Dubai: Jabra’s third-generation — Elite 65t — earbuds is a big competitor for Apple’s AirPods and unlike the AirPods’ one-size-fits design, Jabra has additional two silicone pads for the ear. It is one of the best wireless earbuds available in the market even though it is not cheap.
The Elite 65t fitted my ears nicely and does not drop off and the sound is extremely good, as well as the Bluetooth connection. It supports Bluetooth 5.
Even though it looks bulky, the wireless and noise-isolating earbuds are light and sturdy but it does not have the built-in fitness tracking or the heart-rate monitor and a personal trainer like in their previous models.
The right earbud weighs 6.5 grams while the left weighs 5.8 grams and the charging case weighs 67 grams.
To activate it, the Jabra Sound+ app has to be downloaded from the Android or Apple play stores to the smartphone. The pairing is simple and straightforward and gives helpful voice instructions.
To make this app work, you need to download the “Jabra Service” app.
The earbuds automatically turn on when removed from the charging case. The app also keeps track of how much battery life the buds have left. The app is simple and informative.
The circular earbuds have four enhanced microphone and microphone part at the stem of the device has to be pointed towards the mouth to pick up the voice. It did a good job of picking up my voice when making calls. The “sidetone” feature lets users to toggle it on or off in the app to hear your own voice in the earbud when making phone conversations.
The right earbud can be used alone for mono audio and calls. The earphones, which are sweat and weatherproof, also offer a two-year warranty against damages.
The app can be used to play/pause music, skip tracks, control volume, and take calls. You can remove either earbud to pause the music and plug it in to continue playback.
Activate voice assistants
The left earbud has two buttons to control volume and to skip songs while the right has a single button for taking calls, play/pause music and to activate all major voice assistants, including Amazon Alexa, with a long press.
The earbuds, once intact, does not fall off when running and the audio quality is rich but not high and the headphone’s bass is punchy and the level can be adjusted in the app.
The microphone is quite good and convenient for phone calls and can also be used as a normal headset.
Inside the Sound+app, you can personalise your call, music and audio experience. Users can change the settings to reflect their standard use of the headset. It has got the equaliser to control the bass and treble.
The “HearThrough” option lets you hear the sounds from the surroundings and it is especially good when in a public transport. It can also be turned off.
Officially, the Pulse’s battery gives a talk time or music playback of up to five hours, and I easily hit that, even with high volume levels. The plastic charging case gives up to 15 hours of standby charge. The disadvantage is that it still uses USB port and USB Type-C port. With its fast charge technology, you can charge for 15 minutes to get 90 minutes of battery life which is pretty good. It can charge fully in 1.7 hours. It is priced at Dh685.
Pros
• Excellent wireless connection
• Two-year warranty
• Customisable fit
• Great battery life
• Solid sound
Cons
• No USB Type C port
• Limited water resistance
• On-board controls can be awkward to operate
• Gets uncomfortable after extended wear
• Call quality suffers in noisy environments
