Does the iPhone 12 Come With AirPods?

Do you need to spend extra to get wireless earbuds?

By
Sam Costello
Sam Costello
Sam Costello
Writer
  • Ithaca College
Sam Costello has been writing about tech since 2000. His writing has appeared in publications such as CNN.com, PC World, InfoWord, and many others.
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Updated on July 31, 2021
Reviewed by
Ryan Perian
Ryan Perian headshot
Reviewed by Ryan Perian
  • Western Governors University
Ryan Perian is a certified IT specialist who holds numerous IT certifications and has 12+ years' experience working in the IT industry support and management positions.
lifewire's editorial guidelines

The iPhone 12 does not come with AirPods. In fact, the iPhone 12 doesn't come with any headphones or a power adapter. It only comes with a charging/syncing cable. Apple says it removed the headphones and power adapter to reduce packaging and waste.

Do AirPods Come With the iPhone 12?

With the release of the iPhone 12, a lot of people are planning to upgrade. When you're upgrading your phone, it's also a good time to upgrade other key accessories like your headphones. That leads a lot of people to ask: "Do AirPods come with iPhone 12?"

It's a pretty natural question. After all, the iPhone and AirPods make a fantastic combination and if you're spending hundreds (or thousands in some cases) on a new phone, it makes sense that you might get great wireless headphones included.

Well, we're sorry to tell you: AirPods are not included with the iPhone 12. No matter what model of the iPhone you're buying—any model of the iPhone 12 series, or any earlier iPhone model—you have to buy AirPods separately.

We recommend AirPods—especially the noise-cancelling AirPods Pro—thanks to their great audio quality and cool features, but you'll need to budget an extra couple hundred dollars to buy them.

The AirPods Pro
Apple Inc.

The iPhone 12's Missing Headphones

Apple has also introduced a big change to what accessories it includes with new iPhones. In the past, a new iPhone came with a charging cable, a power adapter to plug into wall outlets, and wired headphones (most recently Apple's EarPods). Not anymore.

Starting with the iPhone 12, you only get the charging cable. The iPhone no longer includes the power adapter or, most importantly, the EarPods headphones.

That's right: starting with the iPhone 12, you don't get any headphones with your iPhone.

Apple says this reduces packaging, and thus waste and shipping weight. The company is touting this change as part of its commitment to the environment.

In some ways, this makes sense. It's true that this will reduce the environmental footprint of the iPhone 12. Also, most people already have headphones of some kind, so the included EarPods would be duplicative, and potentially wasteful.

On the other hand, this does seem like an attempt by Apple to push people towards buying expensive AirPods. AirPods are excellent and well worth the price, but that doesn't make them any cheaper.

While the iPhone 12 may not include AirPods, it does offer a ton of great features. We've broken down all the most important information about the iPhone 12.

Headphone Options for iPhone 12

Since AirPods—or any other headphones—don't come with the iPhone 12, what are your options? Practically anything!

You can still buy EarPods from Apple for about $19. And you can get the second-generation AirPods for around $160 or the AirPods Pro for around $250.

But you can also get virtually any other kind of headphones, too. The iPhone supports nearly any Bluetooth headphones, including Apple's line of Beats headphones.

If you prefer wired headphones other than the EarPods, make sure you get the $9 adapter to plug the standard headphone jack into Apple's Lightning port at the bottom of the iPhone (the iPhone 12 doesn't use USB-C. Maybe the iPhone 13 will?).

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