Jabra Elite 4 Active is the latest addition to the new Elite series this year. Jam-packed with cool features, this Jabra Elite 4 Active is arguably the only pair of wireless earbuds that you’ll ever need.
Reputable brand, tick. Comfortable, tick. Great sound, tick. Good battery life, tick. Reasonably priced, tick. Whoa, I just summarised the whole review in a few sentences. Yes, it’s that versatile. Let me elaborate.
Packaging
Features
- Secure active fit with ergonomic, wing-free design
- IP57-rated water and sweat proof durability
- Active Noise Cancellation (ANC)
- 6mm speakers and customisable equaliser
- HearThrough technology for added awareness
- 4-microphone call technology
- Up to 7-hours playtime (up to 28 hours with charging case)
- Use either earbud with mono mode
- Alexa Built-in or Spotify Tap playback, and Google Fast Pair*
First Impression
The pairing process is seamless as expected. You can take the earbuds out of the case, and they’re ready to pair.
These new Jabra Elite 4 Active earbuds are designed for working out, hence the water and sweat proof rating, and I’ve been wearing them for exercise, plus other things as well. So even if you’re not a sports fanatic, these earbuds will serve you well.
It’s got Active Noise Cancellation (ANC) with a customisable equaliser (from the Jabra Sound+ App) and has this cool feature, HearThrough, which allows you to hear what’s coming up behind you at the tap of a button. It’s like instant awareness, should you need it.
Charging Case
The charging case has an upright position so that it can stand on its own, and has a matte finish. It’s made of high-quality plastic and comes in three colours (Navy, Mint, Black). There’s a USB-C port at the back of it and the case is also small enough that you can easily put it in your jeans’ pocket.
There’s an LED indicator on the front to tell you how much juice it’s got.
Sound Quality
Here’s where the Jabra Elite 4 Active excels at: the sound quality is simply sublime. I wasn’t expecting it at all.
It’s great when I listen to music and podcasts. It’s perfectly balanced just like listening through an expensive pair of headphones that is twice its price. It’s got enough bass and treble that I didn’t even find the need to tinker with the equaliser.
In the end, I just used the default preset so, kudos to Jabra’s brilliant engineers for this! The ANC is awesome too as I can barely hear outside noises when I put them on. Furthermore, the 4-microphone technology gives you crystal clear voice calls.
Comfort
The earbuds fit comfortably in my ears using the default ear tip. They securely fit during my workout and you can use mono mode where you only use one earbud if you need to.
Battery Life
The battery life can last up to 7 hours and 28 hours in total with the charging case. Plus, it gives you one hour of playback with just 10 minutes of fast charging.
Tech Specs
Audio
- Active Noise-Cancellation (ANC): Yes
- Adjustable HearThrough: Yes
- Noise isolating fit: Yes
- In-ear pressure relief: Yes
- Speaker size: 6mm / 0.236in
- Speaker bandwidth (music mode): 20Hz – 20000Hz
- Speaker bandwidth (speak mode): 100Hz – 8000Hz
- Audio codecs supported: Qualcomm® aptX™, SBC
Calls
- Microphone type: MEMS
- Number of microphones: 4
- Microphone bandwidth: 100Hz – 8000Hz
- Noise reduction on calls: Yes
Software & Apps
- Compatible software and/or apps: Jabra Sound+
- Google Fast Pair (Android only): Yes
- Spotify Tap playback (Android only): Yes
- Alexa Built-in: Yes
- Voice assistant enabled: Alexa Built-in (Android 6.0 or higher), Siri®, Google Assistant™
Fit & Comfort
- Form factor: In-ear true wireless earbuds
- EarGels™: Large, medium, small
- EarGels material: Silicone
- Mono mode: Yes
Battery
- Music time (earbuds): Up to 7 hours
- Music time total (earbuds and charging case): Up to 28 hours
- Sleep mode: Yes
- Corded charging: USB-C
- Charging time: Up to 180 minutes
- Fast charge: Up to 1-hour use, when charging earbuds for 10 minutes in charging case
- Standby time: Up to 275 Days
- Battery type: Rechargeable lithium-ion battery
Connectivity
- Connectivity: Bluetooth 5.2
- Bluetooth profiles: A2DP v1.3, AVRCP v1.6, HFP v1.7, HSP v1.2
- Operating range: Up to 10m / 33ft
- Paired devices: Up to 6 devices
- Auto on/off: Yes
General
- Box contents: Earbuds, 3 sets of EarGels™, charging case, USB-C to USB-A cable, warranty and warning leaflets
- Main unit dimensions (WxHxD): 20.85mm x 20.49mm x 27.3mm
- Charging case dimensions (WxHxD): 28.4mm x 38.9mm x 64mm
- Earbud weight (each earbud): 5g
- Weight (charging case): 37.5g
- USB cable length: 0.2m
- IP rating: IP57
- Warranty: 2-year warranty (Against failure from dust and water with Jabra Sound+ app registration)
- LED features and functions: Battery status, Bluetooth pairing
- Certifications and compliance: FCC, ISED, CE, RoHS, REACH, Proposition 65, Google Fast Pair
- Operating temperature: -10°C to 55°C
- Storage temperature: -20°C to 60°C
Jabra Elite 4 Active Review – Verdict
If you could only have one pair of wireless earbuds for the rest of your life, you should definitely consider the Jabra Elite 4 Active. It’s that good!
You can get one at Jabra’s website for $179 with free shipping. Or, you can get it at your local JB-Hifi store for the same price.
Disclosure: Jabra Elite 4 Active review sample was supplied for reviewing
