Jabra has been one of the leading brands in audio peripherals since the company’s outset with its wide variety of premium-tier accessories. Meanwhile, understanding the trend and keeping the competitors in the frame, they are back in the game with its latest offering in the form of Jabra Elite 4 Active to nail the mid-range segment.
Jabra delivers exceptional high-end products which pack in a lot of features with compatibility across various operating systems. Unlike most Apple products, which have a takedown with its limited functionalities that only work under its own ecosystem of devices. Jabra has pioneered its trust among the consumers with its durable portfolio of products with its IP certification which can handle dust and rainfalls. The Jabra Elite 4 Active is not an exception to the Jabra standard; with its ergonomic design ensuring a perfect fit for a sealed experience and resisting falling from the ears even after hefty endurance.
Will the Jabra Elite 4 Active stand tall among its rivalries? Let’s find out!
Box Contains:
The packaging is welcoming and tailored toward customers. Along with the Jabra Elite 4 Active true wireless earbuds packed in a charging case, you also get some extra ear tips (to get the right fit for you), a user manual, and a type-c cable included in the box.
You get 3 color options to choose from, Mint Green, Classic Black, and Navy Blue.
Overall look and feel:
The charging case is designed and built with a durable polycarbonate material. The case itself feels smooth and still gives you an excellent grip. The case weighs around 37 grams and is easily pocketable. It has a LED light on top to indicate the pairing mode and charging status. There is also a Type-C charging port on the back, with a fast charge in tow.
The earbud’s build quality is top-notch, and you will appreciate them as soon as you get your hands-on. They are feather light and feel inclusive with our apparel.
Controls:
Unlike the other competitors in the segment, Jabra provides physical control buttons, which is more practical in our opinion. Touch controls often can be hit or miss. The Physical buttons always function as the button presses, providing feedback that it’s there.
The product design team at Jabra has worked well on this one, delivering a flat surface in these newer models of earbuds so that you won’t notice the physical buttons in the first go. These buttons are multifunctional, and you can trigger the ANC on/off, turn on the HearThrough mode, summon your voice assistant, and control the volume right from your earbuds.
The only con we found in the design was the control buttons are somewhat hard to press, which to some extent is a plus point for the people who work out a lot, preventing accidental triggering.
Application support:
The Sound+ App by Jabra is one of the best applications for earbuds out there. It provides tons and tons of customizations for your Jabra headset, with custom EQ, music presets, an option to predefine for receiving calls, and even a tab to customize the control buttons manually; The Sound+ App has it all.
You also get Google’s Fast Pair support with it, so turn the Bluetooth on your device and head to the Sound+ App for pairing for the very first time. In case you have problems while pairing, you can enable the pairing mode by long-pressing the headset’s buttons.
The UI of the Sound+ app feels intuitive. The homepage of the app provides an overview of the headset. It shows the battery percentage of both the earbuds and case and a tab to discover or explore the feature set of your headset. To get the most out of your audio experience, you can finetune the audio profile according to your liking with the built-in EQ. The App gives the option to update the firmware of the earbuds, and if you can’t find them, can make the earbuds emit a ring to help locate them within the Find My Jabra feature.
Battery life:
The combined battery life from the charging case can last longer than your phone does. The earbuds can last up to 28 hours with the case, and the buds themselves can go for 7 hours. It comes with Qualcomm’s fast charge technology, and you can get a total of 60 minutes of listening for the charge of only 10 minutes. So you can plug it into a power outlet while you shower and get the day’s power!
Unfortunately, it does not have an option to charge wirelessly, but the long-lasting battery life and fast charge outweigh it. It can endure all along with your gaming sessions and stay up until the episodes of your web series finish.
Microphone Quality:
There are 4 microphones on the earbuds, and the mics are decent on this one. They won’t let you down even in the windy weather. You can listen to the sample listed below to know for yourself:
The Elite 4 active also provides an option to mute the calls right through the control buttons, making it blissful for answering calls. An option called Sidetone (audio feedback of your voice) lets you know how well you will sound while attending a call, which (in our opinion) is the cherry on top.
Sound Quality:
The elite 4 active has 6mm drivers. The mids and the highs are on-point, but the bass is somewhat lacking, in our opinion. You can take a look at the Jabra 75ts if you’re a basshead. The Jabra Elite 4 active sounds decently good; otherwise. The vocals are bright, and you get an option to manage the equalizer, which balances out the cons we discussed earlier.
Active Noise Cancellation feature:
ANC on the Elite 4 Active is pretty great for the price. It can cancel out 40-45 decibels from the surroundings and easily cuts off the fan noise or road traffic, sometimes the road traffic can get a real mess (you know what I’m talking about if you live by the street)
This headset helps you isolate from it, It is not required to play any audio to use the ANC mode, you can just turn on the ANC mode after plugging the headset into your ears and focus on what is more important, wherever you are.
HearThrough or Transparency mode:
The Hear-through mode (aka transparency mode) lets you listen to your surroundings without removing the earbuds. This mode works basically on the principle of ventilation and uses microphones to enhance your surroundings so that you feel inclusive of what’s going on around you. It works impressively well on this device as you get a properly secure and active seal (fit) while wearing them.
You can set it to turn it on, whenever you receive a call by configuring it in the Sound+ application.
Additional Features:
Spotify Tap: Spotify Tap lets you start streaming your favorite music sessions with just one tap.
Built-in Alexa: The Alexa comes built-in with this headset, you can ask your queries just by holding down the button for 1 to 2 seconds.
Qualcomm Aptx adaptive: This Bluetooth audio codec ensures your songs play with the highest audio quality, lowest bit-rate transmissions, and delays.
IP57 certification: the headset is IP57 certified indicating it is persistent enough to long-last even after being submerged in dust or water.
Pros:
- Well-balanced audio output
- Sturdy design and fit
- Impactful Active Noise Cancellation
- IP57 certification
Cons:
- Physical control buttons
- No In-Ear detection
- No support for AAC codec
Final Verdict:
If you are looking for a set of earbuds that are fine-tuned and can be worn all along your heavy workouts, Jabra Elite 4 actives are the way to go.
