Can I use a non-apple bluetooth earphone with my iphone 16 pro max?

Yes. I’ve paired 3 non-Apple Bluetooth headphones to my iPhone, Apple Watch, and Mac. A very old pair I forget the name of, Sony noise canceling over the ear headphones, and Samsung earbuds. But the Apple AirPods were the easiest of them all.

You just have to figure out how to put your Bluetooth headphones into Bluetooth “Discovery Mode”, so that your headphones broadcast that they are available for pairing.

Finding how your Bluetooth headphones enter Discovery Mode is the Fun (aka difficult) part, as it is always different, and often involves holding some button for 10 seconds. Or holding 2 buttons at the same time while powering on.

If you do not have your headphone’s original instructions, then try using Google with the headphone’s manufacturer’s name and model number.

Of course. I use Bowers and Wilkins with all of my Apple devices, and have used Bose, Sony and others in the past. Any particular reason you think this could be an issue?

Yes, I use non-Apple Bluetooth earphones and they work just fine.

Works fine.