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Jabra Elite 4 Active
January 4, 2022
Original: $119.99 USD
20.85 x 20.49 x 27.3mm (earbud)
28.4 x 38.9 x 64mm (case)
5g (earbud)
37.5g (case)
OTE160R
IP57
Workout earbuds can be expensive, and it’s hard to know what features are worth your money and what features to go without. The latest entry to Jabra’s extensive true wireless earbud lineup brings active noise cancelling (ANC) and a durable build for just over $100 USD. Porting over the key performance characteristics from the more expensive Elite 7 Active, the Jabra Elite 4 Active cuts the frills by stripping out a lot of features the company considers non-essential.
Without many of the fancy bells and whistles that the competition offers, is the Jabra Elite 4 Active worth the money?
Who should buy the Jabra Elite 4 Active?
- Athletes should pick up these durable true wireless earbuds for workouts in any environment.
- Students should consider these earbuds for their relatively low cost, good battery life, and solid noise cancelling performance.
What is it like to use the Jabra Elite 4 Active?
Overall build quality of the Jabra Elite 4 Active is slightly less premium than the Jabra Elite 7 Active or Elite 7 Pro. Still, the all-plastic construction is typical compared to similarly priced true wireless earbuds. There are no ear wings and you don’t get a grippy coating to secure the earbuds in place, but Jabra includes three sizes of silicone ear tips in the box.
The shape of the earbuds inserts the ear tips deep into the ear canal, creating a secure fit in most people’s ears. The earbuds feel secure in my ears, but your experience may vary depending on your ear shape.
Read more: How to get the right earbud fit
The charging case is slightly larger than other Jabra earbud models, but still small enough to fit in most pockets. You can listen in mono mode to a single earbud while the other earbud remains inside the case to charge. Wireless charging is absent from the Jabra Elite 4 Active, as is Bluetooth multipoint for connecting to multiple devices.
Is the Jabra Elite 4 Active waterproof?
Durability is perhaps the biggest perk of the Jabra Elite 4 Active. An IP57 rating means these earbuds hold up well in nearly any environment. Jabra even offers two-year warranty protection against water and dust, which is activated by registering your device within the Sound+ app.
How do you control the Jabra Elite 4 Active?
The outside of each earbud functions as a pressable button to control music playback. Unfortunately, the buttons require a lot of force to press, which shoves the earbuds into the ear canal, causing some pain or discomfort. There’s no in-ear detection to auto-pause your music when you take an earbud out, and there’s also no voice to let you know when you’ve entered pairing mode or switched listening modes—have fun memorizing what all the different beeping noises mean.
You can’t customize the earbud controls, but here’s what all the different combinations of button presses do:
| PRESS | DOUBLE PRESS | TRIPLE PRESS | HOLD | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
LEFT EARBUD | PRESS Switch noise cancelling mode, answer call, mute microphone | DOUBLE PRESS Activate voice assistant, end call, play Spotify recommended song | TRIPLE PRESS | HOLD Volume down |
RIGHT EARBUD | PRESS Play/pause, answer call, mute microphone | DOUBLE PRESS Next track or end call | TRIPLE PRESS Restart track / Previous track | HOLD Volume up |
Should you download the Jabra Sound+ app?
Jabra often adds features to its true wireless earbuds after launch, so it is important to download the Sound+ app to stay up to date with the latest firmware. Beyond installing firmware updates, the app also has a number of useful features and customization options.
From the home screen, you can toggle ANC or HearThrough listening modes, create a custom EQ, and see battery indicators. Digging further into the app settings opens up options to adjust the amount of noise reduction on the active noise cancelling mode, or the amount of noise boosted on the HearThrough mode. There’s an option to adjust sidetone voice volume on calls, as well as the Find My Jabra functionality to locate the last location your earbuds were connected to your device.
See also: The best workout earbuds
How long does the battery last on the Jabra Elite 4 Active?
In our battery testing of continuous playback at 75dB(SPL) with ANC turned on, the Jabra Elite 4 Active lasted 7 hours and 17 minutes. This is above average among true wireless earbuds, especially at this price. The charging case provides an additional three charges for up to 28 hours of total playback.
There’s no wireless charging support, so you have to plug in the charging case via USB-C to power up. Fast charging the earbuds provides 60 minutes of playback time from 10 minutes of charging inside the case.
Read more: How to increase earbud lifespan
What Bluetooth codecs does the Jabra Elite 4 Active support?
The Jabra Elite 4 Active supports Bluetooth 5.2 with aptX and SBC. This varies slightly from some of Jabra’s other true wireless earbud offerings, which have AAC instead of aptX. In general, AAC offers better streaming quality on Apple devices, while aptX provides high-quality streaming on Android devices. SBC still works fine on iPhone’s and I don’t experience any connection problems, you just won’t be getting the highest-fidelity streaming quality possible.
Google Fast Pair instantly pairs the earbuds to an Android phone. Since there’s no Bluetooth multipoint support, you’ll have to manually connect your earbuds each time you switch devices.
How well does the Jabra Elite 4 Active block out noise?
ANC performance is quite good for earbuds in this price category. Sure, the Jabra Elite 4 Active doesn’t block out noise as well as the Sony WF-1000XM4 or Bose QuietComfort Earbuds, but these earbuds still provide a noticeable amount of attenuation to surrounding noise.
Since the ear tips insert deep into the ear canal, a tight seal passively blocks out a lot of ambient noise. Even without turning on ANC, most noise will sound about one-half to one-quarter as loud. Enabling ANC provides an average of an additional 5-10dB of attenuation from 100Hz-3kHz on top of the attenuation from passive isolation.
