Jabra's latest wireless earbuds, the Elite 5, brings hybrid ANC technology to its mid-tier model at an affordable price.
The new model is positioned as an "all-round hero" for daily use, aiming to give the best of all worlds, with long battery life, clearer call quality and better noise-cancelling performance at a non-premium price point.
The Elite 5 earbuds feature hybrid active noise cancellation (ANC) for the first time, which uses a combination of internal and external microphones (feedback and feedforward mics, respectively) to constantly monitor outside noise and your inner ear canal to deliver the best ANC performance.
Jabra says this means the Elite 5 buds are less sensitive to how well the buds are positioned in the ear, and ensures "a more reliable noise cancellation across a wider range of frequencies".
Inside the earbuds are 6mm speakers for delivering powerful sound, while aptX, AAC and SBC codecs ensure you get the best audio quality over Bluetooth from your Android or iOS devices.
Additionally, six-microphone technology (derived from the range-topping Elite 7 Pro) is used to suppress wind noise to deliver clearer call quality. You can further tailor the earbuds' sound thanks to customisable EQ and, best of all, adjust the ANC levels to your liking in the useful Sound+ app.
You get seven hours of battery life with ANC turned on, which extends to 28 hours with the Qi-certified wireless charging case. The buds have an IP55 rating which keeps them protected against rain, dust and sweaty workout sessions.
Bluetooth 5.2 is on board, and with it comes Bluetooth Multipoint so you can connect the Elite 5 to two devices at the same time. Jabra has designed the Elite 5 to be as user-friendly and seamless as possible when connecting to apps, and there's support for Google Fast Pair and Microsoft Swift pair, access to Google Assistant and Alexa Built-In voice control, and Spotify Tap playback.
Jabra isn't short of rivals in the true wireless market – JBL has recently announced its own hybrid ANC earbuds, while Sony, Sennheiser and Bose are the class-leaders to beat. The specs sheet looks good, but how well the new Elite 5 perform against the competition remains to be seen, and heard, once we conduct a full review.
The Jabra Elite 5 is available now for £149 / $149 / €149 / AU$219, and in two finishes: titanium black or gold beige.
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