Affordable true wireless earbuds with high-end features used to be hard to come by, but today, the market is full of options under $150, including the Jabra Elite 4. These earbuds, released in March 2023, are priced at only $100 and offer impressive audio quality and active noise cancellation. While they may not have all the latest features, the Elite 4 is a solid choice for those seeking reliable audio and ANC without breaking the bank.
Price and availability
Priced at a reasonable $100, the Jabra Elite 4 is available in Dark Gray, Navy, Light Beige, and Lilac color options. You can purchase them from various retailers like Amazon and Best Buy, or directly from Jabra’s website.
Design and hardware
The Jabra Elite 4 has a familiar design that resembles several other Jabra earbuds, such as the Jabra Elite 3, Jabra Elite 4 Active, and Jabra Elite 5. They have a compact size, with a triangular button on each bud, and a small charging case with a flip-top lid.
The Jabra Elite 4 comes with multiple sizes of silicone ear tips, and the default medium size provided a comfortable fit for my ears. Although there are no stabilizing ridges, fins, or stems on the buds, they still felt secure during my use, even while jogging.
Audio and ANC
Considering their $100 price point, the Jabra Elite 4 may not be able to compete with high-end earbuds from Sony or Samsung in terms of audio quality. However, the 6mm drivers deliver impressive bass response that’s suitable for earbuds in this price range. The default tuning of the earbuds can make higher-frequency sounds, like vocals and percussion, sound slightly lifeless and less defined.
Fortunately, the Jabra Sound+ app offers a five-band equalizer that enables customization of the Elite 4’s sound. Boosting the Treble sliders improves the higher-frequency sounds significantly. The earbuds support SBC and aptX codecs but lack AAC support, which may not be an issue for non-iPhone users.
The Jabra Elite 4’s main selling point, compared to the more affordable Elite 3, is the noise cancellation, which is impressive for the price. In a direct comparison with the pricier Elite 5, it wasn’t always apparent which had better ANC quality. The Elite 5 seemed to be slightly more effective at reducing mid-frequency noise than the Elite 4, but both are in a similar league. While neither can compete with the top earbuds from Apple or Bose, it’s difficult to argue with their performance for the $100 price point.
In terms of call quality, the Jabra Elite 4 also perform well, with recordings demonstrating effective isolation of the user’s voice from background noise. While they may not be as exceptional as earbuds that are twice the price, the Elite 4’s call quality is good enough that most users won’t be concerned with it.
App and features
The Jabra Elite 4’s feature set is a bit unusual. While they do offer Fast Pair and multipoint connectivity, features that are not always present in more expensive earbuds, they lack some seemingly fundamental features. For instance, the earbuds do not include in-ear detection, meaning that playback will not pause when the earbuds are removed. Additionally, users cannot change the earbuds’ control scheme, and there is no reporting of the case’s battery level other than a color-changing LED on the front side.
The Jabra Sound+ app is necessary for earbud firmware updates and lets you adjust the earbuds’ equalizer settings. The app is user-friendly and intuitive, but the lack of control customization is a bit puzzling. The only available option is which ANC modes the left bud’s button cycles through. The control scheme is otherwise fixed, so if you prefer a single press on either bud to activate play/pause instead of play/pause for the right bud and ANC modes for the left, you won’t be able to change it.
Battery and charging
The Jabra Elite 4 offer a battery life of around five and a half hours with ANC turned on, which is slightly below average. While some may find this disappointing, it’s important to note that these earbuds are both compact and affordably priced. It’s also worth considering that if you’re looking for noise-cancelling earbuds to use during long-haul flights, you may need to look at higher-end options. Despite the relatively shorter battery life, the Jabra Elite 4’s other features and reasonable price point still make them a solid choice for many users.
The Elite 4’s charging case can fully charge the earbuds three times, which is impressive considering its small size. However, it is not possible to check the case’s battery level on your phone, even when the earbuds are stored in it. Instead, there’s a color-changing LED on the case that gives an approximate idea of the remaining charge. Unfortunately, the case doesn’t support wireless charging and can only be charged via USB-C. While this is not uncommon for more affordable earbuds, it’s worth noting for potential buyers.
Competition
The Jabra Elite 4, priced at $100, are vying for attention in the competitive market of budget true wireless earbuds. If you’re considering purchasing the Jabra Elite 4, you may also be interested in the OnePlus Nord Buds 2, which are priced at $59. While the Nord Buds 2 offer comparable battery life of five hours per charge with ANC and surprising audio quality given their low price, the quality of their ANC doesn’t match up to that of the Jabra Elite 4.
The Pixel Buds A-Series is another option for those looking for budget-friendly true wireless earbuds, priced at $99. While they offer better audio quality than the Jabra Elite 4, they do not have any active noise cancelation due to their “spatial vent” design, which allows environmental sound into your ears on purpose. The Pixel Buds A-Series also have a similar battery life, providing about five hours of playback time per charge. However, without ANC, the battery life may not be as impressive for those looking to block out external noise.
Pros
Good audio quality for the price
Decent ANC
Just $100
Cons
No in-ear detection
Controls are not customizable
Middling battery life
Should you buy them?
Jabra’s Elite 4 are an additional pair of budget-friendly earbuds from the company that perform well. Although there isn’t anything particularly remarkable about them, as their audio, ANC, and battery life are all quite standard, the fact that they have no significant flaws is noteworthy for earbuds at this price point. The earbuds deliver a pretty decent sound and effectively block out surrounding noise, which is not always the case with budget earbuds.
If you have the financial flexibility, there are various reasons to splurge on earbuds. Even Jabra’s Elite 5, which costs $150, offers features like in-ear detection and wireless charging, both of which improve the overall experience. However, if you’re looking for earbuds that deliver decent sound and adequate noise isolation within a $100 budget, the Jabra Elite 4 is a solid choice.
Pic Credit : Andoridpolice (https://www.androidpolice.com)
