As USB-C begins to root itself into our daily lives and we journey through this transition of adopting the new USB connection standard, there are times when you’ll need a dongle to connect to an older or alternative connection type to USB-C. The Anker USB-C to Lightning Audio Adapter is once such dongle that helps you breathe a new life to your old gadget, in this case, the Apple Lightning EarPods, and have them work with USB-C devices, such as a MacBook Air, a MacBook Pro or iPad Pro.
If you are partial to the free Lightning EarPods that came with your iPhone, you’re a little out of luck when it comes to using them with your MacBook or iPad Pro. This is where the Anker USB-C to Lightning Audio Adapter Cable comes into play.
In the box comes the little white adapter by itself. From end to end it measures just 10.5cm, which is enough to give some flexibility when connecting to another cable but not too long to make it unwieldy once connected. Anker’s usual strong build-quality shines through this mini cable, with a solid thick cable and moulded ends. At both ends of the cable, you have solid Apple-white covered ports. At one end is the male USB-C port, whilst on the other end, you have a female Lightning socket.
Simply connect the USB-C end into a MacBook or iPad Pro and plug your Apple EarPods with Lightning Connection into the female port of the Anker adapter and you’re away. The connection is initiated instantly on the iPad Pro, whilst on the MacBook, you will see the ‘Lightning Audio Adapter’ listed as one of your audio devices. Selecting this audio option will pass audio through the adapter and into the EarPods whilst the microphone input can be recorded too.
Both audio and microphone input from the EarPods will be passed through this adapter, and that’s pretty all there is to say about the Anker USB-C to Lightning Audio Adapter — It works. Well, it works for Apple EarPods. You might not get as much success with other Lightning devices, however.
It was this level of compatibility that lead me into looking into this adapter. I have been recording video on my iPad Pro and I wanted to connect my Lightning lavalier lapel microphone into my USB-C iPad Pro to capture better audio during my YouTube Channel recordings. Unfortunately, though, this adaptor wasn’t able to work with my Lightning microphone and on testing, it only really seemed to work with the Apple EarPods.
Unfortunately, I do not have any other Lightning audio devices to test this adaptor on, so I can’t really say if any other Lightning devices will work with this USB-C to Lightning Audio Adaptor, or if it is specifically made just for the Apple EarPods with Lightning Connector.
So if you are looking for an adapter to convert your Apple Lightning EarPods to allow them to be used on a MacBook or an iPad Pro with USB-C connection, and you do not want to spend any more money on a pair of Bluetooth headphones or a pair of USB-C headphones, this adapter will allow you to play audio and record through your EarPod’s microphone. For the cost of £24.99 / $29.99 from Amazon, this adapter is a little steep for many, considering they will only work mostly for Apple’s Lightning EarPods. A more universal USB-C to 3.5mm jack will only set you back $7-$9 and you can then use any pair of wired 3.5mm headphones.
For the price, you would really have to love your Apple Lightning EarPods to consider this adapter, but if you are on the lookout for exactly this purpose, there are not many alternatives out there that will handle the audio input and output from your Lightning EarPods. So on that basis, the Anker USB-C to Lightning Audio Adapter may be something you will want to pick up. Save the environment and repurpose your Apple Lighting EarPods with your MacBook or iPad Pro with USB-C connection.
Anker USB-C to Lightning Audio Adapter
$29.99
Pros
- Works with Apple EarPods
- With with EarPod Microphone input
- Short and solid cable
Cons
- Only works with Apple EarPods
- Unable to work with Lightning audio input devices
- Expensive but alternatives are limited
