Jabra Elite 85t review

To see how this translate in reality, we put the earbuds to the test in our Jabra Elite 85t review. Rated out of five, the earbuds are tested against five categories that are made up of design, features, sound quality, set-up and value for money.

And we were not disappointed. Find out why we think the Jabra Elite 85t are some of the best true wireless earbuds you can buy right now and how they earned their five-star rating.

Want to see how the Jabra Elite 85t compare? Read our JBL Reflect Mini NC review and Cambridge Audio Melomania 1+ review. For a run-down of less costly options, you can head to our best budget wireless earbuds article.

Jump to:

• Jabra Elite 85t review: summary
• What are Jabra Elite 85t?
• How much are Jabra Elite 85t?
• Design
• Features
• Sound quality
• Jabra Elite 85t set-up
• Difference between Jabra Elite 75t and Jabra Elite 85t
• Our verdict
• Where to buy

Jabra Elite 85t review: summary

The Jabra Elite 85t are a brilliant pair of true wireless earbuds. If you're looking for a pair of everyday earbuds, they tick all the boxes. They're packed with well-executed features like built-in Alexa and IPX4-rated water resistance and have superb sound quality. Unlike most ANC wireless earbuds, they're also extremely comfortable. We easily wore them for a full workday, which allows you to make the most of the battery life. At £219.99, they are on the more premium end, but the Jabra Elite 85t contain every feature you could want from wireless earbuds, and they're delivered to a fantastic standard.

Price: The Jabra Elite 85t cost £219.99 and are available from Jabra, Amazon, John Lewis and Very.

Key features:

• Active Noise Cancellation
• IPX4-rated water resistance
• Customisable EQ settings
• Built-in Alexa (work with Google Assistant and Siri, too)
• Up to 31 hours of battery life

Pros:

• Great sound quality
• ANC works well
• Comfortable and secure fit
• IPX4-rated water resistance
• User-friendly app

Cons:

• Left earbud doesn't work on its own

What are Jabra Elite 85t?

Released in November last year, the Jabra Elite 85t are the brand's true wireless earbuds. At £219.99, they're also some of the more expensive made by Jabra and are over £40 more expensive than their predecessors, the Jabra Elite 75t. However, for that price, you do get more comprehensive Active Noise Cancellation, IPX4-rated water resistance, voice control via built-in Alexa and a battery life of up to 31 hours.

What do Jabra Elite 85t do?

Put simply; the Jabra Elite 85t do everything you would expect true wireless earbuds to do. They're jam-packed with features. These include:

• Active Noise Cancellation
• IPX4-rated water resistance
• Customisable EQ settings
• Built-in Alexa (work with Google Assistant and Siri, too)
• Up to 31 hours of battery life

How much are Jabra Elite 85t?

The Jabra Elite 85t cost £219.99 and are available from Jabra, Amazon, John Lewis and Very.

Are Jabra Elite 85t good value for money?

Despite the £219.99 price tag, we still think the Jabra Elite 85t offer good value for money. While they're similarly priced to that of the Apple AirPods Pro, the Jabra earbuds offer more comprehensive ANC and a more customisable listening experience. With the Jabra Sound+ app, the severity of the ANC can be altered, the EQ settings personalised, and there are various pre-set audio modes, including for speech and bass boost. Along with features such as IPX4-rated water resistance and voice control via Alexa, Google Assistant or Siri, the Jabra Elite 85t offer a lot for their price.

Jabra Elite 85t design

Unlike most wireless earbuds, the Jabra Elite 85t have physical buttons rather than touch controls. We enjoyed using them and actually found that we were less likely to accidentally knock the controls when adjusting the earbuds. With the buttons, you are able to play and pause music, answer calls, switch between ANC modes and activate the voice control. The controls are easy to learn and intuitive to use.

However, the stand-out design feature is how comfortable the earbuds are. Most ANC wireless earbuds have this pressured feeling that comes from a combination of a snug fit and the ANC technology. The Jabra Elite 85t don't have this at all. Thanks to pressure relief vents built into the earbuds, the earbuds are incredibly comfortable and can easily be worn a full workday. They also don't have any stabiliser arcs that some find uncomfortable.

This comfortable fit doesn't mean that the earbuds aren't secure. Jabra boasts that it has scanned 62,000 ears to get the perfect, compact design, and it seems to have worked out pretty well. The earbuds didn't budge during a yoga session or on a run and needed very little adjustment.

• Style: The Jabra Elite 85t are available in five colourways; titanium black, black, copper black, grey and gold beige. The charging case comes in a matching colour with the brand's logo embossed on the front.
• Robustness: Both the earbuds and case have a matte finish that doesn't mark easily. Both feel well-made and can handle minor knocks from being thrown into your bag, for example.
• Size: The Jabra Elite 85t are marginally chunkier than the Jabra Elite 75t. This does mean the earbuds stick out slightly from your ears, although the case is still slender enough to slide easily into a pocket.

Jabra Elite 85t features

Jabra has filled these earbuds to the brim with features. With an IPX4 rating for water resistance, the Jabra Elite 85t are protected from water splashes at any angle. What that means in real-life context is that you're safe to wear them for a sweaty workout, and you don't have to worry if you get caught out in the rain.

