Need Android headphones as similar as possible to Apple Earpods

May 15, 2014 11:17 AM

I like Apple Earpods. I don't like in-canal earbuds. I just switched to Android, and earpods don't work well. What can I get?

I just switched to Android, and I love my iphone earpods. I like that they have inline controls, I like the sound well enough (I don't really care about sound quality), I like their durability, and I especially like that they're not a sealing, in-ear type. Sealing headphones make my ears itch and block out sound. I have big cans for when I want isolation, I need these for times when I need situational awareness, like when walking.

I found this, which has similar requirements, but not similar enough.

The Wirecutter recommends this for people who don't like sealed ears, but that has no mic, play, or volume control.

Earpods fit all my requirements, but the volume adjustment buttons just don't work on Android. Seems to be a hard limitation. I saw an instructable that indicated I could get in and solder on some resistors to make it work, but that's a last resort for me, I've barely ever done soldering.

Does anyone share these preferences and have a suggestion for a set I could get?

posted by Pacrand to Shopping (6 answers total)

The Philips in-ear headphones got pretty high marks over at the Head-Fi forums for being amazingly good for extremely cheap. Now, I don't know if the quality carries over to their earpod/earbud line, but they're available at drugstores for ~$20, so you may want to give them a try.
posted by zombieflanders at 11:42 AM on May 15, 2014

I had the same dilemma. I got a Blueant ribbon which adds bluetooth, a mic and controls to any pair of headphones. I use it with a pair of Bose IE2s and some Koss KSC-75s.
posted by mattholomew at 11:43 AM on May 15, 2014

Spendy, but these Bose earphones are the bees' knees. Super comfortable, wonderful sound. Great for indoor or outdoor listening. They are durable too, so I think the price is fair.
posted by bearwife at 12:13 PM on May 15, 2014

Also came here to recommend the bose. Personally i think they're overpriced(i got mine as a perk from a previous job, never would have bought otherwise), but they are the most comfortable earbud like things i've ever used and fit very similar to the earpods but softer. And even though they're rubber, they just kinda sit on/partially in your ear canal without blocking out sound.

They come in call button only, android controls, and apple controls versions. Look around carefully because the old android ones were also call button/play pause only, but i think the newer ones do volume too.

If you hunt around on ebay you can probably get them cheaper.
posted by emptythought at 1:12 PM on May 15, 2014

There are plenty of options on Amazon to buy the older, non-in-canal Apple earbuds. I got a pair for $7.
posted by msk1985 at 8:52 PM on May 15, 2014

As a caution: Most of the options suggested here use Apple's proprietary interface for controlling volume, and will function almost identically to the earpods on an Android device. I know for a fact that this applies to the Bose headphones.

Please try to pay attention to the OP's post -- Pacrand specifically said that he (she?) doesn't care about sound quality, and wants the inline controls and Microphone to work with a Galaxy S3.
posted by schmod at 7:51 AM on June 3, 2014