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If you want a wired iPhone headphone that keeps working the way a classic Lightning pair always has — plug in, tap the remote, done — choose Matsusho 2; if you need earbuds that fit the newer USB-C iPhone lineup and can pull double duty across your other USB-C gear, choose ABCPOW Earbuds USB C. That is the whole decision in one line, and for iPhone owners the split comes down almost entirely to which port is sitting at the bottom of your phone.
• Matsusho 2 — biggest strength: a Lightning plug plus an inline remote that handles volume, playback and calls, and it ships as a 2-pack with a 36-month warranty.
• Matsusho 2 — biggest trade-off: it is a Bluetooth-connected pair that happens to use a Lightning plug, so you must switch your iPhone's Bluetooth on before it will play, and it only fits Lightning iPhones.
• ABCPOW Earbuds USB C — biggest strength: a true USB-C wired connection with no Bluetooth step at all, three sizes of eartips, and compatibility stretching across iPhone 15/16/17 models plus a long list of Samsung Galaxy phones.
• ABCPOW Earbuds USB C — biggest trade-off: the 1-year warranty is shorter, and the brand itself warns that some USB-C devices — MacBook, iPad Pro, certain older Samsung models — will play music but not handle phone calls.
• Pick Matsusho 2 if you are on an iPhone 14, 13, 12, 11, XS, XR, X, 8, 7 or 6 and want a remote on the cord.
• Pick ABCPOW Earbuds USB C if you are on an iPhone 15, 16 or 17 (including Pro, Pro Max, Plus and e models) or you want one pair that also works with your USB-C Samsung.
Matsusho 2 is built around one very specific habit: reaching for a cord when you want to listen. The catch — and it is worth understanding before you buy — is that this is not a plain analog pair of earbuds. It is a Bluetooth 5.2 headset that connects through a Lightning plug. You turn Bluetooth on in your iPhone or iPad, plug the earphone in, and it pairs; on later uses it reconnects on its own in roughly 2 to 8 seconds. So you get the physical security of a cable with a wireless handshake behind it.
Who should buy it: iPhone owners on Lightning models — 14, 13, 12, 11, Pro Max, XS, XR, X, 8, 7, 6 — who want a corded pair with a real remote and microphone, and who like the idea of a spare in the box. If you have ever wanted a transparency mode headset for vlogging, note that this pair does not offer one; its strength is the wired remote and call handling, not ambient passthrough.
Who should skip it: anyone with an iPhone 15 or newer, since those phones use USB-C and this plug will not fit. Also skip it if you want zero setup — the Bluetooth step is small but it is real, and a pair that only plays after a handshake is not for someone who wants plug-and-play silence.
ABCPOW Earbuds USB C: Who It's For
ABCPOW Earbuds USB C takes the opposite approach: it is a straight wired USB-C pair with no Bluetooth anywhere in the chain. Plug it into a USB-C port and it plays. That simplicity is the entire pitch, and for a lot of people it is exactly right.
The compatibility list is the headline. On the iPhone side it covers 17e, 17 Pro Max, 17 Pro, 17, 16e, 16 Pro Max, 16 Pro, 16 Plus, 16, 15 Pro Max, 15 Pro, 15 Plus and 15. It also works across a wide spread of Samsung Galaxy phones, including the S26, S25, S24, S23, S22, S21 and S20 families, several Galaxy A models, and the Z Fold and Z Flip lines. If your household has a mix of USB-C phones, this is one pair that travels between them.
The details are practical. You get three sizes of eartips (S, M, L), so you can actually find a seal instead of accepting whatever comes in the box. The driver is a dynamic driver, 20Hz–20,000Hz, and the controls are push-button with sound isolation rather than an active mode. It ships as a 2-pack of 4-foot USB-C headphones with two small clips and two sets of earplugs.
Who should buy it: iPhone 15/16/17 owners, anyone who splits time between an iPhone and a USB-C Android phone, and people who want their earbuds to work the second they plug them in. If you have been hunting for waterproof true wireless earbuds for basketball, this is not that product — it is a wired in-ear pair, and there is no water-resistance rating in the specs. Judge it as a corded everyday pair, not a gym earbud.
Side-by-Side: Which Should You Choose?
• Best for older iPhones (Lightning) → Matsusho 2. It fits iPhone 14 and earlier through the 6, which the ABCPOW cannot.
• Best for newer iPhones (USB-C) → ABCPOW Earbuds USB C. iPhone 15, 16 and 17 owners have no choice here; the Lightning plug simply will not go in.
• Best for call and volume control on the cord → Matsusho 2. Its inline remote handles volume, playback and calls, while the ABCPOW uses push-button controls on the housing.
• Best for cross-device flexibility → ABCPOW Earbuds USB C. It covers a long list of USB-C iPhones and Samsung Galaxy models, so one pair can serve more than one phone.
• Best for fit options → ABCPOW Earbuds USB C. Three eartip sizes (S, M, L) are included; the Matsusho listing does not specify multiple tip sizes.
• Best for setup simplicity → ABCPOW Earbuds USB C. It is pure wired with no Bluetooth pairing step, whereas Matsusho 2 needs Bluetooth switched on before it plays.
• Best for warranty length → Matsusho 2. A 36-month warranty against ABCPOW's 1-year manufacturer coverage.
• Best for getting a spare pair in the box → a tie. Both ship as 2-packs.
In my opinion, the right pick is decided by your iPhone's port, not by brand. If you are on an iPhone 15, 16 or 17, I would buy the ABCPOW Earbuds USB C — it is genuinely wired, needs no Bluetooth handshake, gives you three eartip sizes, and covers a huge spread of USB-C phones, which matters if you also carry an Android. If you are still on a Lightning iPhone, I would buy the Matsusho 2 instead: the inline remote for volume and calls is the feature you will touch every day, and the 36-month warranty is the more reassuring of the two. For iPhone owners, that is the whole call. Check the current price on Amazon before you commit, since both come as 2-packs and the per-pair value is what really matters.
It depends on the port. If your iPhone has a Lightning port, plug the Matsusho 2 in and switch Bluetooth on — it pairs and reconnects automatically in about 2 to 8 seconds on later uses. If your iPhone has USB-C, plug the ABCPOW earbuds straight in; no pairing is needed.
The iPhone 15 uses USB-C, so the ABCPOW Earbuds USB C is the match — plug it into the port and it plays, with push-button controls on the housing. The Matsusho 2 will not fit an iPhone 15 because its plug is Lightning.
Same answer as the 15: the iPhone 16 family (16, 16 Plus, 16 Pro, 16 Pro Max, 16e) is USB-C, and ABCPOW lists all of those models as compatible. Plug in and adjust the volume — if you hear nothing, ABCPOW suggests raising the volume switch or trying another port.
How to use wired headphones for iphone 16?
For a Lightning iPhone instead, plug the Matsusho 2 in with Bluetooth enabled and use the inline remote for volume, playback and calls. If you are weighing a wired pair against something like a transparency mode headset for vlogging, note that neither of these two lists an ambient passthrough mode — both are straightforward in-ear listening tools.
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