The Jabra Elite 75t are a worthy alternative to AirPods

You don't have to look far to find a pair of true wireless headphones anymore, but you do have to do a little more research to find a good pair of them. They seem to come in all shapes, sizes, colors, and prices these days, but weeding out the subpar ones from the good ones can be a difficult task.

Apple's AirPods were my first dabble in the true wireless world, and since then I've tried a number of pairs. There are a lot of things to like and just as many to hate about lots of the models out there. Jabra is a company that's been around for a while, and has continued to improve its headphones each year.

After returning my AirPods Pro I didn't know if I would find another pair of headphones that went in my ear that I would actually like, until I tried out the Jabra Elite 75t. These are the successor to the popular Jabra Elite 65t line, and from what I've read in other reviews they seem to fix many of the quarrels people had with the previous generation.

At a glance

Jabra Elite 75t

Pros

• Pocketable carrying case
• USB-C Charging
• Great sound quality with solid bass
• Transparency mode is excellent
• Call quality is top-notch

Cons

• Only right earbud acts independently
• Battery life not lasting to advertised length
• Lacks noise cancelation

Bottom line: The Jabra Elite 75t have done something that I didn't really think was possible by dethroning my AirPods as my go-to headphones. Whether I need to take a call or just listen to some music, the Jabra Elite 75t are my new favorite choice. They combine great sound, awesome build quality, small size, and more into one rather affordable package. Sure, there is no noise cancelling which will be a bust for some people, but there are plenty of other features here that make up for that one omission.

$180 at Amazon $180 at Best Buy

Jabra Elite 75t What I like

After speaking with Android Central's Daniel Bader following his review of the Jabra 75t I was pretty much instantly intrigued by these and wanted to try them out for myself. I had set my expectations low after having already tested about 20 different pairs of headphones over the past few years, but as soon as I unboxed them I started liking them.

The charging case, which is a pain point for many headphones these days, is nice and compact. It's easily pocketable, and just slightly larger than the one I was already used to carrying around for my AirPods. The case adds an extra XX hours of battery life to the headphones, which already offer up to seven hours of playback on their own. This is quite impressive given the size of them.

Jabra added some rather strong magnets inside the case this time around that help keep the headphones securely in place. While you may take that for granted, it was among the top things people complained about with last year's model, so it's great to see the company put such an effective fix in place so quickly. The two headphones can also magnetize to each other, which is a little added benefit for when you are setting them down so they don't just roll away.

As for the earbuds, they are pretty tiny as well, and between the various ear tips that are included it was easy to find one that fit well. They stay put once in your ears, even while moving around and doing activity. I've had several pairs fall out or get uncomfortable after a short period of use, neither of which was the case here. Jabra stands out over much of the competition with its continued use of physical buttons to help you change settings on the headphones. You don't have to worry about tapping a small sensor, or squeezing the tiny tube. The touch point is large and easy to find, and that means that you actually use it to do things like pausing your music and such.

The battery lasts for between five and seven hours for me, depending on what I am doing. When both the mic and speaker are active, the battery life is significantly less, so if you are using them to take calls, do video chats, etc, you may notice shorter life than if you just listened to music with them. Jabra has upgraded the charging case this year to charge via USB-C instead of micro-USB.

Jabra Elite 75t What I didn't like

While there was a whole lot to like about these headphones, there were a few things that bothered me about them as well. In comparison to about 99% of the other in-ear true wireless headphones I've tried I liked these much more, but let's break down where the next-generation could improve again.

The biggest gripe I have with these is that only the right bud can be used individually. Having used the AirPods for so long already, I am very used to being able to just pull out one of the earbuds and use it, without worrying. Now, if I want to have only one bud in I can only opt to use the right one, which is a pain. It's my preference to use the left on its own, but with so many other models offering support for you to use either the left or the right independently, it feels like a huge miss for Jabra to offer this option to only the left earbud. The company has said that this functionality will change via a firmware update in the future, but for now it's something to take note of when shopping around for options.

You can change some features of the headphones, like the Voice Assistant that's being used, view firmware updates, and more through the free Sound+ app that Jabra offers. I don't find this to be very useful, and have the app hidden in a folder on my phone. Luckily, once the headphones are paired and things are set up the way that you want you don't have to mess with it too much. A future update will bring better audio equalizing and more to the app, so it may be useful then.

The case does not offer wireless charging, which feels like something that should be pretty standard on headphones at this price range. Jabra will sell a Qi-compatible case in the future and current owners can buy just the case once available. Considering how many pairs of headphones at the $100 price point on Amazon offer this, it's something that Jabra definitely should have included from the beginning.

Jabra Elite 75t Should you buy them

It depends what you are looking to get out of a pair of true wireless headphones, but I would recommend these to just about anyone. These are a great all-around pair of headphones that offer great battery life, a comfortable fit, and amazing sound, but there are a few missing things that may sway your purchase.

You don't get things like Active Noise Cancellation or Pass Through modes like the new AirPods Pro do, but unless you really feel you need these features it's not a huge loss. I've yet to wish they had them, because I have other headphones for when I need to block out the noise.

As previously mentioned, you can only use the right bud on its own, and the left only works once the right is powered up and connected. This is easily the biggest issue that I have with the headphones.

There is a lot to like about the headphones, and the pricing falls in between that of the AirPods 2 and AirPods Pro (for comparison), but also well above some of the competition that is available.

If you want a good pair of headphones that will fit nicely, sound great, stay in your ears, and offer great battery life, you can't go wrong with Jabra's 75t.

At a glance

Jabra Elite 75t

Bottom line: The Jabra Elite 75t have done something that I didn't really think was possible by dethroning my AirPods as my go-to headphones. Whether I need to take a call or just listen to some music, the Jabra Elite 75t are my new favorite choice. They combine great sound, awesome build quality, small size, and more into one rather affordable package. Sure, there is no noise cancelling which will be a bust for some people, but there are plenty of other features here that make up for that one omission.

$180 at Amazon $180 at Best Buy