Jabra Elite 7 Active Review: For People With Active Lifestyle

Jabra made quite an impact in the truly wireless stereo (TWS) earphone market with the launch of the Jabra Elite 65t in 2018. Since then, the brand has grown leaps and bounds, and it is being seen as a premium and high-quality brand. Currently, the Jabra Elite 7 Pro are the company’s flagship truly wireless earphones. While they are great, they also cost a lot: ₹17,999. For people who want something more affordable, the brand has launched the Jabra Elite 7 Active. 

The Jabra Elite 7 Active are being sold for ₹9,999. The compete directly against the Anker Soundcore Liberty Air 2 Pro, Beats Studio Buds, Google Pixel Buds A-Series, OnePlus Buds Pro (Review), OPPO Enco X, Samsung Galaxy Buds 2 (Review), and the Sony WF-1000XM3. What sets the Jabra Elite 7 Active apart from the competition is its design. It is targeted towards people with an active lifestyle.

Compared to the Jabra Elite 7 Pro, these earbuds are made using affordable materials. They also lack the MultiSensor Voice technology which is the secret sauce for the Jabra Elite 7 Pro’s amazing call quality. However, the Jabra Elite 7 Active has the same audio drivers, connectivity features, and battery life as its costlier sibling. So, how does the Jabra Elite 7 Active perform, and where do they stand against the competition? Let us find out in our Jabra Elite 7 Active review.

Design & Comfort

Starting with the charging case of the Jabra Elite 7 Active, it doesn’t look premium from any angle. However, it certainly has a great fit and finish. The lid opens smoothly and closes with a satisfying thud. The inner part of the case has a smooth, rubberised finish. When you place the earbuds in the case, you can tell that this is a quality product and Jabra hasn’t cut costs where it matters.

The earbuds, on the other hand, not only feel solidly built but also look very premium. They have a rubberised finish on the outside which provides a good grip and keeps the earbuds from slipping out from your hands even when they are sweaty. What I absolutely loved, however, is that there are physical buttons on the earbuds that make controls easier compared to touch controls. 

It is also worth mentioning that the Jabra Elite 7 Active are IP57 rated. So, you don’t have to think twice before using these earbuds in sweaty conditions or dropping them in water.

The Jabra Elite 7 Active sat deeper into my ear canals compared to the AirPods Pro that I own. They also fit more snuggly. I can confidently say that the Jabra Elite 7 Active felt more secure to wear than the AirPods Pro. The ones from Apple feel secure in my ear but I felt more confident while moving around, workout out, or driving the bike with the Jabras.

Apart from fitting snuggly, the Jabra Elite 7 Active also feel comfortable to wear over a long period of time. My ears weren’t fatigued even when I wore them for a couple of hours continuously. Overall, I think you would be pleased with the Jabra Elite 7 Active’s fit and comfort.

Sound Quality

The Jabra Elite 7 Active uses a single 6mm driver in each earbud. They feature Bluetooth 5.2 along with support for AAC and SBC codecs. Unfortunately, the earbuds miss out on aptX or LDAC, which is quite a bummer, especially when you consider the price. But they are not the only earbuds to miss out on aptX or LDAC. Even the similarly priced Galaxy Buds 2 lack those features.

Volume Levels

While I think feel that the volume level of the Jabra Elite 7 Active is adequate for day-to-day music listening, there were a few occasions where I wanted to listen to music at a higher than usual volume level, and the earbuds couldn’t go any louder. Compared to the AirPods Pro and the Galaxy Buds 2, the Jabra Elite 7 has relatively lower volume output. While this won’t be a glaring issue for most, it could be a deal-breaker for people who like to listen to music at very high volume levels.

Sound Quality

The overall sound signature of the Jabra Elite 7 Active is V-shaped dull. The vocals sound a bit weak compared to other frequencies. The highs are also not as crisp and clear as the Samsung Galaxy Buds Pro. It is also worth mentioning that the earbuds sound a bit muddier when the music track has a lot of instruments and vocals. Layering could’ve been better. Low-end frequencies, however, sound is pretty good. Bass is satisfactorily deep.

Even though the sound signature is slightly dull and there are a few issues with the mids and the highs, the overall sound quality of the Jabra Elite 7 is decent for its price. You will not be disappointed with the sound quality. Some rival earbuds in the same price range offer better audio quality, but might not be as comfortable or rugged.

ANC Performance

Just like many other earbuds in the price segment, the Jabra Elite 7 Active also gets ANC (Active Noise Cancellation). It has three microphones inside each earbud. 

Thanks to the great fit, the earbuds already block out a lot of noise passively. The unwanted noise that gets through is cancelled by the ANC quite impressively. In fact, the ANC performance of the Jabra Elite 7 Active is as good as the more premium Apple AirPods Pro.

There is also a HearThrough mode which works pretty well; it allows you to listen to the surrounding sounds that get blocked out because of wearing the earbuds. The feature is useful if you want to listen to music or attend calls without missing out on what people around you are saying. For example, if you don’t want to miss the doorbell while still listening to music, the HearThrough feature is extremely useful.

Call Quality

Unlike many other truly wireless earbuds in the price range, the Jabra Elite 7 Active offers great call quality. People on the other side of the call were able to hear my voice loud and clear. If you are someone who takes a lot of calls, the Jabra Elite 7 are one of the best earbuds that you can find under ₹10,000.

Audio Latency

The audio latency is where the Jabra Elite 7 Active lag behind the competition. While most TWS earbuds in the price segment offer some kind of low-latency mode, the Jabra Elite 7 doesn’t. As a result, there is a considerable amount of latency in audio transmission. While the issue is not very evident while watching videos, it certainly is noticeable while playing games and typing.

Battery Life

The Jabra Elite 7 Active come with a promise of 8 hours of continuous battery life and 22 hours of additional battery backup with the case.

Those numbers are quite realistic. During my usage, I got about 7 hours of battery backup with ANC turned on. That is more than what you get from most earbuds in the price range. In fact, the battery backup is more than what you get with the Apple AirPods Pro and the Samsung Galaxy Buds 2. If you are someone who needs a long battery life, the Jabra Elite 7 will serve you well.

You can charge the Jabra Elite 7 Active using the USB Type-C port that is conveniently placed on the front of the case. The charging case also supports Qi wireless charging if that is what you prefer. On the downside, charging the case and earbuds take around 160 minutes to charge from 0-100%. That is almost double the time compared to rivals earphones.

Fortunately, if you are in a hurry, the earbuds can give you an hour of battery backup with a 5-minute battery top-up.

Conclusion

The sound quality of the Jabra Elite 7 Active is decent but it’s not good for gaming, like most truly wireless earphones. However, the Jabra Elite 7 Active make up for those drawbacks with great build quality, amazing fit and comfort, good ANC performance, crystal clear call quality, and long battery life.

If you are in the market for TWS earbuds priced around ₹10,000 that have a rugged design and dust and water resistance, you should seriously consider the Jabra Elite 7 Active.

It is worth mentioning that at the time of writing this review, only Reliance Digital was selling the Jabra Elite 7 Active at ₹9,999. The rest of the retail platforms have listed the earbuds for ₹14,999.