Jabra makes some of our favorite headphones. So we’ve been eagerly awaiting the Jabra Elite 3 (available on Amazon for $79.99), the company’s most affordable wireless headphones to date. With a starting price of $80, the Elite 3 offers an excellent design, a decent collection of features, and sound quality that far exceeds their price range. Mm, value.
The Jabra Elite 3 are the new budget headphones to beat.
Of course, Jabra has made some concessions to keep the price so low. The headphones themselves still reflect Jabra’s reliable design parameters, but the charging case looks cheap and isn’t Qi-compatible with wireless charging. While you get some outstanding features, you don’t get noise cancellation and HearThrough (Jabra’s ambient mode that lets you hear the world around you) has been scaled back so much that it’s considerably less useful.
However, where these headphones make no concessions is in sound quality and battery life - key areas for true wireless headphones of any kind, and feathers that make the Elite 3’s $80 price tag seem even more valuable. If you’re looking for a set of wireless headphones under $100 that don’t skimp on sound and don’t run out of battery in the middle of the day, the Jabra Elite 3 are the new budget headphones to beat.
About the Jabra Elite 3
Here are the specs you need to know:
Price: $79.99
Battery life: Up to 7 hours, 28 hours total with charging case.
Fast charging: 10 minutes of charging for 1 hour of playback
Wireless charging: No,
Voice assistant compatibility: Amazon Alexa, Siri, Google Assistant
Colors: Light Beige, Dark Grey, Lilac, Navy
Connectivity: Bluetooth 5.2
Audio codecs : aptX, SBC
Water resistance: IP55
Ear tips: Small, medium and large EarGel tips
Weight: 4.6 grams (each tip), 33.4 grams (charging case),
Warranty: 2-year warranty against dust and water damage with Jabra Sound+ app registration
Other features: Google Fast Pair, instant Alexa activation, one-touch Spotify (Android only), Mono mode, HearThrough.
The Elite 3 brings a lot to the table for their relatively modest price tag. However, it’s also worth taking stock of the features you don’t get: besides the lack of noise cancellation, there’s also no customizable equalizer, both of which we warmly welcomed on the flagship Elite 85t and cheaper Elite 75t earphones.
These are forgivable omissions in this price range, but if you’re looking for something with ANC, check out our list of the best noise-canceling headphones for plenty of great options.
We received a naval version of the Elite 3 on loan from Jabra. In the box, you’ll find the headphones, three sets of EarGels silicone tips, the charging case, and a (very short) USB-C to USB-A charging cable.
What we like
A design that isn’t broken
We’ve all heard the old saying “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it,” and that applies to the Elite 3’s design. If you’ve used Jabra’s Elite 85t or Elite/Elite Active 75t, you’ll be immediately familiar with the Elite 3’s bud and case design. Like those older, more expensive models, the Elite 3 earphones are tiny and compact, tucked away in a small pocket-sized case.
The major design difference is in the materials used. The Elite 3’s earphones and case are lighter than the flagship 85t, in part because of the removal of noise-canceling components, but they also use lighter plastics. While lightweight is almost always preferable for portable products, it comes at a cost to the Elite 3’s overall feel.
For example, while the headphones themselves are quite durable to the touch, the charging case feels cheap, especially the way the cover opens and closes. If I didn’t know any better and someone handed me the Elite 3 case, I might think it came from an unnamed set of actual wireless headphones. Most people won’t mind that it’s not a premium product in this price range, but you have to be aware of that.
That said, the headphones and case are durable enough to withstand regular bumps in a pocket or wallet. And, thanks to their IP55 rating, the headphones are fairly well protected from dust and water.
For controls, there’s Jabra’s multi-function button on the outside of each earpiece, which is as simple as it gets. Press the right button once to play/pause, twice to skip to the next track, and three times to reverse tracks; press and hold to increase the volume. As for the left button, press it to activate HearThrough mode, press it twice to activate your voice assistant (or Spotify Instant) or hold it to lower the volume. You can press either button to answer incoming calls and double tap to reject incoming calls.
In my experience, memorizing the Elite 3’s controls can take you a bit of time, but it’s ultimately a well-equipped method of controlling everything, making it easy to perform functions with the press of one or two buttons.
As far as comfort goes, the Elite 3 is a dream companion.
The only issue that may arise for some users is that you adjust your earphones in your ears often. Of course, with a large button on the back of each earbud, it’s pretty easy to accidentally press that button while securing the earbuds in your ears. Fortunately, although there are only three sizes of EarGel tips included, we had no trouble finding a good fit.
In fact, for comfort, the Elite 3 is a dream companion. Between their featherweight of less than five grams and a comfortable fit and seal (with the right tips), it’s easy to listen to music or podcasts all day without complaint. These aren’t the most luxurious headphones I’ve ever used, but they’re quite comfortable, even for the most finicky ears.
Especially for an $80 pair, the Elite 3s sound great. I didn’t expect it to be as good as the Sony WF-1000XM4, and it isn’t, but it’s right up there with the old Samsung Galaxy Buds+. Considering that these originally cost $150, that’s saying something.
In fact, I much prefer the sound of the Elite 3 to Google’s recently released Pixel Buds A Series, which need bass boost to compete with the Elite 3 in terms of overall auditory impact and robustness. A Series offers some features that the Elite 3s don’t, but if all you care about is sound quality, the Elite 3s win that comparison.
