Jabra Elite 7 Pro review: a great pair of budget-friendly earbuds

With all the true wireless earbuds out there, it can be difficult to decipher what separates something like the Jabra Elite 7 Pro from the rest of the pack. To be blunt, these are good earbuds – but so are many of the others. Certain ones sound a little better, while others do a particularly good job with specific features such as Sony’s WF-1000XM4 and active noise cancellation or the Samsung Galaxy Buds Pro and their surprisingly great call quality.

So, if you’re reading this review thinking which of these is good, then you should instead consider what you need specifically out of a true wireless earbud. Once you get to the price range that these sit in and above, you’ll be hard pressed to find a set of earbuds that just doesn’t measure up (though there are some out there). If that’s the case then, what exactly does the Jabra Elite 7 Pro do well and who should consider them? Read on and find out.

 Jabra Elite 7 Pro review: price and release date 

Wireless earbuds have an incredibly wide price range, going from $20 all the way to almost $400 for mainstream consumer models. So the Jabra Elite 7 Pro and their going rate of $199.99 shouldn’t phase anyone looking for a new pair of earbuds, especially when you compare them to something like Apple Airpods Pro that go for $249. Other popular alternatives like the Beats Fit Pro, which share a similar feature set, go for the same price as these Jabras.

However, the Elite 7 Pros have been around for awhile, having launched in October 2021. So you’re likely to find it at a much lower price than what it retails for.

 Jabra Elite 7 Pro review: design 

While the Jabra Elite 7 Pro come in three colorways, black, titanium black (aka gray) on black, and gold beige, with a matching charging case and has a relatively sleek look, it doesn’t set itself apart aesthetically. Of course, that’s not a big deal as they are more attractive than most mid-tier earbuds. However, fashionistas will not be moved by the way these look.

That said, there’s a lot to unpack from these earbuds. They use buttons on the outer shell instead of capacitive controls like Apple Airpods. Whether that’s good or bad is a matter of preference, though I personally prefer buttons as they’re less likely to register an accidental press. Like most earbuds with onboard controls, you can easily adjust media play and accept or reject calls without reaching for the phone. More interestingly however is the fact that you can remap what a single, double, or triple press does per side. That means that you have six possible actions available to you on-the-fly, a little more than most earbuds.

The Jabra Elite 7 Pro also has as good of a fit as I’ve found among the earbuds I’ve tested. It’s apparently 16% smaller than previous generations. And though I’ve not had the pleasure of trying those previous models, I can attest that these feel a little smaller than other earbuds which might be why they’re such a good, snug fit. You also get a choice of silicon tips to adjust the fit. And, since they have an IP57 rating, they’ll handle most weather and workout conditions easily as long as you don’t throw them in the ocean.

Like most earbuds worth the investment, these come with plenty of features. Of course, there’s Active Noise Cancellation and Transparency Mode as well as plenty of options to finetune your experience in the app (which we’ll discuss in the next section). But, you also get mono mode and on-ear detection. Both of which are executed flawlessly. There’s also voice assistant support on hand.

Lastly, you get Bluetooth Multipoint, a feature that’s showing up in more headsets, earbuds, and wireless headphones. With this feature, you can connect to two devices at once.

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 Jabra Elite 7 Pro review: performance 

In terms of sound quality, the Jabra Elite 7 sounds very good. Of course, I haven’t found earbuds in this price range to be disappointing. They’re all just a little different and all a few strokes shy of being great, typically. The sound signature on these, without any EQ, is a bit on the warmer side. There’s plenty of mids and the highs are well-represented if not the most detailed. As bass is a crucial consideration for most people, know there’s plenty here. It’s not as in your face as the BeyerDynamic Free Byrds but they’re prominent. Unfortunately, the bass is a little hazy. Overall, it’s a pleasant listening experience that’s as good as everything else in this price range. Just don’t expect an audiophile experience.

