Jabra Elite 85t ANC earbuds revealed while 75t owners have a treat coming

Jabra today announced the Elite 85t earbuds. A follow up to the 75t, the Elite 85t use Jabra's advanced active noise cancelling, which is pitched as a step up from standard noise cancelling as it apparently allows for ANC that's more flexible. Speaking of the Elite 75t, those are getting some love today as well, as Jabra has announced an OTA update for those earbuds that will enable standard ANC.

As far as the Elite 85t are concerned, Jabra says that these new earbuds are "some of the smallest earbuds that offer premium ANC," in its announcement today. Not only do the earbuds have a dedicated ANC chip built-in, but they also feature six microphones in total – three per earbud. Those microphones will help with call clarity, but four of them will also assist with advanced active noise canceling.

Users can adjust the level of noise canceling they want, from full ANC to full HearThrough, but this isn't a simple toggle that makes you choose between full ANC or none at all. Instead, Jabra says that users will be able to balance ANC levels to only block out some environmental noise while still letting it through to some degree.

Beyond active noise canceling, Jabra says that the Elite 85t are built with a semi-open design and oval-shaped ear gels that keep the earbuds from sitting too deeply in the ear. The earbuds are built with 12mm speakers, are IPX4-rated against water splashes, and are compatible with Alexa, Siri, and Google Assistant. Jabra also says that the battery in the Elite 85t can last up 5.5 hours with ANC on, which jumps up to 7 hours with ANC off (they also come with a Qi-certified charging case that extends battery life further).

The Jabra Elite 75t are also being updated to support standard (not advanced) ANC. Existing owners will get this new functionality by way of an over-the-air update, while it'll be a standard feature in new Elite 75t units from October 2020 onward. The Elite 85t will be launching at select retailers in a Titanium/Black color scheme in November 2020, with Gold/Beige, Copper/Black, Black, and Gray color options arriving in January 2021. Regardless of the color you choose, a pair of Elite 85t earbuds will set you back $229.