Mobile Phones iPhone & iOS Does the iPhone 12 Come With AirPods? Do you need to spend extra to get wireless earbuds? by Sam Costello Writer 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. our editorial process Facebook Twitter Sam Costello Updated on October 20, 2020 reviewed by Ryan Perian Lifewire Tech Review Board Member 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. our review board Article reviewed on Jan 14, 2021 Ryan Perian iPhone & iOS Switching from Android Tweet Share Email 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. And, 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) of dollars 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 of the iPhone 12 series, or any earlier 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. Apple Inc. The iPhone 12's Missing Headphones To make matters worse, Apple has 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 move is designed to reduce packaging, and thus waste and shipping weight. The company is touting this 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. As noted earlier, 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 don't come with the iPhone 12, and neither do any other headphones, 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?). Was this page helpful? Thanks for letting us know! Get the Latest Tech News Delivered Every Day Email Address Sign up There was an error. Please try again. You're in! Thanks for signing up. There was an error. Please try again. Thank you for signing up. Tell us why! Other Not enough details Hard to understand Submit