Jabra Elite 3 Review: The nothing ear (1) should be afraid

Jabra, the Danish audio equipment manufacturer, is a highly acclaimed brand when it comes to headphones. A few years ago, however, the brand was much less known until it ventured into the true wireless earphones category with its Jabra Elite 65t, which at the time was seen as the only legible competitor to Apple’s AirPods. Now I have been using the Jabra Elite 65t for the past few years and have never felt the need to upgrade. So when I got the chance to use the Jabra Elite 3, I wanted to see how far the brand has come in the TWS segment and if I should upgrade after more than two years of use. This is what I thought:

Now the Jabra Elite 3 comes as a more affordable offering from the Danish brand as the Jabra Elite-T or Elite Pro series are usually considered a bit expensive for the average Indian user no matter how good the product is. The Jabra Elite 3 is priced at Rs 5,999 which puts them in direct competition with Nothing’s Ear (1) TWS earphones. While the Nothing Ear (1) has premium features like active noise cancellation and wireless charging, is the Jabra Elite 3 better now in terms of usability and audio quality? Let’s find out:

DESIGN

In terms of design, the Jabra Elite 3 looks familiar. In terms of design, not much has changed since the predecessor, Jabra Elite 2. A more premium look, in line with the more premium Jabra Elite 7 Pro. The earphones have a nice design with a compact case. The earbuds have no stem and are triangular pods with a flat surface that houses the buttons. The buttons are easy to find, but a little tricky to figure out (more on that later). The housing of the Jabra Elite 3 is good in size and design. It is compact and fits easily in any pocket, and it has a matte finish. However, the build quality of the case isn’t great and feels a bit flimsy. Jabra has taken a safe approach with the design that has worked quite well for the brand in the past.

AUDIO AND MIC PERFORMANCE

In terms of audio, the Jabra Elite 3 are great. They provide clear audio, with good bass-treble balance. The audio may feel a little bass-heavy for some users, but that can be adjusted via Jabra’s Sound+ app. The earphones support Qualcomm’s AptX HD Audio codec for high-resolution audio, and it shows. The treble and bass are absolutely clear and the balance between bass and treble is great for all sorts of things – be it watching movies or TV shows or listening to music. In my opinion, the earbuds sound better than many more premium offerings out there on the market.

There’s no active noise cancellation, but the Jabra Elite 3 still isolate noise with their noise-isolating design. The earbuds seal the outside pretty well when they fit properly and there’s a HearThrough mode that lets in a little bit of outside noise – you can tell the difference once you activate HearThrough mode with the button on the left earbuds. The earphones fit my ear perfectly so there was very minimal outside noise being let in. With music or videos on, I couldn’t hear anything outside unless HearThrough mode is active.

In terms of microphone, the Jabra Elite 3 uses four microphones. During my use, I had no issues making calls or attending meetings via video calls. Also when it comes to isolating ambient noise, the Jabra Elite 3’s microphone is pretty decent. The microphone quality is good and the Jabra Elite 3 sends your audio to the other side quite clearly.

BATTERY AND FUNCTIONS

The Jabra Elite 3 is claimed to provide up to 28 hours of total listening time with the charging case combined. The earphones are said to provide up to 7 hours of battery life on a single charge. In my time with them, I’ve used the Jabra Elite 3 a lot. I plugged it in for my online meetings and kept listening to music until the earbuds ran out of battery. During my use, the Jabra Elite 3 easily gave over 6 hours of battery life on continuous use. With the charging case, the earbuds lasted an average of more than three days.

Now, coming to features, several useful ones are offered here. You can only use one of the earphones – this is useful when you are traveling with someone and want to watch something together. Buttons on the Jabra Elite 3 are soft and don’t force the earbuds deeper into your ear – a problem I’ve had with the Jabra Elite 3 for a long time. However, the controls are a bit tricky and take some getting used to.

JUDGMENT

So the Jabra Elite 3 looks good and is very easy to use and handle. The design has been carefully considered with regard to the format and the materials used (fits in all pockets and does not scratch – winner). The audio, as I said above, is arguably the best in this segment in my opinion, and there’s no shortage of features, other than premium features like ANC and wireless charging. However, these features don’t make or break a set of earphones. What it makes is good sound quality, design and long battery life. The Jabra Elite 3 excels at all three. So if you’re in the market for a set of TWS earphones for around Rs 6,000, the Jabra Elite 3 certainly won’t disappoint.