When looking for a pair of great truly wireless earbuds for the gym, you need something durable that also sounds good while blocking out all the racket. With that in mind, Jabra has done an excellent job with the Elite 4 Active earbuds. These aren’t the most attractive earbuds, but the price is very reasonable for the comfortable fit and IP57 rating you get. The Elite 4 Active buds also feature the latest Bluetooth 5.2, so these buds should last you quite a while in your workout bag. On top of all that, the active noise canceling is quite good, something you don’t always get at the $120 price point.

Design, hardware, what’s in the box

The Jabra Elite 4 Active buds won’t win any beauty contests, but that’s not really a terrible thing for a pair of active headphones that you're going to dump in a gym bag. Design-wise, these are incredibly plain, with a black all-plastic body that won’t turn any heads during a workout. The charging case is similarly nondescript, with subtle Jabra branding on the front.

While these buds don’t feel as premium as higher-priced options, they aren’t cheap or flimsy either. Considering the IP57 rating and plastic construction, you’re getting a very durable pair of buds. These headphones don’t include wingtips to keep them in your ears, but they don’t move around much anyway. I personally found the pre-installed tips to be best for my ears, but there are two additional sets to adjust the fit and keep the Elite Active 4 in place.

I found the earbuds comfortable, even when worn for long periods of time. They are light enough to not bother you for a full workday of listening. One of my few complaints is the discomfort experienced when using the touch controls. To pause or play a track, you need to apply considerable force to the earbuds, which causes them to rub against my ear in a rather unpleasant way.

As for the charging case, it’s fine, albeit a bit larger than I’d like. It’s about the same size as Sony’s XM4 case. That normally wouldn’t be a huge complaint but considering the primary purpose of these buds is for the gym or outdoor workouts, you want them to be as portable as possible. The case does charge via USB-C, but that's not as notable as it once was. The lack of wireless charging is understandable but still a bit disappointing.

Sound quality, features, and battery life

These earbuds really impressed me with their overall sound quality. At $120, I didn’t go into this review expecting perfect mids and thumping bass, but that’s what the Elite Active 4 buds deliver. Listening to a variety of music (everything from 2-Chainz to the Rolling Stones), I found these buds to deliver a sound experience comparable to other buds in the $200 range, like the Jabra Elite 7 Pro. If you’re not the pickiest audiophile out there, you will absolutely love the sound profile on these headphones for the price. In addition, the Jabra Sound+ app is incredibly useful in tweaking that sound profile for a variety of listening scenarios and preferences.

The Jabra Elite 4 Active supports Bluetooth 5.2 with aptX and SBC codecs. It is a bit disappointing to see AAC not included here as that would make these more appealing for Apple users as well. That said, aptX matters more for Android devices, so I had a great experience using these buds with my Galaxy S22 Ultra and Oppo Find X5 Pro. The addition of LDAC or some other high-bitrate codec would have been nice, but I wouldn't expect that for the price. Google Fast Pair also works flawlessly. Pairing these buds is nearly instantaneous with any Android phone I tested.

Noise cancellation is solid as well. Even if you don’t like using ANC, which does affect the quality of your tunes, the earbuds fit tightly in the ear canal and offer a decent amount of passive noise cancellation. Turning on ANC adds noticeable attenuation across the audio spectrum. While these won’t compete with top-tier ANC buds from Sony, they do a great job considering the much lower price.

These earbuds are missing in-ear detection—one of the few glaring omissions. As mentioned above, I don't love the buttons on these earbuds, and it would be nice to simply pull one out to pause my music. This feature has been coming to cheaper earbuds recently, including Samsung's Galaxy Buds Live and Buds2. Jabra is behind the times here, but I can forgive this shortcoming given how great the rest of the package is.

Microphone quality is fine, but nothing impressive. Taking calls is passable in quiet environments, but if you frequently take hands-free calls in noisy areas, these aren’t the buds you’ll want to use for that. Still, it’s hard to complain about this given the price and other compelling features on offer.

Battery life is right on par with Jabra’s claim on the back of the retail box: 7 hours of battery life on a single charge, and I was able to squeeze out 7 hours and 20 minutes on average across all the charging cycles in my testing. The charging case adds another 28-30 hours of battery life in my experience, so you won’t need to charge it up too often. That means you can toss them in your gym bag, they will likely last at least a few weeks before needing a charge.

Should you buy them?

Definitely. If you’re in the market for a solid pair of gym buds without breaking the bank, Jabra has a winner in the Elite 4 Active. Sound quality is better than expected, the IP57 rating gives you best in class durability, and the ANC is solid. Battery life is more than sufficient for numerous workout sessions per week without needing to top up, too.

There are a few cons to consider, of course. These buds don’t have a wireless charging case, which might be a downer for some people. The case itself is also quite large, making it less portable than other options. Neither of those issues are a deal breaker, though I am irked by the lack of in-ear detection. My main concern is the discomfort caused when using the touch controls. If you don’t use touch controls that often, it might not bother you though. Overall, these buds get the job done for my workout and are a great value at $120.

But it if…

• You want great gym buds with ANC at an affordable price.
• You need IP57 sweat resistance.

Don’t buy it if…

• You need AAC or use an iPhone as your primary device.
• You want top-tier microphone quality for calls.

FAQ

Q: How do the Jabra Elite 4 Active compare to the Samsung Galaxy Buds Pro?

Samsung's Galaxy Buds Pro launched at $200, but they're now available closer to $150. They don't have aptX support, but there is AAC and Samsung's scalable codec, which makes a difference on Samsung phones. You also get wireless charging. However, the ANC isn't quite as robust, battery life is weaker, and we've seen skin sensitivity issues with these buds. They also don't stay put as well as the Jabra buds.

Q: How do the Jabra Elite 4 Active compare to the Jabra Elite 7 Pro?

The Jabra Elite 7 Pro earbuds offer excellent battery life and connectivity options like the Elite 4 Active, and call quality is even better thanks to bone conduction sensors. But we don't think they're as comfortable as the Elite 4 Active, and the $200 asking price puts it close to the Sony WF-1000XM4 buds, which sound better and have superior ANC.

Q: How do the Jabra Elite 4 Active compare to the Samsung Galaxy Buds2?

Samsung's entry-level earbuds retail for $150, but you can find them cheaper. Like the Buds Pro, you don't get aptX, but AAC and Samsung's Scalable Codec get the job done. ANC isn't as good as the Jabra Elite 4 Active, but the sound quality is on par. Like the Buds Pro, we've seen reports of skin sensitivity issues. Battery life takes a dip compared to Jabra, as well.