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I bought Apple's overpriced headphone cable and I'm not proud of it [1]

['Séamus Bellamy']

Date: 2025-08-21

I hate how much first-party accessories from Apple cost. There's no reason that an iPad case—without a built-in keyboard, mind you—should cost close to $100. When you can find something that'll work fine online for around $10, people buying the first-party hardware should be embarrassed (if they're not too busy feeling salty about being broke. Sadly, not every Apple accessory has a low-rent analog.

I used to test a lot of headphones. On some high-end sets of cans, you can run a 3.5mm cable from the earcup to another device, say, a tablet, and you've got passive listening. It's a great feature to have when your headphones' battery is out of juice. Some do it via a USB-C connection. Just about any cable you have kicking around the house will do. But that's not good enough for Apple. When I'm too tired to read and the intrusive thoughts come around at night, I turn to my Steam Deck to keep myself occupied. When I'm gaming at 3 am, I wear headphones to keep from bothering anyone. My EDC headphones are a pair of Apple's AirPod Max. I love the thump, and their sound quality is great. More importantly, I don't have to futz with anything when I'm switching between my phone, laptop, or the Mac Mini I use as a media server. Up until recently, I kept a second set of headphones specifically to use with my 'Deck. It's a very first-world problem, but I hate having to pair my AirPod Max with my game console and then re-pair them to my Apple gear when I'm done playing. When I forget to do it, it's led to some awkward Zoom meetings in the past.

Apple recently released a proprietary cable to use with the USB-C version of the AirPod Max headphones. They market it to audiophiles horny to hear their music losslessly. There's a wee chip in the USB-C cable housing that tells the headphones 'Hey! Seamus paid $39 for me, so go ahead and give him the good tunes.' Currently, no other cable but the one from Apple can do this. And, the only place it seems to be available from is an Apple Store or via Apple's website.

I loathe that I bought one.

I didn't throw cash at Apple for it because my ears demand the very best. I've got a good ear, but I'm not an audio fanatic. I snagged it so that I can use a single pair of cans for all of the devices that I own, no need to pair or re-pair each time I use them. When I want to hear my Space Marines purge xenos while I play Chaos Gate, I plug the cable into my Steam Deck's aux port. Switching over to my Apple hardware is as easy as disconnecting the cable from the earcuff. The headphones automatically pair with my MacBook or phone again. I felt dirty about the purchase. But it's hard to overstate the utility. I can now use my fancy ear warmers with just about any piece of hardware. And, while the price for the cable may have been steep, being able to sell off the other pair of headphones I kept around more than covers the cost of the purchase.

[END]
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[1] Url: https://boingboing.net/2025/08/21/i-bought-apples-overpriced-headphone-cable-and-im-not-proud-of-it.html

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