Jabra Elite Active 75t Review: The Best Companion For Exercise, By Far

Written by Cheryl Tan

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I was quite impressed by Jabra’s Elite 75t true wireless earphone when they launched earlier this year, and said as much in my review. The version with better water resistance and a rubber coating, the Elite Active 75t, is now out, so is it better than the original, and should you buy this instead?

I have to preface this review by saying that I encountered some connection issues with the Elite 75t review unit I was sent. Jabra tested it after I returned the set and concluded that there was an issue with the left earbud, which was consistent with what I experienced. I paid particular attention to this with the new Elite Active 75t unit and didn’t find any connection issues, so that’s a plus.

With that out of the way, let’s move on. The design is exactly the same as the original Elite 75t, but the most obvious change is the tactile feel of the product. The Elite 75t had a slick, plastic feel to the case and earbuds, while the Elite Active 75t has a rubber coating on both the case and earbuds.

It definitely helps the case to feel a bit softer and more satin-like to the touch, which is much nicer to touch than the Elite 75t. It also helps the case to retain a matte texture, not showing much fingerprints or scratches.

The earbuds have a similar feel and look while staying in the ear just as securely as the original. In fact, thanks to the rubber coating, they are even more secure in the ear when perspiring. Sweat made the original Elite 75t a little slick, and I was a bit worried the earbuds would drop out when exercising. No worries at all with these.

There’s also no need to baby these earbuds since they have IP57 dust and water protection, meaning even if it starts raining heavily while you’re outdoors and exercising with them in the future, they will be a-okay.

Since safe distancing measures are in place, my sparse exercise sessions are all confined to the house now, and I’ve been using Ring Fit Adventure for a while. For the uninitiated, this is a Nintendo Switch game that requires you to jog on the spot while performing exercise reps like overhead presses, squats, crunches, yoga poses and more with a resistance ring controller.

It might not sound like much, but it requires one to constantly be moving different parts of their body and it’s a great test to see whether the Jabra Elite Active 75t stay in the ear despite sweat and motion.

And it does. Not only did the earbuds stay put throughout the gruelling 45-minute workout, but they also maintained a great seal that ensured I couldn’t hear anything outside of my music. It’s a double win because I also used the earbuds for work calls with my colleagues and wasn’t distracted by my siblings running around the house or watching TV at loud volumes.

Mic quality is pretty good, as expected of something from Jabra. My voice went across clearly and there were no dropouts or crackling. As mentioned above, Bluetooth 5.0 meant connection was excellent as well.

The battery life is the same as the Elite 75t, with 7.5 hours in the earbuds and a total of 28 hours with the case.

Honestly, the Jabra Elite Active 75t isn’t that much different from the Elite 75t, but the little details, like how the texture feels better in the hand, make it the winner for me. Everything else is also a win for me, from the price-to-performance ratio to the sound quality and design.

More information and purchase options for the Jabra Elite Active 75t (S$318) is available at Jabra’s website.