Along with having physical buttons, the earbuds can also be controlled via voice commands. Alexa is built-in, but the earbuds will work with Google Assistant and Siri, too. Beyond using the voice control to play and pause music, the voice assistants can be used to answer queries, give traffic and news updates or set timers. We tested out the earbuds with Alexa and Google Assistant and found both to be extremely responsive and accurate.

The battery life of the Jabra Elite 85t is one of the more average features of the earbuds. The earbuds last up to seven hours on a single charge, although this drops to about five and a half with ANC switched on. The charging case can also provide an additional 24 hours of battery life. What is a redeeming feature when it comes to charging is that 15 minutes of charge will give you an hour of juice. There is also the option of wireless charging, but a wireless charger is not included as default. To go from zero to 100%, it will take just under three hours.

An added bonus to the Jabra Elite 85t is that they can be connected to two devices simultaneously if you want to listen with a friend or with up to eight devices separately. This should give you enough freedom to use the earbuds with all your various devices.

Jabra Elite 85t sound quality

The Jabra Elite 85t come with Active Noise Cancellation that works well to keep distracting background noise to a minimum. What is pretty unique to Jabra is that the ANC is adjustable with 11 levels of noise cancellation so that you can find the right balance for you. There is also a HearThrough mode for when you want to hear what's going on around you, and ANC can be switched off completely. This can be controlled via the Jabra Sound+ app or with a tap on the left earbud.

Working alongside the ANC, the earbuds have six microphones built-in to reduce wind noise and improve call clarity. Again, this works well. We found in calls that both sides of the conversation could be heard clearly, and the controls make it easy to answer and end calls without reaching for the phone.

The Jabra Sound+ app is also where you'll find the customisable EQ settings and various pre-set modes, including for speech and bass boost. There are also focus and commute modes that will automatically switch on ANC. The bass boost mode made a noticeable difference to our music, and we found ourselves gravitating towards the focus mode whenever we needed a few quiet hours to get work done.

Jabra Elite 85t set-up: how easy are they to use?

As with most true wireless earbuds, setting up the Jabra Elite 85t is relatively painless. After downloading the Jabra Sound+ app, you are prompted through the process via the app. This simply includes turning on the Bluetooth settings and removing the earbuds from the case. We had no connection issues and the earbuds paired first time.

The app is by far the easiest way to manage the settings and gives you a breakdown of the battery life for both earbuds and the case. There are also a number of other handy features in the app, including MyFit and Find My Earphones. The former runs a quick programme to determine if the silicone tips on the earbuds are the correct size for your ears. There are three sizes of silicone tips to choose from, and it is a good way to ensure that your earbuds feel secure and you get the best listening experience possible.

The 'Find My Earphones' feature is fairly self-explanatory. The app will tell you the last place you connected the earbuds to that device to help you locate them. It's not really going to help you find them in your own home, but it might at least reassure you of where you last had them.

What is the difference between Jabra Elite 75t and Jabra Elite 85t?

While the Jabra Elite 85t are the brand's newest true wireless earbuds, they aren't the only option. A few years old now, the Jabra Elite 75t offer brilliant value, but there are a couple of differences to be aware of.

First, the price. The new Jabra Elite 85t are a little more expensive at £219.99, while the Elite 75t originally retailed at a more affordable £149.99. Part of this price difference is that the Jabra Elite 85t have more comprehensive Active Noise Cancellation. While the Jabra Elite 75t were given ANC in an update, they originally only had passive noise cancellation.

The ANC of the Elite 85t can be adjusted to find the right balance for you and your environment and does a better job at keeping out distracting background noise. Both earbuds also have HearThrough for when you need to hear your surroundings and various pre-set modes for commuting and 'focus' when you're working. For both, this is controlled via the Jabra Sound+ app.

One other difference to note is the size. While the overall design remains largely the same, the Jabra Elite 85t are a little chunkier. Both the charging case and earbuds are a little bigger, although it is only a marginal difference. However, it does mean the Elite 85t do stick out of your ears a little more, and that might not suit everyone.

Both earbuds are extremely comfortable, though, and have a secure fit that won't budge on a run.

For a more comprehensive breakdown of the Elite 75t's pros and cons, read our Jabra Elite 75t review.

Our verdict: should you buy Jabra Elite 85t?

The Jabra Elite 85t are a brilliant pair of true wireless earbuds. If you're looking for a pair of everyday earbuds, they tick all the boxes. Not only do they offer all the key features you could want from true wireless earbuds - decent battery life, water resistance, ANC - but the sound quality is great, too. The fit is secure, so they stay in place during a workout, and comfortable. This is helped by the pressure relief vents that stop that 'plugged up' feeling ANC earbuds often have and allows you to make the most of the seven-hour battery life.

This, combined with Alexa built-in and user-friendly app, makes the Jabra Elite 85t hard to fault. If we did have to pick out something, it would be that we wished that you could use the left earbud on its own, but it's hardly a major flaw. The Jabra Elite 85t are some of the best ANC earbuds you can buy right now.

Rating:

Some categories (sound quality and features) are weighted more heavily.

Design: 5/5

Features: 5/5

Sound quality: 5/5

Set-up: 5/5

Value for money: 5/5

Overall rating: 5/5

Where to buy Jabra Elite 85t

The Jabra Elite 85t cost £219.99 and are available from Jabra, Amazon, John Lewis and Very.

• £219.99 at Jabra
• £189 at Amazon
• £219 at Very
• £219 at John Lewis
• £219 at Currys

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