Jabra has gone a step further and has now packed in a third feature in the Elite 85h. Say hello to ‘SmartSound’. With this, the Elite 85h uses the built-in AI to scene the surroundings and automatically choose the right ANC profile for that particular situation. This feature is said to be real-time, with the AI working continuously in the background, performing the scene analysis and getting the job done, while you enjoy your media.
For example, if the Jabra Elite 85h detects that you are in public transport, it dials up the noise cancellation and lets you immerse yourself in your music rather than facing the humdrum of the crown around you. Alternately, if the headphones detect that you are in a secluded room, it dials down the noise cancellation to save on the battery life. The best of the lot, however, is the ‘In Public’ mode. Here, the headphones let in just enough noise to allow you to be aware of any sirens or announcements around you and it is my favorite feature.
There is a bit of an annoying prompt that you get, every time the Elite 85h changes a mode, but thankfully, you can turn these off in the Sound + app.
To top it all off, we also have the voice assistant integration that fully supports Siri, Google Assistant, and Alexa.
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Performance –
Jabra is a brand that is known to be among the best when it comes to noise cancellation, and the Elite 85h takes this claim to the next level. What I have noticed about the high-end pair of headphones, is that when you put them on, the transition from full surrounding noise, to noise cancellation is abrupt, making you feel a bit unnerved for a few moments, before your ears finally get used to the change. In the Jabra Elite 85h however, the transition is smooth and gives you a very fluid experience rather than the feeling of being dunked underwater.
You will find that the Elite 85h does let in a little noise by default, but it is so low, that once your music starts playing, its 100% canceled out. The wide range of ANC features and the Sound Quality work together like magic and that is exactly why I feel that the Elite 85h is the only true competition to the mighty Bose QuietComfort 35 II headphones.
