Jabra has announced new wireless headphones and you’ll probably be shocked at the list of premium features you get for under $100/£100.
The Elite 4 spec sheet includes the sort of stuff you’d normally pay more for, including Quick Pairing, Bluetooth Multipoint and Spotify Tap. All this and more with a price tag of just $99/£99/$99.
Granted, it’s $20/£20 more than the Elite 3, but the earbud’s predecessor lacked one key feature: active noise cancellation (ANC). This is now fixed on the Elite 4, although it is a simple lookahead system with just mics on the outside listening for noise.
The more expensive buds also have mics on the inner part to monitor the result to then make further adjustments if needed while providing a wider reduction frequency range. Still, it’s a common way of doing things in this price range.
The headphones have a total of four mics for calls and there are 6mm drivers providing audio. Users can make changes to the audio profile in the Sound+ app.
It’s features like Bluetooth Multipoint and Spotify Tap that are rarely found in cheap headphones. The latter was only recently added to Sony’s flagship WF-1000XM4 model through a firmware upgrade.
Jabra
The technology allows you to keep the Elite 4 connected to two different devices simultaneously and seamlessly switch between them for different tasks, for example switching between your phone and laptop for music and video calls.
Spotify Tap makes sure you can continue listening where you left off in your previous session, even if it’s been a while and would normally be forgotten. Swift Pair and Fast Pair are also integrated to pair the Elite 4 with compatible Android and Windows devices with minimal hassle.
Jabra claims the Elite 4 offers a total of 28 hours of battery life (with ANC off), with the earbuds lasting five and a half hours on a single charge. There’s an IP55 rating, so they’re protected against dust and water – although they’re not fully waterproof.
You can get your hands on the Jabra Elite 4 now at $99/£99/$99 from the official store with a choice of four colours: dark grey, navy, lilac and light beige.
The Elite 4 will face some very good rivals at the same price, including the Google Pixel Buds A and Nothing Ear (1). See more options in our chart of the best budget wireless headphones.
