5 things I wish I'd known before I bought Jabra Elite 85h wireless headphones

For anyone who loves listening to music, finding the best headphones or best wireless headphones is important – and hard, given there are so many fantastic options. 

Sony and Bose are long-running favourites, innovating on popular headphones every year, and Apple recently entered the ring with the AirPods Max. But one company that is often overlooked is Jabra. 

The Jabra Elite 85h might not be the fanciest looking headphones but for the price, they are absolutely worth a look, packing in noise cancelling, days of battery life (and fast charging), and much more.

While the Sony WH-1000XM5 are widely regarded as the best wireless headphones out there, especially if you don't want to splash on a pair of the Bose 700, Jabra's Elite 85h pack a serious punch. 

Let's take a look at five things to know before buying.

1. Fast charging? No problem for the Jabra Elite 85h

We've all been there: You're about to leave the house and your headphones are nearly dead (or worse, completely dead). Most people would need to accept a music-less day, but not Jabra Elite 85h owners.

Jabra has included the ability to fast-charge the 85h, rapidly filling the battery up to 50% in just 15 minutes. It's a really useful feature and has saved me from boring (and noisy) train rides on a several occasions.

In terms of general battery life, the 85h are no slouch, either, offering 36 hours with active noise cancellation (ANC) and 41 hours without.

2. The Jabra Elite 85h design could be fancier 

Compared to the sleek Bose 700, the Elite 85h aren't the fanciest-looking headphones ever. Whether that matters or not is down to personal preference, of course, and the sound quality makes up for it. 

But it's something to keep in mind, especially if you're looking for a fashion accessory-slash-headphones, like the AirPods Max. 

I personally don't mind the design and the 85h are really comfortable to wear for long periods of time, but it's something to consider before buying. 

3. Jabra's app makes customising the 85h easy

Jabra offers a huge amount of control over different settings on its products, all available via its excellent app. EQ, noise cancelling, and many other features can be turned on/off and fine-tuned. 

The company also includes some relaxing pre-set sounds, such as waves lapping on a shore, all of which are available for free to owners. 

It's a really nice touch and something that other manufactures might learn from. 

4. Jabra Elite 85h work with all assistants 

One of the best things about Jabra's headphones is that they're totally platform-agnostic, without a hint of favour towards iOS or Android. 

Most obviously, this is useful for voice assistants. The 85h come with Alexa built-in – so die-hard Amazon users are sorted – but also works perfectly with Siri and Google Assistant, all at the press of a button. 

The eight-mic array in the 85h also does the job, picking up my voice even in noisy environments, such as a cafe. 

5. Wait for a good deal 

With Black Friday just around the corner and another Amazon Prime Day to come this year, waiting to buy electronics is an art form – and we recommend patience. 

Jabra often introduces some pretty big discounts on its products during holiday festivals and we doubt that the Black Friday and Cyber Monday bonanza is going to be any different.

The 85h are currently on sale for around £179, down from their £279.99 RRP, but we could easily see another few tens of pounds getting cut for a limited time only.

If you're in the market for some new headphones, or any other tech, waiting for Black Friday is usually a pretty good call.

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