Discerning listeners should know that the Elite 3s don’t offer a completely flat frequency response. Instead, they push the low and mid-range frequencies further, conforming to what is often called “user-friendly” sound. That’s good news for everyone (except maybe sound engineers). The music is robust and punchy enough to blow away most wireless headphones in this price range.
The lush synthesizers, ‘80s percussion, and ethereal, twinkling vocals of my favorite Spotify Synthwave playlist sounded especially good with the Elite 3’s “Smooth” EQ preset. For rock or harder metal, “Energize” did the trick nicely. You’ll want to download the Jabra Sound+ app to access these settings and more.
The only thing I have against the EQ presets is their limited effectiveness. Presets like “Bass boost” and “Treble boost” do little to move away from the already bassy sound of the Elite 3, for example, and between the six EQ presets, there’s not a ton of differentiation. This wouldn’t matter so much if you could customize the Elite 3’s EQ, but unfortunately, that’s not the case.
Call quality is clear and reliable.
Still, this is a minor complaint, especially for headphones that cost $80. The Elite 3s are champions, especially if you like solid, bass-friendly sound.
Finally, the Elite 3s are a solid choice if you prefer to make or take calls using your headphones rather than your phone. While the microphones built into each earbud aren’t as powerful as Jabra’s high-end products, call quality was always clear and reliable.
Decent features and extras
As you’d expect, the Elite 3 aren’t nearly as feature-rich as some of the more expensive headphones. You don’t get noise cancellation, a customizable equalizer, programmable buttons, auto shut-off features or full waterproofing. But for this price, the Elite 3, combined with Jabra’s Sound+ app, still offers plenty of options.
While it’s possible to use the Elite 3 without downloading the Sound+ app for your smartphone of choice, it makes your time with the Elite 3 easier and richer. In the app, you can quickly monitor battery levels, turn HearThrough on or off, use Find My Jabra (an impressive addition at this price), and choose from the robust array of EQ presets mentioned above. Sound+ will also give you access to less exciting and more “administrative” features, such as warranty registration, firmware updates, and an illustrated product tour.
While most of the Elite 3’s features will work identically on Android and iOS devices, there are also a few useful actions that are Android-only: Google Fast Pair, Instant Alexa, and one-touch Spotify.
Mono mode is another simple but nice addition to the mix. As the name implies, Mono mode allows you to listen to only one earbud at a time while leaving the other in the charging case, which is great for podcasts and taking calls, as well as for listening to music occasionally when you want peace of mind.
While none of these features are noteworthy in the overall wireless headset market, the kit is certainly robust for the price.
Impressive battery life
Jabra claims you can get 7 hours of continuous listening time with the Elite 3, and 28 hours with the charging case. These numbers are already better than Google’s recently released (and more expensive) Pixel Buds A Series, as well as either version of Apple’s AirPods, and from my personal experience, the Elite 3 have even longer battery life.
After first fully charging them, I got about 9 hours out of the Elite 3s before they reached 10% battery remaining. Without ANC to drain the battery, the Elite 3s can give you at least a full day of listening before you have to put them back in their charging case. Depending on how often you use the voice assistants or manipulate the EQ presets, you can expect 7-9+ hours of battery life on a single charge. That’s quite remarkable in this price range.
What we don’t like
HearThrough? Where are you, HearThrough?
HearThrough is Jabra’s dedicated ambient/transparent mode: turning it on makes it easier to hear the ambient sounds around you. This feature is one area where the downgrade of Jabra’s more expensive headphones is clear. Not only do the Elite 3’s not offer the multiple levels of HearThrough that you can get with more expensive Jabra headphones, but the effect is so subtle as to be almost negligible.
I walked around my apartment making footsteps, snapping my fingers, and making absurd sounds while turning HearThrough on and off and could barely tell the difference. Certainly it lets some sounds through more easily: When it’s on, I can clearly hear the high-pitched clicks of my keyboard as I type this sentence. But I don’t think I’d rely on it to alert me to the nuances of traffic.
That’s a shame, because HearThrough has always been a solid feature on the more expensive Jabra earbuds, especially because it’s usually multi level, allowing you to switch between sub-modes that provide more or less ambient awareness. The bottom line is that HearThrough feels like a worthy inclusion this time around.
Should you buy it?
Yes, this is a pair of high-end headphones at a discounted price.
In some ways, the Jabra Elite 3s are a testament to the progression of true wireless headphones over the past few years. If a tech reviewer had tried the Elite 3 around 2018 and was told they were only $80, they probably wouldn’t have believed it. It’s exciting to see real wireless headphones that work so well and sound so good for so little money.
That said, while you’re unlikely to find a better pure value than the Elite 3, there may be other products you should consider before hitting the buy button. For example, if you don’t mind paying a little more to get a really neat design and hands-free operation powered by Google, the $99 Google Pixel Buds A Series might be worth a look.
You can also find the respectably versatile Samsung Galaxy Buds+ for $99 online. Just keep in mind that the Buds+ will soon be replaced by the Galaxy Buds 2, which are an even better option (but will cost you almost twice as much as the Elite 3 right now, though they’ll give you CNA at that price).
Buy: Jabra Elite 3 in Ear Wireless Bluetooth Earbuds For 79.99 On Amazon
Aside from the alternatives, Jabra deserves credit for offering such impressive sound, impressive battery life, and intuitive controls at this price point. The few slight drawbacks, namely the mediocre HearThrough performance and a flimsy case, are quite forgivable for a value-priced product, and in the end, the Elite 3s give you the performance of a more premium set of headphones at a price that defies all competition. It’s unlikely you’ll find anything better for under $100.
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