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The Best Noise-Canceling Earbuds for Android
Galaxy Buds Pro vs Jabra Elite 85t
True wireless earbuds have come a long way in a short amount of time. As someone who loudly rejected the mobile phone trend of jettisoning the 3.5mm headphone jack, I’ve come to appreciate and in many ways prefer Bluetooth wireless earbuds like the Jabra Elite 75t when comfort and all around performance are my top priorities. Some wireless earphones like the Sennheiser True Wireless 2 even satisfy perhaps the most important metric to an audiophile, sound fidelity. Some simply offer incredibly useful features like hands-free Assistant on the Pixel Buds, which I find indispensable for fast-forwarding through podcasts while I’m on a run.
After recently enjoying time with the new Jabra Elite 85t earbuds and Samsung’s new Galaxy Buds Pro, I was struck by a number of feature similarities along with some key differences in design and price. Both are solid choices for most people, with some distinct differences that set them apart from each other.
The design of the Jabra Elite 85t is, at this point, rather predictable considering it looks nearly the same as it has since the Jabra Elite 65t three years ago. Some might be put off by the metallic brushed metal esthetic and rigid edges but I tend to overlook those qualities because the fit is so spot-on. The earbud itself is only slightly larger than last year’s model but that doesn’t affect in-ear comfort in my experience. In fact, the Elite 85ts are as comfortable as ever even if they do protrude slightly more than before. The silicone eartips have been redesigned into an oval shape that feels more natural to me and allowed for a nice seal from the outside world. I wore them while jogging and working out in our gym and though they are only IPX4 rated, they handled my sweat just fine, though they might not be the best choice if running in the rain is your bag.
The Galaxy Buds Pro has a somewhat sleeker design by comparison looking a bit less like a piece of cold technology in my ears. Samsung struck a nice balance between last year’s bean-like Galaxy Buds Live and the Galaxy Buds Pro that came before them. The…