To contrast this, you get HearThrough mode, which pumps external noise into the earbuds so you are aware of your surroundings. The amount of noise added is adjustable from within the app, and you can also select whether or not activating this mode will pause your music.
How does the Jabra Elite 4 Active sound?
Out of the box, the Jabra Elite 4 Active has a similar sound to many other consumer earbuds. There’s no significant under or over-emphasis of frequencies across the audible range, and the frequency response roughly follows our target consumer curve. If you don’t like the sound of the earbuds, it’s easy enough to change the EQ preset or make your own using the custom five-band equalizer in the Sound+ app.
Lows, mids, and highs
In the chart above, the frequency response starts to taper off below 50Hz; this is at the very edge of the human hearing range and likely won’t be noticeable to most people. From 50-100Hz there’s a slight emphasis in sub-bass notes, which gives extra intensity to the 808 bass line in Cigarettes by Juice WRLD.
The earbuds under-emphasize mid-range frequencies from 200-700Hz by a couple of decibels. This is where the fundamental frequencies of most musical notes live, so vocals in tracks such as Kiss Me More by Doja Cat sound a bit quieter than they should.
The custom EQ allows you to adjust the sound of the earbuds to your liking
While high frequencies sound slightly more emphasized than mids, it’s not overbearing or painful to listen to at high volumes. The hi-hats in Toxic by BoyWithUke don’t sound out much louder than the vocals and backing ukulele.
How good is the microphone on the Jabra Elite 4 Active?
Microphone quality on the Jabra Elite 4 Active is adequate for taking calls, though you shouldn’t expect studio mic quality from these affordable earbuds (or any affordable earbuds, for that matter). As you can hear in the second microphone demo below, the earbuds struggle to attenuate background noise in a simulated office environment. People may fail to hear you on the other end of the line when you find yourself in noisy environments. Still, vocal reproduction is fine, and the microphones aren’t far from what you should expect in this price range.
Microphone demo (Ideal):
Microphone demo (Office):
How does the mic sound to you?
Should you buy the Jabra Elite 4 Active?
While these earbuds may not have flashy stand-out features, the Jabra Elite 4 Active delivers where it matters most. Good isolation and noise cancelling, along with a pleasant frequency response ensure you will enjoy how your music sounds in any environment.
At this price, you’ll be hard-pressed to find any other true wireless earbuds that offer the level of durability and customization of the Jabra Elite 4 Active. Athletes and the physically disinclined alike will appreciate the all-around performance of these earbuds.
Depending on your ears, you may experience some comfort issues, especially when using the onboard earbud controls. You also don’t get some quality of life features like wireless charging or auto-pause, though at this price beggars can’t be choosers.
If you care about durability, sound quality, and blocking out all the distractions around you, go ahead and pick up the Jabra Elite 4 Active; the performance at this price is worth the money.
How does the Elite 4 Active compare to other Jabra earbud models?
Jabra’s true wireless earbud offerings are getting quite crowded, so let us try to quickly break it down for you. If you don’t need noise cancelling, the Jabra Elite 3 is a great value option. There are not many bells and whistles here, but the earbuds work well and sound great.
If you have a bit more to spend, go for the Jabra Elite 7 Active. These earbuds come in a portable package and feature a ShakeGrip coating to keep the earbuds locked in your ears during the sweatiest of workouts. They also add in some convenient extras such as wireless charging, in-ear detection, and Bluetooth multipoint.
See more: The best workout earbuds
Underwhelmed by the microphone quality of these sportier Jabra models? Check out the Jabra Elite 7 Pro. Utilizing a voice-pickup (VPU) bone conduction sensor, these earbuds have the best sounding microphone of the bunch, though it will cost you.
What are some alternatives to the Jabra Elite 4 Active?
The Beats Studio Buds offers good sound in a small, lightweight, and comfortable package. Noise cancelling performance isn’t quite up to par, but these earbuds still perform better than other Apple earbuds such as the AirPods (3rd generation).
On the cheaper side of the workout earbud market is the Anker Soundcore Life A1. These earbuds are inexpensive and durable, and even feature added benefits such as wireless charging. The compromise? You’ll miss out on a custom equalizer, leaving you stuck with rather polarizing sound presets.
A great option for Samsung device owners is the Samsung Galaxy Buds Plus, which features great battery life, wireless charging, and relatively neutral frequency response. However, you’ll miss out on strong durability protection, so these aren’t the best earbuds for athletes.
What are some frequently asked questions about the Jabra Elite 4 Active?
Jabra Elite 4 Active supports Spotify Tap on Android devices. Place the earbuds in your ears, and double-tapping the left earbud will jump you back into your most recent song on Spotify, or start a Spotify recommended playlist. We’ve seen this on other earbuds like the Skullcandy Grind Fuel, Samsung Galaxy Buds 2, and Bose QuietComfort Earbuds.
The Apple AirPods (3rd generation) comes with advanced features for iOS device users such as Spatial Audio head tracking and instant pairing. However, the AirPods don’t create a tight seal in the ear, and don’t feature any noise cancelling to block out external noise.
The earbuds charge up by magnetically snapping into place in the charging case. There’s no wireless charging support for the case, so you’ll have to plug it in via USB-C to charge. Lithium batteries don’t last forever, so unfortunately battery life will degrade with time.
Sidetone pipes in a bit of your voice through the headset during calls, which is good as it allows you to better hear how loudly or quietly your speaking. It’s also an easy way to check if your headset’s mic is working.