- JBL Endurance Zone will hit shelves in July
- The buds feature PulseDry to dry themselves off after a dunking (IP68 rated)
- They will arrive in five different colorways
JBL just unveiled its ‘first ever’ open earbuds like the disappointing 2022-issue Tune Flex never existed. And I get it – I imagine JBL sort of wishes that its dual fit, choose-between-open-ear-or-closed-fit budget offering hadn’t made it to market.
To give the usually excellent US audio specialist its flowers (after all, the company makes some of the best Bluetooth speakers we’ve ever tested – and I adored the JBL Live Pro 2 and more recent JBL Live Beam 3 earbuds), JBL Endurance Zone are the company’s first dedicated sports-specific open earbuds.
I’m talking about the shell shape with a driver housing at one end of their ergonomic curve (that hovers over your concha but leaves your ear canal alone) and a battery pack at the other (that slips behind your ear, close to the lobe).
So, Endurance Zone is the first effort from JBL that adopt the now-ubiquitous design adopted by most – though not all – of the best open earbuds we’ve tested to date. And this is a great decision, because according to rival firm Huawei back in February, open ear headphones were the fastest growing product in the audio industry, with a 600% growth rate from last year to this.
What else is new? Let’s dig in…
How is JBL going to take you to the Endurance Zone?
Gonna take you right into… the Endurance Zone (and thank you forever, Kenny Loggins). The Endurance Zone features JBL’s new ‘OpenSound’ technology, boasting “punchy, dynamic sound while keeping you aware of your surroundings”.
There’s also commendable IP68 protection against sweat, rain, or dust (so they can actually be immersed in water up to 1.5 meters deep for up to 30 minutes and survive), plus JBL’s Adaptive Bass Boost to automatically adjust the low end depending on your music’s volume for precise tuning. A potentially great addition, because in open-fit designs such as these, bass clout is often the first audio casualty.
Just finished an intense workout? JBL actually suggests rinsing JBL Endurance Zone so they’re ready for another day, and you can activate JBL PulseDry in the JBL Headphones App to clear any remaining moisture – yep, they’ll even dry themselves off!
Aside from this USP, their 32 combined hours of battery (8 in the earbuds and 24 hours in the case) is good, easily equal to some of the best earbuds currently on the market. Running out of juice ahead of a morning 10k? Fast charging gives you three extra hours of listening from a 10-minute charge.
JBL Endurance Zone will be available from July, for £119.99 (which is around $163 or AU$250, although those prices are guesses) in your choice of Black/Gray, Black/Lime, Purple/Grape, Blue/White and White/Orange – as you can see from the main image here, I like the purple pair. And I cannot wait to give them a whirl.
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becky.scarrott@futurenet.com (Becky Scarrott)