Like every other non-budget earbud that’s entered the market over the last couple years, the Jabra Elite 7 Pro comes with Active Noise Cancellation and Transparency Mode (also called Ambient Mode and referred to as HearThrough by Jabra). Both work very well. I find the active noise cancellation to do a great job blocking unwanted sound in the gym and have been able to hold conversations while using the HearThrough mode with music still playing, albeit quietly. Even better, they both come with five adjustable levels, though I typically go all-or-nothing with these features.

Call quality here is pretty good though there’s a tiny bit less clarity than when using my iPhone directly. This is typical with just about every pair of earbuds I’ve used. If call quality is important, you’re looking at different earbuds to see which impacts your experience the least while providing the convenience of not having to take an earbud out to take a call. That means that overall the Jabra Elite 7 Pro is among the better ones out there thanks to its 4 mics and bone conduction sensors.

Don’t forget that there’s an app for more fine-tuning. It’s an intuitive experience that lets you remap all the button presses on each side of the earbuds, toggle between and adjust the ANC and HearThrough Modes, and EQ presets as well as a 5 band EQ to dial in the exact sound you want. A 5-band EQ is more than you get with most earbud apps. Also, for those that want to use these while sleeping or relaxing, it has a Soundscape mode that can play all sorts of relaxing sounds from pink and white noise to ocean waves and even the sound of a crowd.

I just want to take a second to point out one strange quirk with these earbuds. They don’t have text notifications. And, if there’s a place to change that in the app, I can’t find it. So, if you’re as addicted to your phone and in need of a digital detox as I am, then this might be an issue for you too.

 Jabra Elite 7 Pro review: battery 

To run the battery down to 75% took two hours and 52 minutes without ANC. Considering the eight hours of use Jabra advertises, that’s a pretty good showing. In fact, making it to eight hours on a single charge is fairly impressive for any earbuds, even though we’re starting to see earbuds get a little more efficient than the five hour average that many come with.

Add in the fact that you get up to 30 hours total with the charging case and this is among a small elite of true wireless earbuds when it comes to battery life. That said, it doesn’t quite blow the competition out of the water as you’ll find a few other earbuds with similarly great battery life such as the Galaxy Buds Pro.

If you’re concerned about charging time, then there’s good news for you. Just five minutes of charging will result in an hour of use. It’s also able to charge wirelessly.

 Jabra Elite 7 Pro review: verdict 

Other than a very small quibble, the Jabra Elite 7 Pros do just about everything right. The battery life is about as good as you’ll find for TWS earbuds, though just by a hair. They’re incredibly comfortable and have a very snug fit, thanks to their slightly smaller size. And, of course, the sound quality is good enough for most people even if the top end could be a little more detailed and that low end as prominent as it is could be a bit more refined.

If you’re deciding between this and other options in this price range, you’ll have to decide what your priorities are. For comfort and battery life, the Jabra Elite 7 Pro goes toe-to-toe with more expensive earbuds. For features, most earbuds offer a similar amount of features, each with a unique one of their own. For the Jabras, it’s that Soundscape Mode.

Of course, sound quality is most important. As just noted, these sound very good. But, they don’t sound better than others in the same price range. Just a bit different. So, take all of that into account when deciding on whether to get these. For what it’s worth, if we rated in half points, this would be 4.5.

 Jabra Elite 7 Pro review: also consider 

The Galaxy Buds Pro have already been name-dropped a few times here. And, that’s because they seem to be the most direct rivals after having spent time with both. The Galaxy Buds Pro offer a comparably long battery life, surprisingly good sound quality, go for the same price, get discounted regularly to similar prices, and are as feature-rich. The Galaxy Buds Pro though come with better call quality with a slightly worse fit. Also, a number of the features only work with Samsung phones.

If you want to splurge, the Bang & Olufsen Beoplay EX continue the company’s trend of balancing fantastic sound quality with the kind of design you expect to see on a runway. Of course, it’s not quite the workhouse that the Jabra Elite 7 Pro is, since the ANC is not as good, but the Jabra isn’t going to sound or look as good.

The JLab Go Air Pop may not have Active Noise Cancellation. And, the call quality is nothing to call home about. However, not only do these earbuds sound surprisingly good and come with some EQ customization, they have a battery life that would rival the Jabra Elite 7 Pro. Oh, and they go for $20.