Jabra Elite 4 First Impressions: Good Option Under $100!

These are the new Jabra Elite 4 earbuds that were just announced. We’ve had them for a couple of days now, and I have to say, Jabra’s entry-level and mid-level offerings really are pretty good.

This looks pretty much the same as the Elite 3 that was launched previously and is the company’s entry model. It has the same compact case and the same triangular-shaped earbuds that sit very snugly in the ear.

Jabra has always gone with physical buttons and it’s no different here. On the right side, a single press controls play/pause while a double press skips tracks forwards and a triple press skips tracks backwards. A long press and hold raises the volume. On the left, a single press switches between ANC and transparency mode and a long press and hold lowers the volume.

In the Jabra Sound+ app, you’ll be able to get firmware updates as well as access to an EQ with a few presets. There’s also a personalised ANC feature, although I’ve never had much luck with this, so I just left it alone.

The major difference between the Elite 3 and this is that there’s ANC here, as mentioned earlier, which works very well when paired with the excellent passive noise isolation provided by the earbuds. Transparency mode also works well here. Unfortunately, that does mean battery life is slightly impacted and the earbuds only come with five and a half hours of battery with a total of 22 hours when you include the case.

To keep the price low, there’s also no wireless charging available here. They’re running on Bluetooth 5.2, and do support aptX in addition to SBC. There’s also multipoint, so you’ll be able to connect to both your laptop and phone at the same time, which is awesome.

Mic quality seems to be alright, I had no issues on work calls with these.

Additionally, the sound quality is pretty decent! There’s a good amount of thumpy bass, vocals are slightly more forward and there’s enough sparkle and air in the highs. Left/right separation is good, although the soundstage is a little cramped width-wise.

All in all, pretty good option at S$160 or US$100.