Jabra killing off its consumer earbuds business wasn’t something we had on our 2024 bingo card. Its contributions to the true wireless market can never be overlooked. Many of its models were considered some of the best wireless earbuds. The company also helped popularize the sports headphones category by launching multiple acclaimed sporty entries.
Sadly, we’re looking at the end of an era. All that’s left is to acknowledge Jabra’s greatness and plea for a return. But now doesn’t feel like the right time to put its jersey up in the rafters.
The Danish audio specialist is still a fixture in the true wireless space. Depriving consumers of its functional designs and innovative proprietary technologies would be a detriment to the consuming public. More importantly, very few brands have achieved the level of success that Jabra has had over its eight-year run.
Here are 5 reasons why Jabra must reconsider quitting the wireless earbuds industry.
1. The sports buds category is still theirs to lose
Only Beats makes better running headphones than Jabra, and even that’s debatable. Competitors like the Fit Pro and PowerBeats Pro remain hot sellers for many reasons, including great multiplatform support, sturdy designs, and versatile sound.
However, Jabra’s first-gen Elite Active 8 buds are equally great. The Elite Active 8 (Gen 2) elevate performance with stronger active noise cancellation and a smart case that doubles as a Bluetooth transmitter to stream audio to the buds. Jabra’s HearThrough mode also outperforms every transparency mode out there, highlighted by a powerful mic array with outstanding ambient noise and vocal capture. Those hallmarks combined with the series’ energetic soundstage have made the Elite Active 8 (Gen 2) the best workout headphones overall. It might take a Herculean effort to remove them from the throne.
2. Jabra’s voice communicating technology remains elite
Jabra’s earlier releases delivered exceptional voice communication that crushed the original AirPods and everyone else at the time. The competition caught up and either matched or surpassed Jabra’s call quality.
Time allowed the company to enhance their technology, which peaked on the now-discontinued Connect 5T, the category’s top choice for conference and voice calls. Newer releases like the Elite 8 Active (Gen 2) have also brought Jabra back into the conversation of best headphones with a mic for voice and video calls. And anyone who has tested the brand’s office headsets can speak to its unbeatable voice communication.
Having this technology limited to Jabra’s over-ear headphones is a true wireless enthusiast’s loss.
Jabra Sound+ is too good to just disappear
People may not understand just how pivotal Jabra’s Sound+ app is to the category. It was one of the first companion apps developed for a pair of wireless earbuds and it had game-changing features that no one else offered.
Customizing sound with a manual EQ and enabling the built-in accelerometer to transform Jabra’s buds into a fitness tracker were jaw-dropping features back in 2018. At that time, the original AirPods only had Siri and instantaneous connectivity with Apple devices.
The app has added numerous other perks over the years, including adjustable ANC, Find My Jabra (buds), and multipoint technology. Two other favorites are the Call Experience setting to increase how loud you sound on calls and the Soundscape mode for zoning out. There are other fantastic features on Sound+ that you won’t find elsewhere, and it hurts knowing they’ll be stranded on a mobile app that only supports discontinued wireless earbuds.
4. It still owns the title of best wireless earbuds ever
Google the Jabra Elite Active 75t. I guarantee you’ll find a few op-eds or reviews calling them the best wireless earbuds ever. Take it from the first audio writer who reviewed them and did what no other publication would at the time, which was rate them higher than the AirPods Pro.
What’s crazy is that these buds still hold up well against more current releases, even with outdated specs. My wife and I have been using them for the past four years and find their sound quality superior to any AirPods model. Bass hits harder and highs are more transparent. HearThrough captures ambient noise better than most workout headphones and some of Jabra’s mid-range sporty earbuds. And they’re arguably the most attractive buds ever built with dust/water resistance and waterproofing to boot.
Jabra could never replicate the Elite Active 75t’s excellence, but the Elite 10 (Gen 2) and Elite 8 Active (Gen 2) proved it could create category-leading contenders. That must count for something.
5. Legacy is everything
Jabra came out the gate as Apple’s biggest threat, put out several prime alternatives, and then strayed away from their biggest strengths, which ultimately resulted in its decline and exit. It’s still surreal to think that my favorite wireless earbuds marker is calling it quits after leaving such an impact on the industry.
That being said, Jabra’s true wireless heritage is too significant for it to go out like this. There is still a market for its products and technologies. A rebranding or transition to budget wireless earbuds with high-end performance could keep the brand alive and thriving, if executed properly.
The industry won’t forget what Jabra did for wireless earbuds, and its legacy will live long. If not as the greatest sports headphones maker ever, then as the first legitimate audio rival to make Apple sweat.
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