Jabra just announced the Elite 4 Active – and here they are! Should you get them? Let’s start with some facts and we’ll tell you what we think of them so far.
It’s got ANC, hearthrough and a very fitness and fluid-friendly IP57 rating
So – this is a bit of a departure for Jabra. When Jabra releases wireless earbuds, they first come with a model and are followed later by an Active variant. So we first got the Jabra Elite 75T and later we got an Elite 75T Active. Recently we got a Jabra Elite 7 Pro and then we got a Jabra Elite 7 Active. Funnily enough there’s no Elite 4, just this Elite 4 Active. So that’s… different.
All right, let’s start with the facts. It’s got ANC, hearthrough, a very fitness and fluid-friendly IP57 rating. When it comes to sound, it has 6mm drivers and you can tweak the EQ in the app – so a lot of things are looking like considerable upgrades from the Elite 3. Including the price – a very interesting 120 Euros at launch. If you’re watching this video later, check out the links in the description for the latest prices. Coming back to the facts, It doesn’t get wireless charging unfortunately, but let’s take a look at what’s in the box.
So first off, It comes in 3 colors: Navy, Black & Light Mint. The one we have here is: . The shape and style is very similar to the recent releases from Jabra – the 7 and the 3 series. Interestingly, these also have the super grippy texture from the Elite 7 Active and the older Jabra Elite 75T Active. Jabra says that this obviates the need for having wing tips because the entire surface is kinda grippy. While it might not be quite a replacement for tips, it is a pretty ingenious solution – but you don’t get that with the Elite 4 Active.
Their round eartips are pretty much compatible with most of Jabra’s product range. Except the 85T maybe. And while we’re fans of buttons, these buttons are – pudgy. They’re much harder to press than any Jabra buds we’ve had in the past and that’s unfortunate. Given that these buttons sit exactly at the other end of your ear holes, unless you hold them before pushing the buttons, you’re gonna develop some ear pains very fast.
The battery life claim on these buds are pretty average at about 27 hours on the buds and 21 additional hours from the charging case.
We’ve always thought that Jabra was one of the best when it came to comfort and this continues that storied tradition. We think they fit quite well and stay in the ear well. Jabra’s research of analysing those 62000 ears is not all humbug I’m guessing.
Ok – so with all that out of the way – this is a very interesting product – for one reason alone – the price. Jabra’s strategy is clear – a set of wireless earbuds for every price point. The Elite 4 Active retails at 120 Euros which is a very good price for what you’re getting – on paper!
🎧 Buy the Jabra Elite 4 Active: https://geni.us/JabraElite4Active
🎧 Buy the Jabra Elite 3: https://geni.us/JabraElite3
🎧 Buy the Jabra Elite 7 Pro: https://geni.us/JabraElite7Pro
🎧 Buy the Jabra Elite 7 Active: https://geni.us/Jabra7Active
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So on paper, except for wireless charging – this is perfect, right? Let’s move from paperworld to testworld. Let’s compare the ANC and transparency of these buds with the Elite 7 Pro and the Airpods Pro just to get an idea of how good it is.
The ANC and transparency on these buds is quite decent for the price point. You won’t get Airpods Pro level ANC, but you get pretty close. There’s not much to say here.
And Jabra is known for its calling and microphone acumen. But let’s look past the reputation and check out the video for the tests!
(rohan) These are all great mics in quiet conditions and let’s be frank – in most conditions. I played a fairly loud sound however in the background and the Elite 7 Pro’s mic capabilities really outshine the other two. With the Jabra Elite Active 4 coming in surprisingly at second place. So that’s an impressive, but not a surprising feat from Jabra.
So now down to the meat and potatoes – how do these sound?
These come with APTX, so should sound fairly good. And you know what – they’re FINE! These do the sub-bass boom boom pretty well. This is the frequency response curve that we generated. I find that the treble has some slight resolution issues, but nothing really stands out in a negative way. Overall – we think these are perfectly decent sounding Bluetooth buds. They hit a good balance between fun and neutrality and what makes them standout is…
…the presence of an EQ band to tweak sound. We’ll come to sound shortly but there’s a bunch of extras this comes with. You get popular features like built-in Alexa and Spotify Tap playback that a bunch of other buds have too. But still it’s nice to see that Google Fast Pair is also in place for quick pairing with your Android phone. Apple sheep need not apply. There’s also no dual device simultaneous connectivity unfortunately, and while Jabra has promised a free update for the more expensive model – that hasn’t come yet. So I wouldn’t hold my breath for the Elite 4 Active.
All right – that’s it for now – what did you think? Worth buying? It’s definitely a strong contender from Jabra – acknowledging the crazy competition we have in the wireless buds market right now. Jabra is also a company that’s environmentally conscious and does a lot to at least portray that it’s trying to contribute less to e-waste and using environmentally friendly inks, zero plastic packaging etc which we appreciate.
We’ve just taken a short look at the Elite 4 Active – longer than many others maybe, but short nonetheless. What do you want to know more of? Should we compare it to something? Leave your comments and we’ll see what we can do!
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