Review Jabra Elite 4 Wireless - Jabra the Hutt?

First things first, if you came here looking for an apology for that pun in the headline, you’re going to have to keep looking, because you certainly won’t get it from me! In all seriousness, my migration from iOS to Android back in October 2023 had a number of unplanned consequences. The big one was that the AirPods Pro I’d gotten as a gift from my employer were no longer really fit for purpose. At the beginning, there was nothing clearly wrong with them, it’s just that they didn’t really mesh well with any non-Apple device. All of the killer features that make the AirPods into such excellent earbuds were missing on Android. Also, as time went on, either a speaker grille or a membrane began to shake itself loose in one of my AirPods, so there was suddenly a certain sense of urgency behind my quest for a replacement. This urgency, combined with a good price on Amazon and, to be blunt, a mistake on my part, led to me ending up with the Jabra Elite 4 Wireless. This was probably one of my best mistakes so far.

Hardware

The charging case for the Elite Wireless 4 is nothing to write home about. The USB-C charging port is nice, sure, but I'd expect nothing else these days.

The colour scheme has grown on me though. And the fit is surprisingly good.

I’m not going to gush over the hardware of these earbuds here because they’re really not that special. That’s not to say they’re ugly, far from it, the light beige colour option I went with is as nice break from the clinical white or deep black you see on so many earbuds these days. And the build quality is just rock solid, far more than I’d expect for a device at this price point. Having said that, the entire package is still pretty simple. The charging case is just that, a case for charging. There’s no automatic pairing when you flip open the lid, no tracking function or pairing button on the case and, much to my chagrin, not even a wireless charging coil. Thankfully though, the charging port on the case is at least USB-C. 

The entire top of each earbud functions as a control button, which is surprisingly handy.

The earbuds are a similarly low-frills affair. The flat top contains a simple push button for playback or call control, as well as a status LED in each bud. Thankfully, Jabra was smart enough to program different commands into the buds, so you can actually control your music volume directly on the earbuds. See Apple? That’s how you do it! The biggest surprise however comes in the shape of their, well, shape. Getting in-ears to fit for me has always been a challenge, even my AirPods Pro had a tendency to shake themselves loose sooner rather than later. Not so with the Elite 4 Wireless. They stay in the ear like that’s their job, and are comfortable even after prolonged use, something that I haven’t had with any other brand, from Sony to Bang & Olufsen. All in all, that’s a pretty good showing in the hardware department.

Sound

Alright, time to face the music. For the retail price these things are currently listed at, the Elite 4 Wireless just have no business sounding as good as they do. Seriously, the bass is punchy and clear without being overpowering, the midranges are equally clear and no shrinking violets in their own right and the highs, while clearly delineated and present, are in no way overbearing or shrill. You can adjust the sound from the Jabra app, but even out of the box, I hadn’t expected such a clean sound! And it’s not as if the earbuds lack power either, they can get plenty loud. I’ve yet to encounter a situation where I’ve had to max out the volume.

If there is a weakness here, it’s in the Active Noise Cancellation. Now don’t get me wrong, it’s astounding that such a feature is even present in earbuds at this price point. And it is actually pretty good, although it’s not quite at the level of the AirPods Pro. Where this feature falters is in its transparency mode. This is quite frankly nowhere near as good as on the AirPods. There is a slight delay and a very clear artificiality in the outside noises, as well as an unfortunate lack of directionality in the sound. But once again, these are budget earbuds, so for them to even be in the same ballpark as Cupertino’s finest is impressive.

Everyday Use

The Jabra Elite 4 Wireless have been my daily driver since Christmas 2023, including a business trip to New York in January 2024. I’ve been using them on my daily commute, at work, when out and about walking, in cafés, generally wherever I go. And for the most part, I’ve been continually impressed by these things. Once paired, they connect almost instantly, often even before I’ve had a chance to put away the charging case and flip open my phone. It does take a little longer for them to pair with my Windows work laptop, but that could be a Windows 11 issue rather than with the earbuds.

Speaking of work, I’d have never expected to use the Elite 4 Wireless on a work Teams or Zoom call, but they’ve saved my skin more than once when I had to jump on a call at work while my regular headset was charging, or in one case at home. On these calls, sound quality was good enough on my end, and while I obviously had no way of knowing how the quality on the other end was, the fact that I haven’t heard any complaints yet tells me that the Elite 4 Wireless are at least adequate. The one downside I noticed is that the controls while on a call are completely different from the regular audio controls. 

I already alluded to the audio quality earlier, but it really bears repeating just how good the sound is, given the price. My taste in music I eclectic, to say the least. From Bach to Beethoven to the Beastie Boys and Bon Jovi, they’ve pretty much handled everything I’ve thrown at them and made it sound good. And while noise cancellation isn’t quite at the level of my old AirPods Pro, it is more than adequate enough to drown out the inevitable background noise on the bus, or work colleagues in the office. 

That’s not to say that everything is smooth sailing. While using the Elite Wireless 4, I’ve encountered an issue that I didn’t have to deal with since the early 2010s: Bluetooth interference. Now to be fair, it is not in the shape of the jarring noises us early bluetooth adopters are so familiar with. But I’ve had multiple situations where music playback got choppy out of nowhere. This has happened to me on the street, and in Cork city centre, but also in a park, and in all cases it’s out any source of interference immediately visible. It is not a frequent occurrence, and it’s been over a week since the last incident, but it is definitely noticeable.

Also, can we talk about the Jabra+ app? Don’t get me wrong, it does the job and gives you all the necessary controls to get the best sound out of your buds. But it is painfully obvious that Jabra is still first and foremost an office audio brand. Seriously, I’ve never seen an app that has screamed “corporate open-plan office” more than this. Even Salesforce feels friendlier and more welcoming. Once again, it gets the job done though, which is the important part.

Conclusion

All in all, that’s quite a bit of good mixed in with a fair bit of mediocre. But you have to remember the price point of the Elite 4 Wireless. They are a budget option that is currently retailing at 59€. And for that price point, they are an impressive package. They’re not flashy, they don’t excel at any particular thing, and they’re definitely not aimed at gadget geeks like me. But they’re a solid choice that provides a good package for pragmatists, and despite the lack of wireless charging, I have no problem whatsoever to recommend these earbuds.