Need durable headphones? Try the new Jabra Elite 8 Active, the world’s toughest earbuds

Most modern workout-ready headphones are rugged enough to be used in challenging conditions. They often have a decent ingress protection (IP) rating against liquids to ensure they won’t get damaged when you sweat, and should also be able to survive if they fall out of your ears during exercise. However, none come even close to how tough Jabra’s latest earbuds are.

The new Jabra Elite 8 Active are built for much more than running or sports – they are designed to be durable enough to withstand whatever life throws at them. The buds pass all the required tests for the US Military Standard for Ruggedised Electronics (also known as MIL-810H-STD), the same standard most rugged wearables are subjected to prove their outdoor prowess. 

That’s not all, though. The Jabra Elite 8 Active are also IP68 rated, which is the highest rating for non-industrial products and means they are thoroughly dust and waterproof. In fact, the earbuds can be submerged in water for up to 1.5 metres in depth and should be able to function afterwards just fine. Unsurprisingly, even the Elite 8 Active’s charging case is more durable than most rugged earbuds and has an IP54 rating.

While these certifications would suffice for most manufacturers to prove the toughness of their products, Jabra went a step further by also putting the Elite 8 Active through Highly Accelerated Corrosion Testing (HACT). This requires the earbuds to pass 11 full cycles of testing, including enduring two hours in 40°C temperatures with 93% humidity, going through a 15-minute splash test in salt water, and surviving a 15-minute 40°C heat drying test to prove their anti-corrosion credentials successfully.

Long story short, you can put the Jabra Elite 8 Active through their paces without them missing a beat. Literally.

Unshakeable fit meets incredible sound performance

All the toughness in the world wouldn’t mean a thing if the Jabra Elite 8 Active wouldn’t provide the right fit and sounded terrible. Thankfully, these compact headphones inherited Jabra’s ShakeGrip technology, which helps keep them in your ears without wing tips or ear hooks. And the ShakeGrip cover is applied in more areas than their predecessor for an unshakeable fit.

The Elite 8 Active don’t sound half bad, either, thanks to the inclusion of Dolby Audio, which delivers lifelike, clear sound. With their 6mm speakers and Adaptive Hybrid Active Noise Cancellation (ANC) – which is 1.6x more ANC compared to Jabra standard ANC – you can fully immerse yourself in whatever you’re listening to, no matter how loud the environment is.

Need to know what’s going around you? No problem. The Wind-Neutralising HearThrough technology muffles any wind interference without blocking out traffic, ensuring safety without compromising on steady sound. 

If you get a call while you’re in the zone, 6 microphones smartly distinguish between your background noise and your speaking voice, so you’re never competing with the sound around you. If you’re in a windy environment, the wind-noise protecting mesh and noise cancellation algorithm strengthens your speech and keeps it sharp, ensuring your conversation stays on point and interference-free. 

And if this wasn’t enough, the Jabra Elite 8 Active supports Google Assistant, Fast Pair, Swift Pair and Spotify Tap, too, and has a battery life of up to 8 hours in the buds and up to 32 hours with the wireless charging case (ANC on). There aren’t any durable earbuds out there that match the Jabra Elite 8 Active in any way. Shop Now at John Lewis in black or navy colourway for only £199.99.

Check jabra.com/claims for more information on the durability of the Jabra Elite 8 Active.