Jabra Elite 4 true wireless earbuds reviewed.

Jabra recently launched the Elite 4, it’s newest true wireless earbuds with active noise cancellation. Not another earbud you say? Well, let’s find out if this is worth buying!

What is the Jabra Elite 4?

The Jabra Elite 4 is Jabra’s latest entry grade true wireless earbuds with active noise cancellation, smooth switching bluetooth multipoint for seamless switching and IP55 ratings against dust and water.

The Jabra Elite 4 like most Jabra products are supported by the Jabra Sound+ app. For the city nomads who requires crystal clear communication in a bustling environment, the Elite 4’s 4-Microphone call technology will do the trick!

The Jabra Elite 4 is available in four amazing colors, Dark grey, Navy, Lilac and Light Beige and can be purchased on Jabra’s website or leading retailers for SGD 160.00.

Specifications.

Size and weight (Earbuds)	20.1mm x 27.2mm x20.8mm 4.6g each
Size and weight (Case)	64.15mm x 28.47mm x 34.6mm 33.4g
Waterproof Rating	IP55
Microphone	4 x MEMS (100Hz -8000Hz)
Codec supported	Qualcomm® aptX™, SBC
Bluetooth	Ver 5.2 Bluetooth® Multipoint
Bluetooth range	10m
Charge time	3.5hrs Fast charge (10mins = 1hr usage time)
Battery life (Case)	5.5hrs – 7hrs (With Case up to 28hrs)
Paired devices	6 devices
Speaker Size	6mm
Bandwidth (Speaker)	20Hz – 20000Hz (music mode) 100Hz – 8000Hz (speak mode)

Aesthetics.

The Jabra Elite 4 like it’s Elite family retains the iconic triangle look with a smooth curved finish on the inside. By now those who are familiar to the Jabra Elite line will be used to the touch and feel of the ear buds.

The triangle design gives the user a sharper look, some said I look 2kg lighter wearing these buds than round ones.

Jabra includes 3 sets of silicon ear tips (EarGels) in the Elite 4, S, M, and L sizes. The M size fits me well as usual and to change them you simply tug at it and pull it off. Replacing the ear tips is easy, you just have to use your thumb and push the ear tip to the slim part of the earbud.

I received the Navy blue color which is one of my personal favourite for work usage. I spend a lot of time meeting people in business functions and will usually be in dark colored business wears. So the Navy color blends well and actually gives off a shimmer of the Jabra brand, making it look like an accessory. For casual usage I would highly recommend Lilac or Light Beige which looks stunning and are very popular nowadays.

The Jabra 4 is equipped with a button with touch response with colored LED for displaying the pairing modes and battery life. The LED will flash when taken out of the charging case, green for high battery, yellow for medium and red for low.

Controls and functions.

Play/Pause Music	Tap Right Once
Skip Track	Tap Right Twice
Restart Track	Tap Right 3-times
Increase Volume	Tap and Hold Right
Decrease Volume	Tap and Hold Left
Answer Call	Tap Right/Left Once
Reject Call	Tap Right/Left Twice
Engage Virtual Assistant	Tap Left Twice
Toggle ANC/HearThrough	Tap Left Once

The earbuds like its predecessors have sensors that knows when you are wearing or taking off the earbuds which automatically pauses the music that you are listening to. Jabra Elite 4 also has instant pairing and Bluetooth® Multipoint which lets you switch between devices effortlessly. You won’t need to re-pair your earbuds when switching to another pre paired device.

Controls are pretty straight forward, similar to the previous models you will most likely have to tap the button once or twice to play/pause songs and answer or reject calls. The only time when you need to tap 3 times was to activate and call out the virtual assistant which Jabra currently supports Google assistant, Amazon Alexa and android default. Jabra Elite also supports sportify tap which can be activated in the Jabra Sound+ app, once activated double tap the left button to resume your last played Spotify song.

Although the Jabra Elite 4 comes with hear through function, sometimes it is still better to wear the earbud on one side and keep the other open for better awareness. The Elite 4 supports mono mode which detects and allows you to control the functions with just one earbud.

Jabra Sound+ App.

The Jabra Sound+ app is highly recommended in order to unleash the full potential of the Jabra Elite 4. It is necessary to have the app for firmware updates and the app also allows you to toggle between ANC or HearThrough.

The most important function of the Jabra Sound+ app is the music equalizer where you will be able to adjust five bands for the Bass, Mid range and Treble. Alternatively there are also six pre-set profiles for a seamless switch depending on the activity.

The Spotify Tap needs to be activated via the Jabra Sound+ app, once turned on you will be able to control the music from Spotify via your left bud. Just double tap the left earbud to start listening to the played song.

Sound Quality.

One major flaw was that AAC was missing from the supported codecs list of the Jabra Elite 4. For those who know, AAC or Advanced Audio Codec is the highest quality codec supported by apple devices. Therefore by not having AAC means that apple users will not be having the optimal experience intended.

That being said, not all are lost. The Jabra Elite 4 still produces quite a decent performance for the price. I tested it with my usual mix, “Can’t Stand the Rain” by The Rescues performs well with very clear sound separation. The different background sound like the pattering of the rain, unzipping of the instrument case was crisp and sharp and goes well with the primary instruments and vocals.

Switching to Linkin Park’s “Crawling” with Bass tuned up was better than the neutral mode, it did the job and there was clarity and not a single time was it muddled.

The best was with Tsai Chin’s “Forgotten Time”, where the low-mid vocals were seemingly floating towards me. It was clear, crisp and rich.

The 4 MEMS Mic produces a crystal clear output even with sounds from surrounding elements like traffic, wind and background noises. My partner though I was still in my meeting when I called him to check if he was on the way to our media event.

Active Noise Cancellation (ANC).

As expected, the ANC on the Jabra Elite 4 did well in this segment. Walking around Chinatown with “Yellow” by coldplay with ANC on really transform the hustle and bustle into my own mini concert. The ANC was able to cancel off the sound from the road and also effectively tones down the blast from horns.

Switching from ANC to HearThrough was efficient by just tapping on the left earbud once. HearThrough is the transparency mode which allows you to have spatial awareness while using the earbuds. Although effective, you will hear a low buzzing sound which some might not like.

The Bottom Line.

The Jabra Elite 4 true wireless earbud is a very competitive priced product with great usage capabilities. The ANC is great while the 6mm speakers does relatively well given the price. It comes with IP55 protection against water and dust with a 2 years warranty. The only down part was the missing AAC codecs which was crucial for apple products.

TLDR.

Great earbud at an attractive price, but not for apple fans.