Jabra Elite 4 Active review: See our test results

The Jabra Elite 4 are no-nonsense earbuds. Jabra aims for the sweet spot between price and features. And they find it. The earbuds feel lighter and fit even better in your ears. Noise canceling hasn't suffered either: you get ANC and transparency mode. But what's our verdict on these earbuds? Find out in this review.

In this article

• 1. Specifications: Jabra Elite 4
• 1.1 Sound quality
• 1.2 Microphone: calls and video meetings
• 1.3 Fit
• 1.4 Earbud controls
• 1.5 Battery: how long do they last?
• 1.6 ANC
• 2. Conclusion: our final verdict
• 3. Alternatives

Pros and cons

Here are the pros and cons of the Jabra Elite 4. See at a glance whether these earbuds are right for you.

You use earbuds for:

• Listening to music
• Online meetings

And the Jabra Elite 4 handle both perfectly. These earbuds skip the flashy features, making them a truly no-nonsense choice.

As you can see, the biggest drawbacks we could find were the lack of an in-ear sensor and multipoint connectivity.

But I always turn the in-ear sensor off because I find it annoying, so I don't really miss it.

And I hardly ever use multipoint connectivity (connecting to a laptop & phone at the same time). So our first impression is that Jabra has made exactly the right compromises.

Jabra Elite 4 specifications

• Price: ~100
• Chipset: Qualcomm
• Codec: Qualcomm aptX™, SBC
• Bluetooth: 5.2
• Frequency range: 20 Hz - 20000 Hz
• Range: 10m
• Case battery: Undisclosed
• Earbud battery: Undisclosed
• Cable: Usb C
• Waterproof rating: IP57

Jabra Elite 4 sound quality

Surely the Elite 4's sound must have taken a hit at this lower price? Especially compared with the Jabra Elite 7 Pro we tested earlier.

But our first impression is that the difference is surprisingly small. The earbuds are much lighter, but their sound isn't.

Of course, the earbuds fall a little short in some areas. Take the sub-bass: the tones just above the deep bass, between the bass and the mids. Those are a little recessed. But overall, the Jabra Elite 4 sound good. Especially for the roughly €100 you pay.

Sound quality score: 7.5

It seems Jabra has cut costs, but not so much on sound. Where did they cut back? We'll cover that in each section of this article. But here's a spoiler: these earbuds don't let you down in any area.

Microphone: are the Jabra Elite 4 good for calls?

Are these the earbuds that will help you get things done in online meetings? Will you inspire your rigid organization and unmotivated colleagues with the Jabra Elite 4? We can't guarantee that, of course. But we can guarantee that people will hear you clearly with these earbuds.

Jabra's roots are in communication equipment. And that comes through nicely in these earbuds.

Microphone score: 7

As you can hear, the microphone does a good job. We recorded this clip with it:

You can hear how well the earbuds pick up your voice. That's useful for online meetings and phone calls alike.

It's nice that the mic's recording level is fairly high. It's quite sensitive, which I see as a real plus. Microphones are often set too low. And that can be frustrating for everyone else, and for you too.

Buy Jabra Elite 4

HearThrough, Jabra's name for transparency mode, is handy during calls. You can hear your own voice. Talking is difficult when you can't hear yourself. These earbuds handle that well.

In the clip, we mention that transparency mode doesn't activate during calls. But, as we'd expected, the first update fixed that. Nice work, Jabra!

Fit: how comfortable are they?

These earbuds feel great. That's down to their lighter weight and V-shape. They nestle into the contours of your ear better than ever.

This is a case where a picture says more than 1000 words:

You can see how neatly the V-shape fits into your ear. That's exactly what makes these earbuds so comfortable.

Fit score: 8

Their weight is another plus: less than 5 grams. That's light. They're lighter than the Jabra 85t and the Jabra Elite 7 Pro.

ANC: how good is the noise canceling?

Press the left button to activate ANC (active noise canceling). You'll hear a playful little tone as ANC switches on or off. Each press cycles through these modes in this order:

• HearThrough (transparency mode)
• ANC
• No mode (off)

>The nice thing is that ANC follows transparency mode. That makes the effect really noticeable. First, outside sound is amplified in your ears, then it's actively blocked out. It feels a bit like stepping into a soundproof studio. Everything goes quiet. Clever technology!

Fit score: 7

But the Jabra Elite 7 Pro have better noise canceling. Then again, they cost about €100 more. What would you expect?

It makes more sense to compare noise canceling with earbuds in the same price range. Compare them with the similarly priced Samsung Galaxy Buds 2. These Jabras come out ahead. In almost every area.

Earbud controls

Like all the Jabra earbuds we've tested, these use a button for the controls. That usually works very well with Jabra. How about this time?

The button is different from those on other models. Previously, it was a clearly visible button covering the outside of the earbud. A separate component, you could say. This time, the button sits beneath the top layer of plastic. A neat finish.

Here you can see the buttons on the 85t, released a year earlier. As you can see, they have physical buttons. Each is a separate button with a gap around the outside.

The new Jabra Elite 4 on the left also have a button, but it sits under the plastic, which flexes neatly when pressed.

A big advantage is that dirt can't get into the gaps around the buttons. The button on our 85t, which we used for a long time, became a little stiff as dirt got underneath it. The new Elite 4 handle that better.

The downside is that you have to press a little harder. And as you can imagine, you feel that pressure in your ear canal too. In short, the buttons could use a lighter touch.

The Sound+ app lets you set up all the buttons exactly how you want. That's a real relief. You decide which action goes with each press. Want 1 press to pause/play? You can do that. Prefer something else? That works too.

Controls: 6

How do the Jabra Elite 4 touch controls work?

The app makes these earbuds an ideal choice, letting you set them up just the way you want.

The nice thing about buying Jabra earbuds is that they get ongoing attention, daily or at least through monthly updates. We received an update for our earbuds as soon as we started testing.

Battery: how long can you use them?

The battery lasts about 5-6 hours. We couldn't find the battery capacity in mAh.

Battery score: 7

It's reasonable to assume that having fewer features means these earbuds use less power. That helps them last longer.

Conclusion: are the Jabra Elite 4 good?

We're surprised by the Jabra Elite 4's sound quality at this price. The microphone is excellent, as we've come to expect. The fit is much better than on earlier models. We don't miss the in-ear sensor at all, so leaving it out was a good choice. Battery life is good enough, though we'd like to know the exact capacity in mAh. The controls were better on previous models than on the Jabra Elite 4, mainly because you now have to press harder. ANC works much better than on comparable models in this price range.

Buy Jabra Elite 4

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Alternatives

Which earbuds would you like us to compare these with? Let us know.

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• These are the best noise-canceling earbuds
• These are the best earbuds under €50
• These are the earbuds with the best microphone
• Also check out our article about AirPods alternatives
• Also explore the best earbuds for running or the gym
• Also check out our hands-on review of the Eardopes B6 pro.