Truly wireless earbuds (TWS) might be very popular, but almost all of them suffer from the same weakness: while they are incredibly convenient to use, they almost always fall out. While this is not too much of a problem if one is wearing them indoors, say in an office, a cafe or even in one’s own residence, this “fall”ability becomes a real issue when one is on the move. There have been multiple occasions when our TWS have fallen out of our ears while we have been running, and we have lost count of the number of times they have popped out of our ears during our workout sessions, and have either been lost or stepped on accidentally. One can attach clips, hooks or bands to the TWS to prevent this, but these become additional things to carry and get either forgotten or lost in turn.
An affordable pair of earbuds with unique looks. (Express Photo)
Which is why a number of brands are coming out with buds that have earhooks attached to them, making them more convenient for those who wear the buds on the move. Of course, the problem, as with most audio matters, is that one needs to spend a fair bit (generally more than Rs 6,000) to get good TWS with earclips. There are lower-priced options available, too, but these come with major audio compromises, especially in terms of audio quality. One of the best value for money options in this segment is the JLab Go Air Sport, which were launched at a price in the vicinity of Rs 4000, but are now available for as low as Rs 1799 from various retailers such as Amazon and Flipkart.
Light, solidly built with an eye-catching yellow shade
The JLab Go Air Sport come in three shades – black, a slightly off-white sand and a very eye-catching yellow. While we can see many folks preferring the black option, those who want to make heads turn should go for the yellow, which is almost like a fluorescent light green. Some might think them a little too bright, but we found them delightfully colourful in a segment that seems to revel in blacks, greys and whites. The buds themselves have an in-ear design and come with flexible ear hooks. You get three eartip options in the package, with the medium-sized ones already fixed on the buds. Even with the earhooks, the buds are remarkably light at just 6.2 grams each, and thanks to the flexibility of the hooks are very easy to wear, and can be comfortably worn for long periods of time. They come with IP55 certification, which means they can easily survive sweat and even mild rain.
The earbuds are sweat-resistant. (Express Photo)
Their case is slightly rectangular with rounded edges, and is large by TWS standards, as the buds themselves are larger than normal TWS (thanks to those hooks). However, it is not too heavy – the case with the buds inside weighs about 60 grams, which makes it easy to carry around. It can fit into large pockets easily, although it might make smaller ones bulge a bit. Interestingly, the case comes with a USB Type A cable tucked into it, so one does not need an additional cable to charge it. This is a bit of a mixed blessing – on the one hand, one does not need to carry a cable, but on the other, the cable attached to the case is rather short and leaves the case dangling in the air while charging from a wall outlet. Still, all said and done, the Jlab Go Air Sport are very smart-looking and comfortable to wear. Connecting them is as simple as taking them out of their case, tapping them and then selecting them in the Bluetooth settings of your phone. They work smoothly with both iOS and Android.
Good, bassy sound, amazing battery life, but calls could have been better
The best part about the JLab Go Air Sport is its sound quality. The buds come with a very bass-forward signature, which provides that extra thump that can push one during workouts but without diluting vocals or compromising on clarity (the treble can be a little sharp at times). The volume levels are very impressive, and the sound does not break up even at high levels. There is a little latency, so we would not recommend these for gaming, but otherwise, these sound very good indeed, whether one is listening to music or podcasts, or watching shows or films. The clarity is impressive, although the soundstage remains narrow. There is no ANC, but the buds fit snugly in the ear and keep out most external sounds, except for the really loud ones. And yes, those hooks ensure that the buds never fall out of your ears. Call quality was, however, middling – we were able to hear those we spoke to very clearly, but those we were speaking to often said that our voice sounded muted, and external sounds often leaked in. These would not be our first choice for conference calls!
Integrated USB-A port makes it easy to keep these charged. (Express Photo)
Rather oddly, the JLab Go Air Sport do not come with its own app (the regular JLab app does not support them!), but has a very effective and comprehensive set of controls. You can even control the volume from the buds – a single tap on the left decreases volume while a single tap on the right increases it. Calling is handled by a single tap to receive a call, while a double tap disconnects a call. Similarly, you can launch Siri or Gemini, switch tracks and even change the equaliser (there are three settings) with just a few taps on the buds. It takes a bit of time to get used to the whole tapping routine, but once you get the hang of it, it works very effectively. We would have liked to have the option to change or customise controls, but this is not possible, which is annoying, but is not a deal breaker at this price. Battery life is another area where the JLab Go Air Sport shine – we got 7-8 hours comfortably on a single charge, and the case added another 30-odd hours. In simple terms, you will be easily able to get through 10-12 days of usage on a single charge, even if you use the buds for 3-4 hours a day. Yes, charging them through that attached cable can be a pain, but you will not need to do so too often.
The JLab Go Air Sport are not perfect. We would have liked better call quality, the option to customise controls and an accompanying app, but even without those features, these are easily the best buds with earhooks you can get at this price, and far ahead in terms of audio quality and comfort from other budget offerings. If you are looking for budget buds that stay in place for those gym and running sessions, even while delivering very decent audio, these are comfortably the best that not too much money can buy!