Jabra Elite 7 Pro review: Tough buds at an easy price

The Jabra Elite 7 Pro debut with a cheaper price and retain almost all of the key features from 2020’s excellent Jabra Elite 85t.

While these earbuds had some notable issues at launch, subsequent firmware updates have elevated the Jabra Elite 7 Pro into contention with the best true wireless earbuds around. Let’s see if these earbuds are worth your money, or if you should stay clear of these “Pro” earbuds.

Who should buy the Jabra Elite 7 Pro?

• Those seeking premium true wireless earbuds will appreciate the elegant design and customization options on the Jabra Elite 7 Pro.
• Students and commuters can benefit from these earbuds’ compact design and long battery life.
• Adventure enthusiasts looking for extremely durable earbuds will gain from the IP57 rating and HearThrough mode for listening awareness.

Living up to the name, the design of these earbuds certainly feels “Pro.” Available in black, titanium, or beige, the Jabra Elite 7 Pro earbuds are elegant and unobtrusive, barely protruding from the ears.

Jabra provides three ear tip sizes, though I find overall these are less comfortable than other true wireless earbuds. The shape of the earbuds forces the ear tips deep into the ear canal, causing pressure and some discomfort. Take the earbuds in or out of your ears too quickly, and you might experience a sharp pain from the sudden pressure change.

As with the earbuds, the soft-touch charging case is small and portable. It magnetically snaps shut with an affirmative “click,” though the strength of the magnets and lack of an opening ledge make it nearly impossible to open with one hand.

An IP57 rating makes the Jabra Elite 7 Pro some of the toughest earbuds around, rivaled only by the Jaybird Vista 2. The earbuds handle water and dust like a pro, so you’ll have no problem taking them to the beach, gym, or anywhere in between. You can also register the earbuds for two-year warranty protection against water and dust.

See also: The best workout earbuds

Pressing the single large button on either earbud controls playback, but also inadvertently shoves the earbuds deeper into the ear. You can also customize the controls in the Jabra Sound+ app, setting commands for different combinations of button presses during music playback and while on calls.

The earbuds house sensors for in-ear detection that automatically pause music when removed from the ears, and resume when you put them back in.

You definitely need the Jabra Sound Plus app to unlock the full experience of the Elite 7 Pro. Perhaps the most critical functionality of the app is downloading and installing firmware updates. Having the latest firmware installed ensures you get all available features of these buds, including Bluetooth multipoint, Google Assistant, and the best possible noise cancellation performance.

A hearing test is available via the MySound feature, which tests your ability to perceive different frequencies and builds a sound profile accordingly. There are also music presets and a visual five-band custom EQ, though it doesn’t show you what specific frequencies you are adjusting, or by how much you are boosting/attenuating.

Active noise-cancelling intensity is just another thing you can adjust in the app, along with HearThrough mode. Your voice assistant of choice is also selectable, with Siri, Amazon Alexa, and Google Assistant available.

Find My Jabra uses the location of your phone to find the last place your device was connected to the earbuds. Other features in the app include white noise soundscapes and an earbud fit test.

Jabra claims the earbuds last eight hours on a single charge, with 30 hours of total playback including the charging case. That was pretty spot on in our testing, with the earbuds lasting eight hours and 48 minutes of continuous playback at 75dB(SPL) with ANC set to max.

It takes 150 minutes to fully charge the case and earbuds, with five minutes of fast charging providing 60 minutes of playback time. The charging case is powered via USB-C or with a Qi wireless charging pad.

The Jabra Elite 7 Pro sport Bluetooth 5.2 with SBC and AAC codec support. This ensures a stable connection, especially with AAC on Apple devices. If you experience connection issues out of the box, make sure you upgrade to the latest firmware, which should alleviate most of the issues.

Read: Bluetooth codecs 101

The latest firmware has Bluetooth multi-point functionality, which allows you to connect to multiple devices, such as your phone and laptop, at the same time. Unfortunately, there’s no support for high-quality codecs such as aptX or LDAC with the Jabra Elite 7 Pro, meaning Android users get a bit left behind in that regard.

