Both Greg and I love the Jabra Elite Sport Buds. They are comfortable, sound amazing and offer a ton of features. Now Jabra has announced three new Elite Series headsets– the Jabra Elite 65t, Elite Active 65t and Elite 45e that have Amazon Alexa integration baked in. I, for one, am pretty darn excited to try out them out.
In their release, Jabra makes clear their commitment to delivering the best quality devices on the market. They state, “building on the success of the Jabra Elite Sport – the best-selling, most technically advanced true wireless sports earbuds – the new earbuds are engineered to deliver an even better voice and music experience as well as incorporating new design and color choices.” Having reviewed many of Jabra’s offerings, I can honestly say they are quite good at keeping true to that commitment.
The Jabra Elite 65t is for “those who want superior sound and connectivity from truly wireless earbuds for everyday use – with rock solid connectivity and high battery life of totally 15 hrs.”
The headset is engineered to deliver excellent sound and, since it is built on the successful Elite Sport, they are sure to make good on that promise. The headset is designed to ensure a stable wireless connection. That’s key since many of the early “true wireless earbuds” were challenged in this area. Also, Jabra brought to the new offering a commitment to deliver the best call and command (voice) quality. This is achieved through a four-microphone solution that is combined with an optimized acoustic chamber. The result is advanced noise suppression and voice enhancement regardless of the environment. Also, the music delivered by the earbuds can be personalized using a music equalizer accessed from the Jabra Sound+ companion application.
The Jabra Elite 65t get five hours of playback on their own and an additional ten hours using the included cradle/case. They will be available in Black/Gunmetal, Black/Copper, and Light/Neutral versions.
But Jabra has gone even further. The Jabra Elite Active 65t is “for those who want the same superior sound and connectivity as Elite 65t, with the added features, durability and fit of a sports product – IP56 certification, special coating for better grip and accelerometer for tracking.” Like the Jabra Elite 65t, this headset has integrated one-touch access to Siri and Google Now and now offers integration for Amazon Alexa.
The Jabra Elite Active 65t is designed for those who want the features of the Elite 65t but are looking to use the earbuds in an active environment. They deliver a more secure fit thanks to a special coating, have an integrated accelerometer for tracking features in the Jabra app and carry an IP56 sweat, water, and dust certification. Like their cousin, the Elite Active 65t deliver five hours of listening per charge and an additional ten hours thanks to the battery case/cradle. They will be available in Navy/Copper color.
As René Svendsen-Tune, CEO at Jabra states,
Our third generation earbuds are testament to our industry-leading engineering capabilities, stemming from our GN Group heritage, for both daily on-the-go and sports use. This is a whole new range of superior sound products, based on our vast knowledge and customer feedback from earlier true wireless generations. The Jabra Elite 65t has unique microphone positioning that ensures the best voice and music interactions on the market, as well as signature sound, voice capabilities and interaction support. It is already a category leader, winning the CES Innovation Award earlier today.
Finally, Jabra has also announced the Jabra Elite 45e. The Elite 45e are wireless earbuds but, in this case, the earbuds are connected by a thin cable that also houses the electronics and battery. The flexible memory neck wire allows the earbuds to be especially small and light while also delivering eight hours per charge.
They have an advanced 2-microphone technology to make calls clear, have a companion app so you can tweak music to your liking, and are designed for comfort. They carry an IP54 rating for protection from dust and water and are designed to go pretty much anywhere you do. A dedicated button allows you to access Siri, Google Now is Amazon Alexa.
Regarding the impressive Alexa integration, Jabra has this to say,
For those who prefer working with voice command, the new products allow voice support for all major virtual assistants, now including Amazon Alexa on-the-go. Jabra will be among the first movers to enable this mobile feature. With Alexa, you can ask to play music, hear the news, check weather, control smart home devices, and much more. Elite 65t delivers 4-microphone superior sound and Alexa takes note.
The Jabra Elite 65t will be available mid-January and will have an MSRP of $169.99. The Jabra Elite Active 65t will be available early April for $189.99. The Jabra Elite 45e will be available early April for just $99.99. I’m excited to see what happens when one of the best companies in the business brings Amazon Alexa to mobile. Check out all of Jabra’s offerings here.
