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There is no doubt that the AirPods Pro are excellent wireless headphones, with effective noise cancellation and tight integration with iOS. But there are other options that cost less than the $ 250 (£ 249 or AU $ 399) starting price of AirPods, such as Galaxy Buds Plus, Amazon Echo Buds, and Jabra Elite 75t. After using both the AirPods Pro and Elite 75t for several months, this is how they compare in everything from sound quality to battery life and how comfortable they are to wear.
Angela Lang / CNET
The AirPods Pro are the best when it comes to wireless headphones: excellent active noise cancellation, excellent call quality and good sound. They don’t have as much bass as other Bluetooth headsets, but they do offer perks like transparency mode, which lets you hear the outside world while wearing them, and voice-activated Siri that can also read messages out loud in your ears.
Read the AirPods Pro review.
Jabra wireless headphones have great audio from the factory and come with an app that lets you fine-tune the sound even further. The battery will easily deliver about seven hours of listening time. Active noise cancellation may not be missed because the buttons sit firmly on the ear and block a lot of external noise.
Read the Elite 75t review.
AirPods Pro wins with transparency mode, but you’ll want to hear more from Jabras
Both headphones have admirable sound quality. When listening to music, songs from a variety of genres sound more exciting and dynamic and have a much more powerful bass response on the Elite 75t than the AirPods Pro when left in the default settings. Jabra also has an app (iOS and Android) with equalizer presets, as well as a full equalizer that you can adjust to create your own sound profile.
The AirPods Pro have an adaptive equalizer that constantly works behind the scenes to adjust the sound according to the shape of your ears, but there is no dedicated app or consolidated interface to adjust the sound to your liking. If you want, you can use an equalizer for apps like Spotify or Apple Music.
Lexy Savvides / CNET
AirPods Pro have the best call quality for both the caller and the receiver. When you make calls, having Active Noise Cancellation (ANC) turned on makes it look like you’re having a quiet conversation even if there’s a fuss around you. The microphone position also helps to clearly isolate your voice for the other person. With that said, the callers commented that the sound of my voice from the Jabras was a little louder than when I made the same call with the AirPods Pro, although they could hear more background noise. Jabra also has a side tone feature that allows you to hear your voice more when making calls. (So you can avoid yelling!)
Listen to a sample mic from each in the video above.
The transparency mode on AirPods Pro pipes (called Hearthrough on the Elite 75t) offers some external sound so you can be more aware of your surroundings. In my experience, Apple’s transparency mode sounds more natural and I can use it for a longer period of time than the Jabras version, which sounds too metallic.
Noise canceling in AirPods Pro is nice, but you may not need it
ANC technology in AirPods Pro does an excellent job of suppressing background noise, making the experience of listening to music and podcasts incredibly satisfying. While the Jabra Elite 75t is ANC free, it blocks a significant amount of external noise thanks to the internal design and snug fit of the interchangeable tips.
The difference between active (AirPods Pro) and passive (Elite 75t) noise cancellation is not as dramatic as I initially thought. There are only two situations: commuting or air travel, where you would absolutely choose an ANC pair of headphones instead of a passive pair with a watertight seal. To my ears, passive locking on the Elite 75t is so effective that I didn’t miss ANC as much as I thought it would.
Elite 75t offers a snug, secure fit
AirPods Pro has always been comfortable to wear during longer stretches during the day, but the smallest tip of the ear in the box is still a little too big for my little ear canals. The seal is tight, but not as tight as the Elite 75t. AirPods Pro also refuse to stay in my ears as comfortably as the Jabras when I exercised, but their experience will vary.
Both cases store and charge the buds at the same time, though only the Apple case will charge wirelessly. (Jabra also sells the Elite Active 75t which has additional water resistance and a wireless charging case.)
Sarah Tew / CNET
Siri fans make the most of AirPods
The voice-activated “Hey, Siri” feature allows you to call the assistant hands-free. Siri can also read your text messages out loud when you receive them, which is great when you can’t communicate on your phone or need to be hands-free. You can use all the voice assistants on the Elite 75t, including Alexa, though you’ll need to press the button on the buttons to activate it.
Connections and stability: AirPods Pro advantage
AirPods Pro connects seamlessly to iOS devices – I experienced some disconnect or connectivity issues.
The Jabras were also stable, although I did notice a few more dropouts when using them paired with a computer than with a phone. I really enjoy that Jabras can connect to two devices at the same time and listen to an audio message in your ear to inform you that you are connected to more than one device.
The AirPods Pro have a perfect integration with the iPhone.
Angela Lang / CNET
AirPods Pro has a clickable stem that lets you jump back and forth between songs, switch between ANC and transparency mode, or activate Siri. You can easily customize it from the iOS settings menu. The Elite 75t has a physical button on the earpiece that has presets, though Jabra is supposed to roll out an update that will allow you to change the button presets in the coming months.
Jabra wins on total battery life
The Elite 75t battery lasts much longer than that of AirPods Pro. Jabra says you can get up to 7.5 hours of listening time on a single charge. In the past few months, I’ve averaged approximately 6.75 hours of listening time. Apple promises up to 5 hours of listening time on AirPods Pro with ANC and transparency mode off, or 4.5 hours with ANC on. I regularly get almost 4.5 hours on ANC activated on a single charge.
Then there’s extra juice in the cases too: 24 hours of total listening time for the AirPods Pro and 28 hours for the Elite 75t.
Are the AirPods Pro or Jabra Elite 75t the best wireless headphones?
That really depends on how you use your headphones. Are you a music lover or multitasking? To listen to music, I always go for the Jabra Elite 75t. If I want to spend the day skipping between calls and listening to some music, I’d go for the AirPods Pro.
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Apple AirPods Pro or Jabra Elite 75t? The best wireless headphones
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