Jabra has some of the best true wireless earbuds in its line-up, including the recently launched Elite 7 Pro and Elite 7 Active, but most of these earbuds belong to the high-priced premium category.
But the brand recently came up with some value-packed earbuds at affordable prices and the Elite 4 Active is one such set you can try. Priced competitively at Rs 8,999, the Jabra Elite 4 Active brings a clean and punchy sound along with other features.
Jabra Elite 4 Active: Design and features
The Elite 4 Active takes a cue from the Elite 7 Active when it comes to the ergonomic design with a solid exterior and snug fit but the finishing is way better in the former because of the price point; there is a difference of around Rs 6K-7K between both. Each bud weigh nearly 5 grams and sits easily in your ear even during workouts and they are quite comfortable to wear for hours.
That said, the IP57 rating offers good resistance against dust, sweat, and water. They're quite sturdy, too, as a few accidental falls during workouts did not damage the earbuds at all.
There is no touch control, you'd have to press the button on each bud to play/pause music, skip tracks, etc. It does get tough pressing buttons while you're in the middle of an activity and generally too.
Jabra is back to the usual charging cases it has made before, I was a bit surprised to see that, the case with Elite 7 Active was quite flatter and easy to carry in the denim pocket.
Jabra Elite 4 Active: Performance
You can customize the Equalizer and even get personalized sound signature with the Active 4 Active. Bluetooth 5.2 gives stable connectivity, and you can also use one bud at a time.
With Elite 7 Active, you could adjust active noise cancelling but the Elite 4 Active doesn't offer that, also, there is no support for the wireless charging and auto-pause which is a very handy feature.
The sound is quite bright and loud and it's not as punchy as you usually get in Jabra's premium series. If you've used Jabra before, you can easily tell the difference. That said, I had expected better bass but it's decent enough.
Mostly, it's a familiar Jabra sound that you get with the Elite 4 Active earbuds so it's decent enough for regular use for consuming content or listening to music.
The ANC is good enough, but not the best I've seen around this price range. The earbuds do manage to block outside noise indoors but at times struggle to do so outdoors.
One area where the earbuds really disappoint is during calls. I would say most of the earbuds are bad at that and the Elite 4 Active is no exception; you hardly enjoy taking calls using these earbuds.
Jabra Elite 4 Active: Battery life
The Elite Active 4 Active offers around 7 hours of on-battery time per charge but if you use it ANC on, it's likely to offer less than that. The total battery time with the case extends up to 28 hours, which is decent enough and at par with most of the offerings in this price range. There is a fast charge feature as well so you charge them for 10 minutes to get up to 1 hour of playtime.
Jabra Elite 4 Active: Verdict
It gets tricky picking a fine pair of earbuds under Rs 10,000, and while a few value-packed earbuds have managed to impress, most fail to do so.
Jabra Elite 4 Active is not too impressive but it's quite a decent pair of earbuds for the price. The sound quality is fine, the ANC is decent, and the battery time is good, on top of that, these buds are sturdy and reliable. The call quality is a bit of a compromise you will have to make with these buds and could be a deal-breaker for some.
