Jabra Elite 4 review: These $99 buds punch above their price range

Danish audio equipment brand Jabra may not have the same household name status as Apple or Sony, the audiophile reputation of Bose or Sennheiser, or even the "cool" image of Nothing, but it's been making some of the better functional earbuds for years. Yes, that is a nicer way of saying they're a bit boring, but if you want earbuds that fit well, pump out good audio, and don't cost too much money, Jabra has been reliable. In fact, it makes some of the best earbuds for working out.

The company's newest entry-level buds, named the Elite 4, continue that trend. They don't look nearly as stylish as the Nothing Ear 2, nor do they offer any software features we haven't seen before, but the Elite 4 checks all fundamental boxes a good set of earbuds should, including some features usually reserved for pricier earbuds like multi-point connection and active noise cancelation (ANC). At $99, it's quite a good value offering from a company known for it.

About this review: This review was written after a week testing the Jabra Elite 4 provided by Jabra. The company did not have input in the review.

Jabra Elite 4: Price and availability

The Jabra Elite 4 are available now on Jabra's online store. Right now it is not available yet on other retailers such as Amazon or Best Buy, but it should eventually, as Jabra's other products are available on those platforms. The Elite 4 come in four colors — Grey, Light Beige, Lilac and Navy Blue — and cost $99.

Design and Hardware: No frills

• Lightweight and compact
• A bit bland looking
• No stem design

I have to be honest, after recently testing the OnePlus Buds Pro 2 and Nothing Ear 2, the Jabra Elite 4 look a bit bland. From the simple and old-school packaging to the single-tone texture and color of the earbuds, there's nothing here made me do a double take. I'm not saying the packaging and look matter a lot, but it's not true to say it doesn't matter at all.

The packaging includes two other sized silicon eartips (small and large, to go with the medium size already applied to the earbuds), and a short USB-C cable.

What is noteworthy is that the Elite 4 are relatively small and lightweight, even compared to other earbuds. The case by itself weighs 1.18 ounces (33g) and the earbuds are just 0.16 ounces (4.6g) each. Construction is all plastic, of course, with a slight matte coating. The case is a flip-top type, and the earbuds are presented face-up, so they're easy to take in and out.

The case's overall footprint is also small. It's about on par with Apple's AirPods Pro 2 case, which is usually one of the smaller cases out there. The cases of the Nothing Ear 2, OnePlus Buds Pro 2, or most other earbuds I've tested are generally bigger.

The earbuds feature a stem-less design, so they're very discreet when in the ear. I find the default medium silicon tip to fit my tighter-than-usual ear canal fine (with AirPods Pro 2, I need to use the XS size). Not having stems that protrude from the ear brings both good and bad in my opinion. It's a cleaner look — if I look straight ahead, people may not even notice I'm wearing earbuds — but they're also harder to take in and out because there's less to grab onto.

The lack of stems also means the touch control panel is on the earbuds' main body. This wouldn't be a big issue if it's all taps and swipes, but nope, the earbuds require a physical press of a button for many actions. Any button press almost always means the earbud itself is being pushed into your ear. It's not a dealbreaker; it just feels a bit odd.

The 6mm drivers in the buds are very small compared to the 10-12mm drivers seen in other earbuds, and connectivity is done via Bluetooth 5.2. There are a pair of microphones on each earbud to handle phone calls and ANC. Following in Apple's footsteps, Jabra does not reveal the official battery size, but battery life is fine (more on this in the performance section below).

Software: You don't really need the app

• Odd pairing process
• The companion app isn't too useful

While I wouldn't say I am an expert in wireless earbuds the way I am very knowledgeable about smartphones, I do play around with double-digit pairs of earbuds a year, and Jabra's unusual pairing method threw me off. Virtually every set of buds I've tested in the past few years, from AirPods to Xiaomi earbuds and Bose QC Earbuds 2, all pair the same way: You open the lid, long press a button, and the earbuds go into pairing mode.

Not the Jabra Elite 4. The case doesn't have a physical button, so you have to actually take the buds out to initiate pairing. If you're handling these earbuds for the first time without the instruction booklet or an internet connection to look up how to pair them, you could be completely stumped on how to do it.

The app does offer all the basics, like adjusting the ANC level or setting up a digital voice assistant.

Jabra encourages you to download the Jabra Sound+ app, and while it's worth downloading to get updates (I got a firmware update for the earbuds upon connection), it's not a particularly useful app. You can't customize the touch controls too much, for example. Plus, the earbuds sound pretty good out of the box, so I didn't think the EQ needed tweaking.

The Jabra Elite 4 also lack some of the more intelligent software features offered by other earbuds, such as spatial audio or Samsung earbuds' ability to double as Bluetooth microphones for the phone's camera. There is the option to quick launch Spotify with a double press of a button, which is only really useful for Spotify users.

But while the app is a bit bare bones, it does offer all the basics, like adjusting the ANC level or setting up a digital voice assistant (Siri or Google Assistant) via a long press of one of the buttons.

Performance: Solid but unspectacular all around

• Surprisingly strong bass and crisp highs
• ANC is just decent

The Jabra Elite 4, despite the slightly lower price tag and the small audio drivers, performs well. I found audio performance to be satisfactory, with surprisingly strong low-frequency depth and crisp high-frequency range. Obviously, my pricier earbuds, like the AirPods Pro or Bose QC Earbuds 2 sound better, with fuller audio and more codec support, but I'd say the Jabra Elite 4's audio quality is almost on par with the $149 Nothing Ear 2 or OnePlus Buds 2 Pro.

Where Jabra's low price point is noticeable is ANC. It's there, but it's not too strong. Perhaps I've been spoiled by Bose's absolutely jaw-dropping ANC, which can give me complete silence in most settings, but I found the Elite 4's ANC to merely lower the volume of outside sounds slightly. I can still hear clearly chatter and traffic noise around me.

Phone calls are below par, with the other party saying I sound very distant. This isn't surprising due to the lack of a stem, so speaking to Siri or Google Assistant could also be an issue in loud settings. The earbuds are rated IP55 for water and dust resistance, and I've worn them in the shower multiple days without issues.

Battery life is acceptable, with 4.5 hours of playtime with ANC on, and an advertised 7 hours with ANC off. I never did try the earbuds without ANC long enough to test the advertised 7-hour time, but I can confirm the 4.5-hour time with ANC on is accurate. Charging is done via USB-C cable only, as the case lacks wireless charging.

Should you buy the Jabra Elite 4?

You should buy the Jabra Elite 4 if:

• You want a pair of lightweight earbuds
• You just want basics in a no-frills manner, at a relatively low price
• You want earbuds that look more discreet

You should not buy the Jabra Elite 4 if:

• You want excellent ANC for use in noisy environments
• You want your earbuds to look a bit more stylish or have more special features

If you're a tech enthusiast, an audiophile, or someone who's just into gadgets, you'll likely prefer earbuds that are more feature-packed, have better ANC, and don't look as bland.

But people who don't care as much, like my girlfriend or mother, would also rather just buy something even cheaper, in the $60 or $75 dollar range. It's not like they'd really be able to tell the difference. Instead, the Jabra Elite 4 fit a smaller group, those with some demands/standards, but not really picky ones.