How do you follow-up on a proven formula? By taking the best parts and making them better. That’s what Jabra appears to have done with its Elite Active 75t, the successors to its highly popular Elite Active 65t true wireless earbuds. Making their debut at CES 2020, the Elite Active 75t will go on sale in February 2020, for $199. The new buds are smaller, better fitting, more rugged, and have longer battery life.
We got the chance to spend a bit of time with the Elite Active 75t prior to their launch. While we didn’t get a chance to try out all of their features, we can attest to their fit (they’re just as uber-comfy as the Elite 75t) and their sound quality, which was very satisfying and with a little less of the massive bass that is so pronounced on the Elite 75t.
Visually, the Elite Active 75t are virtually identical to the Jabra Elite 75t which launched at the end of 2019. The Active version sports the same incredibly small design which Jabra claims is 22% smaller than the Elite Active 65t. If you look very closely, you’ll notice that Jabra has used a slightly different finish on the portion of the Elite Active 75t that makes contact with your ear canal. That coating is apparently responsible for the Elite Active 75t’s improved water and dust resistance which is now rated at IP57 (essentially completely waterproof) versus the Elite Active 65t’s IP56 rating. Jabra also claims the coating will provide a more secure fit.
Battery life also gets a bump, from 6.5 hours to 7.5 hours. The charging case extends total playtime to 28 hours. Much like the Elite 75t, these numbers are good, but hardly the kind of massive 10 hours (or more) we’re seeing on some other true-wireless earbuds at the moment. Still, let’s give credit where it’s due: Jabra has managed to squeeze more power out of both the buds and the charging case, while simultaneously making both components a lot smaller, and that’s an impressive feat of product engineering.
In terms of functionality, the Elite Active 75t use Jabra’s excellent physical buttons (one on each earbud) that combine with a series of button-press patterns give you control over calls, voice assistant access, audio tracks, and volume. What’s new in 2020 is Jabra’s mobile app software which will enable Jabra’s MyControl and MySound features when it launches in the second quarter.
MyControl lets you pick which buttons and button-press patterns you prefer for the earbuds’ various functions instead of being forced to use the patterns that Jabra assigned at the factory. It also gives you the option to use either earbud individually (right now you can only use the right earbud solo). MySound uses some of the Elite Active 75t’s four microphones to personalize the sound profile to your specific hearing using a calibration performed with a series of beeps.
Curiously, Jabra hasn’t made any mention of motion sensors in the Elite Active 75t. These were a part of the Elite Active 65t, but perhaps with the massive popularity of wrist-based fitness trackers like Fitbit and the Apple Watch, the company deemed it unnecessary. The Jabra Elite Active 75t will come in six colors: Navy (February), Copper Black (an Amazon exclusive, February), Titanium Black (a Best Buy exclusive, February), Grey (March), Sienna (April) and Mint (April).