Jabra adds ANC to its Elite 75t, Elite Active 75t earbuds for free

By Simon Cohen September 22, 2020

In what is surely one of the rarest occurrences in tech, Jabra announced a massive free upgrade to its existing Elite 75t and Elite Active 75t true wireless earbuds: Both models will receive active noise cancellation (ANC) via a firmware update starting in mid-October for free.

The news follows on the heels of Jabra’s debut of its Elite 85t, the first true wireless earbuds the company has released with ANC baked in as a standard feature. Between the Elite 85t and today’s surprise announcement that 75t models will also receive ANC, Jabra’s ANC earbud lineup has gone from zero to three overnight.

The update will be delivered via the Jabra Sound+ app to all owners of Jabra Elite 75t and Elite Active 75t earbuds in mid-October — the same timeframe in which Jabra will add the feature to all new purchases of these models. It will enable Jabra’s standard ANC solution, which applies to music and media playback.

Jabra elite 75t true wireless headphones — Rich Shibley/Digital Trends

The key to the upgrade — and why we probably won’t see other companies offering the same upgrade to their non-ANC true wireless earbuds — is the hardware and software that these two models already have onboard, specifically their Qualcomm chips and digital audio processor.

The Elite 75t and Elite Active 75t use their external microphones to offer Jabra’s HearThrough mode, which pipes external sounds into your ears when you need it. These same mics will be used for ANC, too.

Turning ANC on will have an impact on battery life, but curiously, the Elite 75t models will end up with the same or better battery performance as the new Elite 85t: 5.5 hours on a single charge (24 hours in total with charging case) when ANC is on, and the normal 7.5 hours and 28 hours in total with ANC off.

Digital Trends considers both Elite 75t models to be two of the best true wireless earbuds you can buy, and with the addition of ANC, they may also join our list of the best noise-canceling earbuds. But we’re not going to assume anything: As soon as we get a chance to try it out on both models, we’ll update our reviews.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics

Contributing Editor, A/V

Simon Cohen covers a variety of consumer technologies, but has a special interest in audio and video products, like…

Audio / Video

1More’s PistonBuds Pro deliver hybrid ANC for $70

1more pistonbuds pro noise canceling wireless earbuds 1

Manufacturer 1More has a new set of wireless earbuds that further reduce the cost of active noise cancellation (ANC). The $70 PistonBuds Pro, which come in white and black color options, are available right now on Amazon.com.

Like the original $50 PistonBuds, the PistonBuds Pro are very small. They're not quite as small as the recently released 1More ComfoBuds Mini, which are the smallest ANC earbuds you can buy, but the PistonBuds Pro are almost identical in size to the tiny $150 Beats Studio Buds. The PistonBuds Pro have moved away from the stem-based design of the PistonBuds, which should help those with larger ears get a secure fit, as the PistonBuds' stems tended to stop the earbuds from being more deeply inserted.

Audio / Video

1More’s $99 ComfoBuds Mini may be the smallest ANC earbuds

Hands seen holding 1More ComfoBuds Mini wireless earbuds.

With the $99 ComfoBuds Mini, 1More has added another product to its ComfoBuds line of wireless earbuds that also includes that ComfoBuds and ComfoBuds Pro. This time, the company is claiming a world's first -- the ComfoBuds Mini are apparently the smallest earbuds you can buy that feature active noise cancellation (ANC). They're available starting March 15 in black and sand colors at 1More's website and various retailers.

When you look at photos of the tiny earbuds nestled in their egg-like oval charging case they're reminiscent of Google Pixel Buds and Pixel Buds A-Series, but the ComfoBuds Mini are considerably smaller and lighter at just 3.7 grams each (the Pixel Buds each weigh 5 grams). Plenty of folks would like to use wireless earbuds, but if you have really small ears, you've probably encountered difficulties getting a comfy and secure fit. These new ComfoBuds might be the answer.

Audio / Video

Jabra Elite 7 Pro vs. Jabra Elite 85t

Jabra Elite 7 Pro seen next to Jabra Elite 85t and Elite 75t.

Jabra reigns high and mighty when it comes to the world of noise-canceling earbuds, and for plenty of good reasons. The company's earbuds are snug and comfortable, they sound excellent for both listening to music and making phone calls, they're easy to set up and pair with your favorite devices, and the controls are completely customizable.

The Jabra Elite 85t are one of the brand's premier models, offering some of the most advanced features and the inclusion of a fully-hybrid noise-cancellation system. Building on many of the big wins of the 85t, Jabra introduced the Elite 7 Pro. Touting a smaller and lighter design with bone conduction mics for the best in voice pickup abilities, the Elite 7 Pro are another great offering from Jabra.