Jabra Evolve2 Buds are true wireless earbuds that are designed for hybrid working and supporting on the go needs. Buds are certified for Microsoft Teams, Zoom and Google. In short: Evolve2 buds offer solid sound quality, comfortable fit, a range of features and are certified for Microsoft Teams. I was very impressed about how good these buds are and once again I have found the best ones for time being.
Some of the features of Jabra Evolve2 Buds are:
MultiSensor Voice technology to reduce background noise and transmit your voice clearly. This is a setup of 4 microphones, 2 VPU (bone conduction sensor) and Jabra Algorithms. We have seen something similar with Jabra Elite 7 Pro-buds. In total Evolve2 buds have 6 mics to make your voice to be heard and background and windnoise is reduced.
Evolve2 buds have Active Noise Cancellation (ANC) and they come with 3 sets of silicone EarGels: small, medium and large. Buds have a battery life of 5 hours talk time (8 hours music) with ANC ON and up to total of 33 hours with the charging case. The case has USB-C port for charging and supports fast charge that can give one hour of use time in just 5 minutes. The case is Qi-certified for wireless charging. Buds have IP57 rating, so they can be used both outside and inside.
Jabra Evolve2 buds have a plug-and-play USB adapter (I chose USB-C version) that boosts your connection and makes it more stable. For other connections there is Bluetooth 5.2. and buds can be paired up to 8 devices (2 active simultaneously).
For detailed tech specs, please take a look at Jabra’s product page.
Unpack and set up
The first touch is always the unpacking of the product. Jabra has been always creating a great first touch moment with their product packing. When you open the box and you are greeted with information how to do the setup and what you need to make them up and running. The important part is to remember to install Jabra Direct (on PC) and Jabra Sound+ (mobile app) because these apps are what you use to manage device settings and updates.
For pairing with your PC and Microsoft Teams it could not be easier: just plug in the dongle and you can use Buds when joining meetings and calls. Or just to listening to music. I could pair buds with Bluetooth to my Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio, but I decided that I will be using dongle to get support for all Microsoft Teams features buds offer.
Jabra Evolve2 Buds love Microsoft Teams
Hidden in plain touch “controls you should know” when using with Microsoft Teams. Single press on the right earbud bring Teams to foreground on computer (it is the Teams-button). You can also join Microsoft Teams-call just by pressing the right button once. And if you hold the right button for one second, it works as the Raise Hand in Microsoft Teams meeting. Just like all devices with Teams-button do these days.
That is why you want to use the dongle with your computer to enable these features. And also take away the pain of needing to switch audio devices – when you connect Teams certified device to computer (dongle or wire) it becomes the selected device for Teams calls.
Comparison to Logitech True Wireless Buds
Sorry, Logitech, while True Wireless Buds are awesome and equal in many ways there is couple of things that make Evolve2 Buds better: one is that the charging case has a place for USB-dongle. So it is always with you when you have the case in the coin pocket / pocket. This is truly a winner thing – the dongle is always there. With Logitech the dongle was in the carrying case, but the charging case didn’t have place for the dongle. Yes, this makes the charging case slightly larger but it still fits my jean’s coin pocket so it is still perfect for me.
The other one is that Jabra Buds are smaller in size. Again, this isn’t a huge difference but it matters when you are wearing a beanie or leaning your head to the pillow. For office situation this size difference doesn’t matter. I can very comfortable using Logitech Buds, but they just found their winner on this one. For situations where the charging case is too large (very small pocket) then Logitech True Wireless Buds or Jabra Elite 7 Pro are competing against each other – and then Logitech Buds are Teams (and other collab apps) Certified.
My Experiences
Jabra Evolve2 Buds fit my ears extremely well. I think they fit even better than Elite 7 Pros did, but that might be just in my mind. These fit to my ears, stay in securely and are very comfortable for longer periods of time.
The audio and usability quality is really good – in fact I didn’t have ANY issues with Jabra Evolve2 Buds so far. No breaking connections, no strange hiccups. Nothing. They just work and the use time is very good. In fact 30+ hours with the case is something that let me drop worrying about when I would be running out. That is over a day of constant use. I did set my audio (music) profile for Bass Boost though, because the neutral just doesn’t sound bassy enough.
What did create me a learning curve was the button activities. Since you can have three different actions on each ear (single press, double press, triple press ) and on top sometimes the long press it starts to get interesting to remember which buds have which functions. I used Jabra Direct / Sound+ to custom my controls like I did with Elite Pro 7. This time I found that the right Bud button has more limitations for customization due to Teams certification – Right Bud controls are locked for Teams, ANC/Hear though and to Teams. On left Bud it is possible to select controls for single, double and triple press for music or calls. I used for music the obvious play/pause, next track, previous track and for calls I just repeated the right Bud controls (single: answer, double: reject) to make it possible to react to the call on either Bud.
I don’t have anything negative to say about Jabra Evolve2 Buds when it comes to use, features or fit. These just work and innovations Jabra has done, are really perfect fit for my needs at the moment. Very lightweight, supporting on the go and hybrid work and these work with Microsoft Teams really well from the day one. As I speak, and also do myself all the time, Hybrid Work I have found out that Pro quality Buds have replaced my need to take larger headphones to any travels or on the go situations. I thus save space from the laptop bag big time and also some weight. With Microsoft Teams qualified Buds I can take Teams calls and join meetings about anywhere, without having to worry (much) about the audio quality.
Of course there are limits what these noise cancellations can do to keep my voice clear, especially when using Buds without boom mics. At home I often rather use over-the-ear headsets when I have family home . But if I had to choose one, I have to say at the moment Jabra Evolve2 Buds would be high on my list since these are very versatile and have lots of use cases. Jabra Evolve2 Buds are also IP57 rated, which means I don’t have to worry about them even if I walk in the rain. Thinking Finnish winter, which wasn’t too hard this year, I have no worries taking them outside. The lowest operating temp is stated to be -5C, but since they are in my ears (and under beanie in a cold weather) they are probably always warmer than that. I didn’t have any issues in previous years with any buds I used.
Price-range is roughly $250-$270 USD. This is less than what Logitech True Wireless Buds are slightly more expensive with the price tag of $300. Both Buds are made for business use and wield business level professional features. I was thinking that each year there are big improvements to buds and headsets, and these devices match versatile needs better than ever. Today Jabra Evolve2 Buds are the winner buds, but I expect these will be topped by other model or manufacturer in a year – if not faster. All buds are great, and thus it mostly comes to the personal experiences and how well they fit your years and how they match your needs.
I look forwards on keeping testing these Buds some more, I have more travels upcoming during this spring and that calls for hybrid work scenarios happening all the time. Thank you Jabra for providing me these for testing!
Jabra Evolve2 Buds are true wireless earbuds that are designed for hybrid working and supporting on the go needs.
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