CES 2019: Jabra Elite 85h Wireless Headphones With Active Noise Cancellation Launched

Jabra made a splash at CES 2019 with the launch of new high-end consumer headphones, the Jabra Elite 85h. Jabra's new headphones feature active noise cancellation, wireless connectivity, voice assistant support, and USB Type-C charging, indicating that the company is looking to boost its presence in the premium headphone space and take the current dominance of Bose and Sony. The Jabra Elite 85h is the company's most premium consumer headphone offering yet, and is priced at $299 (approximately Rs. 20,800) to take on similar options such as the Bose QC35II and Sony WH-1000XM3.

The Jabra Elite 85h features wireless connectivity, which uses the widespread Bluetooth standard to connect to compatible smartphones and other devices. Jabra has also included compatibility for voice assistants including Google Assistant, Apple's Siri, and Amazon Alexa. The former two will only work with compatible Android or iOS phones, while the latter will work on both software platforms. Furthermore, the assistants can be triggered by voice, unlike current headphone options that use a button to trigger the function.

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The headset also sports active noise cancellation, along with a new sound adjustment technology known as Smart Sound. This will allow users to customise audio profiles according to three use cases - commute, in public and in private. While you can set levels such as volume, noise cancellation and equalizer settings through a companion app for each of these profiles, the Jabra Elite 85h does not currently allow users to customize what environmental cues trigger specific profiles.

The Jabra Elite 85h headset comes with a USB Type-C port for charging, an IP52 water and dust resistance rating, eight microphones for Smart Sound, active noise cancellation, voice assistant control and hands-free calling, and a claimed 32 hours of battery life under specific usage conditions.

Jabra has also launched the new Jabra Move Style Edition on-ear headphones at CES 2019. The Jabra Move Style Edition will be available this month for $99, and comes in three colours: black, beige and navy blue. The budget on-ear headphones are an updated version of the Jabra Move headphones.