JLab's new sports earbuds offer Hybrid ANC for a rock bottom price

JLab has launched a new generation of its JBuds Sport earbuds, delivering hybrid active noise cancellation for a very low price. As the name suggests these buds are aimed at the fitness market, with IP66 water resistance to keep sweat and rain at bay and over-ear hooks to keep them in place.

The headline feature here is the hybrid ANC, which enables you to block up to 25dB of ambient noise or let some of it in. That latter option is useful for the likes of running on or near roads where you still need to be aware of what's going on around and behind you. JLabs calls their transparency mode Be Aware Audio but it works the same way as other firms' hybrid ANC.

JLabs JBuds Sport ANC 4: key features and pricing

The JBuds Sport ANC 4 have a first for the brand: swipe and touch controls. You can tap the buds to switch between the three EQ presets (Signature, Balance and Bass Boost) and swipe to adjust the volume and navigate between tracks, audiobook chapters or podcast episodes. 

The battery life here is impressive: more than 60 hours in total, with a claimed 14-plus hours of listening time per earbud and a further 47-plus hours from the charging case. 

The JBuds have Bluetooth multi-point for easy pairing and support both Google Fast Pair and Find My Device. There's a new version of the JLab app too. The app enables you to customise the ANC and transparency settings and the touch controls, and there's a safe hearing option that applies a volume limiter in order to reduce the risk of hearing damage. 

There are four colours to choose from: graphite, teal, pink and cobalt. For now the JBuds have only launched in the US, where they cost a very reasonable $69.99; you can expect similar pricing when they launch in the UK as JLab tends to have a 1:1 dollar to pound pricing policy, so for example the same firm's JBuds Air Sport have a US RRP of $69.99 and a UK one of £69.99.