It might not have the same name recognition as players like Sony and Samsung, but Jabra makes some of the best earbuds out there right now. At IFA today, the company took the wraps off its latest true wireless offering, the Elite 5. They offer a surprisingly robust feature set including ANC and Bluetooth multipoint at a price that undercuts many similarly-equipped buds: $150.
On paper, the Elite 5 support just about every earbud feature you can shake a stick at: They've got active noise cancellation, Bluetooth multipoint for connecting to two audio sources at once, Fast Pair for easy pairing, hands-free Google Assistant access, IP55 water and dust resistance, wireless charging, support for Qualcomm's aptX audio codec, and a rated seven hours of battery life on a single charge with ANC on (or nine hours with it off). Jabra says the buds are built around 6mm drivers, though, which doesn't compare favorably to something like the Google Pixel Buds Pro's 11mm drivers.
Left: Titanium Black. Right: Gold Beige.
But driver size isn't everything, and considering the Elite 5 offer most of the same features as earbuds that cost $200 or more at a reasonable price of $150, there seems to be a lot to get excited about here. Jabra also talks up the buds' call quality—not a stretch of the imagination, considering the $200 Jabra Elite 7 Pro are particularly excellent for calls. The Elite 5 even support Spotify's Tap Playback feature, which lets you start your music or podcast where you left off with the press of a button and no fiddling with your phone.
The Jabra Elite 5 are available now in Gold Beige and Titanium Black. For a limited time, if you order direct from Jabra, you'll get $20 off for a total of $130. And if you plan on keeping the buds until they give out completely (or generally don't give a hoot about reselling wireless earbuds), you can even get their case engraved for free, AirPods-style.