Jabra Elite 5 steps up its silence game with hybrid ANC
Mid-tier in-ears promise a comfortable wear and battery life to spare
Jabra has doubled down on noise cancellation for its latest mainstream true wireless in-ears. The Jabra Elite 5 land with hybrid ANC, which uses a whopping six microphones to better silence the outside world – as well as clearly pick up your voice when making calls.
Each Bluetooth bud uses a combo of feed-forward and feed-back microphones, for a “multiple lines of defence” approach to ANC. Whatever isn’t cancelled out by the outward mics is hopefully caught by the inward ones, resulting in better cancellation than you’ll find in the pricier Elite 7 Pro.
It lacks that pair’s bone conduction tech for improving call quality, but can adjust the gain of the outer and inner microphones on the fly to better cope with wind noise.
Inside, Jabra’s 6mm dynamic drivers promise audio that’s a step up from the outgoing Elite 4. AAC codec support means the new model is better catered to iPhones than before, with SBC and Qualcomm aptX on-board for Android devices. The usual selection of silicone ear tips included in the box should help everyone get a secure fit, no matter how oddly-shaped your ears might be, and a customisable EQ is available through the firm’s smartphone companion app.
Jabra has gone all out on the connectivity front, with Microsoft Swift Pair, Google Fast Pair and Made for iPhone certification promising trouble-free pairing, along with Bluetooth multipoint for a bit of dual-device swappage and Spotify Tap for quickly resuming your last listened-to playlist. Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa support also let you wake your phone’s virtual helper with either a tap or wake word.
IP55 dust and water resistance means even the sweatiest of fitness fanatics won’t do any damage, and it’s no problem if you get caught without an umbrella in a downpour. Similarly-priced rivals typically get IPX4 ratings, so you’re getting plenty of protection for your cash.
Expect seven hours of juice from the buds themselves, with a few visits to the charging case able to extend that figure to 28 hours. The case supports wireless charging for cable-free top-ups.
The Jabra Elite 5 is on sale now, directly from the Jabra website and all the usual tech retailers. Expect to pay around £149 here in the UK to bag a pair in either Titanium Black and Gold Beige.
Tom Morgan-Freelander
Deputy Editor