Active noise cancellation on the Jabra Elite 7 Pro is mediocre. For only a bit more money, you can get earbuds with much more robust ANC technology.

Despite limited ANC, the Jabra Elite 7 Pro still block out a ton of noise due to excellent passive isolation. Since the silicone ear tips go deep into the ear canal and create a pressure-tight seal, the buds significantly reduce environmental noise, even without turning ANC on.

A slider in the Jabra Sound Plus app adjusts the strength of the ANC. When turning ANC to the max setting, mid to low-frequency sounds are attenuated more than with the passive isolation from the ear tips alone.

No major complaints from us here; the sound of the Jabra Elite 7 Pro should satisfy the bulk of listeners. Out of the box, the earbuds have a relatively pleasing sound that will make most genres sound good. The great thing about Jabra headsets is that you can also customize the sound to your liking from the app.

If you don’t like the sound of the earbuds out of the box, try slightly boosting the first and second EQ bands to add more presence to bass and low-mid sounds.

By default, low frequencies aren’t very loud on the Jabra Elite 7 Pro, leaving some bass notes to sound underpowered. However, all the high frequencies above 1kHz sound quite loud in comparison. On Red Eye by Justin Bieber (feat. TroyBoi), the hi-hats and top synth lines are actually loud to the point of masking Justin’s vocals in the chorus.

How good is the microphone on the Jabra Elite 7 Pro?

Jabra MultiSensor Voice technology reproduces clear vocals for taking calls on the go. Two onboard mics focus on your voice, while two focus on canceling out background noise. A voice-pickup (VPU) bone conduction sensor works with algorithms to project your voice while attenuating everything else. It’s a lot of fancy tech and jargon, but all you need to know is that you won’t have to worry about call quality on the Jabra Elite 7 Pro.

Take a listen for yourself and let us know what you think.

Microphone demo (ideal):

If sound quality and call quality are most important to you, the Jabra Elite 7 Pro might be for you. These earbuds sound great and deliver clear microphone audio for calls on the go.

The Elite 7 Pro are good for any adventurer since they have great battery life and the durability to last. The Jabra Sound Plus app is also always a big plus, as it is packed full of customization and features. Firmware updates solved most of the reservations we had initially, turning the Jabra Elite 7 Pro into some of the best all-around true wireless earbuds under $200.

Alongside the Elite 7 Pro, Jabra released the Elite 7 Active for athletes. At the same time, Jabra continues to offer the Jabra Elite 85t as the brand’s flagship true wireless earbuds.

The Elite 7 Active ($179) are slightly cheaper than the Elite 7 Pro and feature Jabra ShakeGrip for a more secure fit. The earbuds don’t have the MultiSensor Voice technology though, so call quality won’t be as clear. Interestingly, the Elite 7 Pro and Elite 7 Active share the same IP57 rating. If you want a cheaper model with a similar design, look into the Jabra Elite 3 ($79) which boost bass more than the Elite 7 Pro, but have a similar midrange and treble frequency response.

The Elite 85t ($199) have larger 12mm drivers, Bluetooth multipoint, and the strongest ANC of the bunch. However, they have shorter battery life than the Elite 7 Pro, Bluetooth 5.1 instead of 5.2, and only IPX4 durability. Still, if you want very good active noise-cancelling without straying from the Jabra brand, consider the Elite 85t.

Jabra isn’t the only manufacturer offering premium true wireless earbuds for around $200. Samsung has the Galaxy Buds Pro ($199) which offer solid noise-cancelling, great sound, and some bonus perks like 360 Audio. For those unfamiliar with Samsung 360 Audio, it works similarly to Apple’s spatial audio on the third-generation AirPods ($179) and AirPods Pro ($249). The latter option makes for a good alternative, as well — if you’re already immersed in the Apple ecosystem.

The Amazon Echo Buds (2nd gen) ($119) are a great option, too. The earbuds have great active noise-cancelling for the price alongside an IPX4 rating — oh, and you get tons of integrations with the Alexa app.