SAN ANTONIO – The new iPhone 7 that hits stores Friday will not have a headphone jack leaving users with options. They can use the Apple's Lightning port or wireless Bluetooth headphones. Consumer Reports rated dozens of wireless headphones and found some that offer great sound quality.
Nearly every type of headphone — home or studio-style, portable and noise-canceling — comes in a wireless version. And because they’re usually connected using Bluetooth, you can listen to music without taking your phone out of your pocket.
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Wireless headphones are a big part of Consumer Reports ratings. There are some with very good sound quality. For a good portable pair, the experts say to check out the Sony headphones for $200. They have very good sound quality and will keep some ambient sounds out while keeping your music in.
If you prefer an on-ear pair, check out the headphones from Audio-Technica. For $200, you get a quality pair of wireless headphones with 38 hours of battery life and a 24-month warranty.
A noise-canceling pair might come in handy if you need to get some work done on a noisy flight. But they can be pricey, Consumer Reports says the $400 Parrot Zik 3 headphones have excellent active noise reduction and very good sound quality.
And for exercising, Consumer Reports suggests MEE audio’s X7 Plus. The headphones stay in place even with a lot of vigorous movement. And at $85, they are a Consumer Reports’ Best Buy.
One of the downsides of wireless headphones is that they usually run on rechargeable batteries which will be another electronic device to keep charged.
The iPhone 7 will come with a set of EarPods with Lightning connector and also an adapter so you can plug in your old headphones through the Lightning port.