True wireless earbuds with active noise cancellation are a hot segment right now, which practically every tech brand out there cashing in on the trend. Still, despite heavy competition, there's one brand that has always managed to secure one of the top spots--Jabra. And with their latest entrant, they seem determined to do the same.
Having said that, this is our Jabra Elite 7 Pro review. If you're a fan of the true wireless form factor and don't fancy the AirPods Pro, these might be your next best bet.
Fit & Comfort
The Jabra Elite 7 Pro earbuds feature an in-ear design, which helps them sit quite deep inside the ear canal. This makes for excellent passive noise isolation, with most ambient sound disappearing as soon as you wear the earbuds.
If you have trouble with how they feel in your ears though, you can choose from two other sizes of ear tips that Jabra provides in the box.
Now depending on your preference, you may or may not like the in-ear design, but as far as in-ear buds go, the Elite 7 Pros are quite comfortable, even when worn for long periods of time. They also don't come loose very easily, so you won't be constantly reaching to readjust them.
Moreover, you can take an earbud fit test to make sure that the earbuds are sitting in your ear as best as possible.
Sound Quality
When it comes to the quality of sound, the Jabra Elite 7 Pro earbuds are up there with the best of them. The sound signature is smooth and balanced, and details come through clearly, both when listening to music and while watching films or shows. Unlike most budget options, bass tones do not dominate the sound signature here. However, it doesn't mean that the Elite 7 Pros don't have enough thump, because they do. If you take the MySound test to determine your personal preference, or use the Equaliser through the Jabra Sound+ app, the earbuds do deliver punchy bass notes when required.
There's a surprising amount of power packed in these 6mm custom drivers, and the Elite 7 Pro earbuds get really loud when you touch the full volume mark.
It is worth pointing out however, that the earbuds do not get Hi-Res Audio certification, nor do they get Hi-Res LDAC streaming, which may be a deal breaker for audiophiles. Moreover, there's only support for the AAC and SBC codec here, and aptX audio support would have been appreciated.
Active Noise Cancellation
The Jabra Elite 7 Pro earbuds feature active noise cancellation technology, which is quite a helpful feature in noisy environments like an office or crowded public spaces.
Now like we said before, the passive noise isolation blocks out most noise to begin with. But to block out everything else that gets through, you can turn on the active noise cancellation feature. This reduces the amount of ambient noise around you, but in our experience, it didn't seem to be very effective. That could be down to how good the passive noise isolation is, but it means that the active noise cancellation did not seem to be as strong as we had expected on a pair of earbuds at this price point.
Still, you can toggle the amount of noise cancellation you want according to your preference, and if you need to let in ambient sounds, there's Jabra's Hear Through mode. It's essentially a transparency mode, but Jabra has implemented the feature very well on the Elite 7 Pro earbuds. Hear Through sounds very natural and not artificially boosted, as it tends happen with other true wireless earbuds.
Also watch: Best Active Noise Cancelling Earbuds Under ₹20,000
Call Quality
Call quality is one of the strongest points of the Jabra Elite 7 Pro earbuds. Thanks to MultiSensor Voice technology, people you're speaking with will not have to deal with all the ambient noise around you. It uses four microphones and a Voice Pick Up sensor in each bud to provide some of the best call quality we've ever had on a pair of true wireless earbuds.
Moreover, you can play around with the app to enhance the calling experience by using Sidetone, that effectively lets in some ambient noise into your ears, so you don't end up shouting while you're speaking. You can also tune the call audio to boost either treble or bass, which is a nifty feature. There's bone conduction technology as well, which is triggered when you're in windy conditions.
Apart from this, there's another cool feature for when you're on a call. Let's say you're speaking to someone using the earbuds, and you need to quickly mute yourself. Instead of having to reach for your phone and muting yourself, all you have to do is remove the earbuds, and they'll automatically mute themselves. It's worth noting that when you're using both earbuds together, you will have to remove both of them for this feature to work, but if you're using only one earbud, taking it out your ear will indeed mute it.
Gaming and Transmission Lag
While gaming on COD mobile, we did notice a bit of lag when playing, which is to be expected, and we wish Jabra had provided a low latency mode to help reduce the delayed effect.
However, we experienced no issues in transmission when watching films and TV shows. Moreover, thanks to Bluetooth v5.2, connection quality was strong at all times, with no skipping during music playback.
Design and Utility
The Jabra Elite 7 Pro feature a very compact design, with no visible stalks present. The quality of materials used feels good to the touch, and the earbuds weigh just 5.4g each. If you appreciate a stealthy, understated look, you'll certainly like the earbuds in this Titanium Black colour.
The charging case is also quite pocket-friendly, and comes with both Qi wireless charging and USB-C charging, which is expected at this price point, but still appreciated.
Now while most true wireless earbuds use some form of touch controls, the Elite 7 Pros get physical buttons that you need to press in order to trigger various functions. The actuation point for the button is comfortable enough, and they allow you to control playback, cycle through the noise cancellation modes and trigger the voice assistant.
Now it's worth noting that at the time of this review, the Jabra Elite 7 Pro do not support connection with multiple devices at once, but Jabra mentions on their website that its Multipoint feature will be added in January 2022 via a firmware update.
Also watch: Jabra Elite 3 review: solid sound for ₹5,499?
Battery Life
The Jabra Elite 7 Pro earbuds claim to offer up to 8 hours of battery life on a single charge, and up to 30 hours with the included charging case, all with active noise cancellation on. We managed to get well over 5 hours in my testing which is impressive, and we like that Jabra has included fast charging, which allows you to get around an hour of playback in just 5 minutes.
App Support - Jabra Sound+ app
The Jabra Sound+ is quite exhaustive, and helps you customise the Elite 7 Pro earbuds just the way you like.
Not only can you customise the ANC profiles and controls, you can also modify the Equaliser and build your own sound profile. You can also use the app to take an earbud fit test, and to update the firmware.
There's also ample guidance at hand, and the app has sections which help you discover various features on the Jabra Elite 7 Pros in an informative manner.
A feature we particularly enjoyed in the app was the ambient sound section, that plays white noise and calming tracks to help your relax or focus, depending on your needs.
Verdict
At ₹17,999, the Jabra Elite 7 Pro earbuds are quite expensive, and sit squarely in the premium earbud segment. The active noise cancellation may leave you wanting more, but if you're looking for good sound quality, a customisable experience, great battery life and excellent call quality, these earbuds should definitely be on your list.
Also watch: Jabra Elite 85t Review: best Active Noise Cancelling earbuds under ₹20,000?
