | 3.5 | 3.01 | 3.16 | 1.46 | 3.99 | 1 | 2.86 | 1.2 | 2 |
| Colorchecker DeltaE2000 max. * | 3 | 6.86 | 6.58 | 2.92 | 9.74 | 2.1 | 7.29 | 2.9 | 6.7 | |
| Greyscale DeltaE2000 * | 1.7 | 1.6 | 1.4 | 4.2 | 2.7 | 6.5 | 1.7 | 5 | 1.8 | 1.7 |
| Gamma | 2.27 97% | 2.23 99% | 2.196 100% | 2.301 96% | 2.237 98% | 2.174 101% | 2.16 102% | 2.171 101% | 2.25 98% | 2.1 105% |
| CCT | 6596 99% | 6527 100% | 6398 102% | 7280 89% | 6003 108% | 6882 94% | 6343 102% | 6993 93% | 6426 101% | 6440 101% |
| Contrast | 986 | 995 | ||||||||
| Heat | ||||||||||
| Maximum Upper Side * | 37.3 | 40.2 | 42.8 | 44.9 | 42.3 | 42.3 | 40.5 | 44.8 | 38.7 | 36.2 |
| Maximum Bottom * | 35.8 | 38.7 | 42.6 | 43.5 | 40.1 | 41.4 | 39 | 43.6 | 37.6 | 36.6 |
| Idle Upper Side * | 29.8 | 31.2 | 25.8 | 32.8 | 34.5 | 37.2 | 34.9 | 34.6 | 32 | 31.2 |
| Idle Bottom * | 26.9 | 28.7 | 26.1 | 31.9 | 32.3 | 34.6 | 30.2 | 34.7 | 30.2 | 29.5 |
| Battery Runtime | ||||||||||
| Reader / Idle | 1476 | 2216 | 1954 | 2846 | 2372 | 1295 | 1489 | 2093 | ||
| H.264 | 832 | 1243 | 1466 | 1285 | 973 | 781 | 1232 | 1027 | ||
| WiFi v1.3 | 754 | 442 | 793 | 945 | 923 | 1049 | 879 | 467 | 753 | 836 |
| Load | 406 | 289 | 286 | 302 | 276 | 195 | 283 | 289 | ||
| Power Consumption | ||||||||||
| Idle Minimum * | 0.59 | 0.82 | 1.3 | 1.2 | 2 | 0.9 | 0.79 | 1.7 | 1.05 | 0.88 |
| Idle Average * | 1.08 | 1.1 | 2 | 1.8 | 3.1 | 1.5 | 2.21 | 2.3 | 1.8 | 1.8 |
| Idle Maximum * | 1.14 | 1.16 | 2.1 | 2.3 | 4 | 2.1 | 2.26 | 2.9 | 1.85 | 1.84 |
| Load Average * | 5.29 | 4.24 | 6.8 | 5.8 | 6.4 | 6.7 | 6.17 | 7.2 | 4.2 | 2.65 |
| Load Maximum * | 11.44 | 6.83 | 11 | 10.9 | 11.6 | 8.5 | 10.09 | 10.6 | 6.29 | 4.86 |
* ... smaller is better
Benchmarks
| Geekbench 4.1 - 4.4 | |
| 64 Bit Single-Core Score (sort by value) | |
| Xiaomi Poco F2 Pro | |
| Xiaomi Poco X3 Pro | |
| Xiaomi Redmi Note 10 Pro | |
| 64 Bit Multi-Core Score (sort by value) | |
| Xiaomi Poco F2 Pro | |
| Xiaomi Poco X3 Pro | |
| Xiaomi Redmi Note 10 Pro | |
* ... smaller is better