The $100 earbuds market is not fiercely saturated, but there are some good contenders, the famous Jabra Elite 3 being one. Just before the much-anticipated CES 2022, Jabra has launched its new Elite 4 Active earbuds that upgrade the features missing in the aggressively priced Elite 3.
The Jabra Elite 4 Active has been dropped with active noise cancellation (ANC), HearThrough technology to listen to the surrounding noise, IP57 rated water and dust resistance, and long battery life; all this for a slight bump in the price.
The biggest takeaways
The biggest highlight of the Elite 4 Active is ANC, which Jabra didn’t include in the affordably priced Elite 3. However, for us, Jabra’s aggressive design is of importance too.
For the new earbuds, the company has gone with an ergonomic design that doesn’t require wingtips to hold them in place. This comfort fit would kick the buds up in the running earbuds charts this year.
For enhanced audio and performance, the earbuds come with 6mm drivers. The buds also support AirPods-esque transparency mode called “HearThrough”, which allows the wearer to hear the outside noise in traffic or when required.
Other features
Elite 4 Active can be paired with Jabra’s MySound app and then the earbuds can be adjusted for audio output: the equalizer can be customized and using Mono Mode one earbud can be turned off so you can easily hear the surrounding when running on the road, or walking your pooch in the park.
For the good of binge-watches and frequent travelers, Jabra Elite 4 Active offers 7 hours of battery life, which can be kicked up to 28 hours with the charging case. The buds do not support wireless charging but can offer an hour of extra playback time with just 10-minute quick charge.
Users shall also benefit from features like Google Fast Pair and support for AAC and aptX Bluetooth codecs, Alexa voice assistant, and Spotify Tap that would start the music app with one tap on the earbuds.
The impressive Elite 4 Active earbuds are currently retailing in the UK and Australia for £119 and AU$220. The buds are not available in the US at the time of writing, they are however expected to launch soon.