The Little Helper: Satechi’s Type-C to 3.5mm Audio Headphone Jack Adapter

A while back I was testing the Jamstik 7 Guitar MIDI controller and had some issues getting things hooked up properly until I talked to the company’s tech support group. One thing I did try — and it performed its job perfectly — was the Satechi Type-C to 3.5mm Audio Headphone Jack Adapter ($24.99). It’s a little add-on that can make life easier for iPad Pro owners who don’t have the luxury of a 3.5mm headphone jack or a Lightning port.

Design

The design of the Headphone Jack Adapter is typical Satechi — attractive and functional. On one end of the adapter is a male USB Type-C plug, there’s a short (7.5 inch) black cable, and then on the other end is an aluminum enclosure containing a female USB Type-C port and a 3.5mm headphone jack

To connect a pair of regular wired headphones to a 2018 iPad Pro — or any other USB-C device — you simply plug the male end of the plug into your device. The Type-C Adapter supports USB-C Power Delivery, so you can plug your power adapter (up to 89W) into the female port to keep your device charged up using pass-through charging. Finally, just plug a 3.5mm headphone plug into the jack and enjoy listening.

Note that the adapter is simply for connectivity — it doesn’t provide any sort of volume control, leaving that to either the device (iPad or MacBook) or the headphones. 

Function

The Satechi Type-C to 3.5mm Audio Headphone Jack Adapter performs its tasks perfectly. Not once did I get the dreaded “charging device is not supported” error message that’s common with cheap third-party adapters that claim to be MFi (Made for iPad) compatible. I did find the adapter to get slightly warm when I was charging my iPad Pro while listening through headphones, but it wasn’t bad enough to be concerned about. 

One astute reader pointed out on the AWT Facebook Page that I hadn’t said anything about using this to attach a microphone. The adapter does work for that function as well, although I had mixed results when testing three different mics.

Conclusion

For $25, Satechi’s Type-C to 3.5mm Audio Headphone Jack Adapter adds a simple — but needed — functionality to USB Type-C devices missing traditional 3.5mm headphone jacks. The price is right, the quality of manufacture is top-notch, and it performs its tasks admirably.

Apple World Today Rating (out of 5 stars): ★★★★★