08 Aug
Blog

Eve Spectrum 4K Review: It Exists, and It’s Mighty Good

Eve Spectrum 4K gaming monitor Cyberpunk

Eve Spectrum 4K

RRP $ 799.00

"The excellent design and image quality of Eve Spectrum 4K make the wait well."

advantages

  • Stunning, minimalist design

  • Excellent IPS panel implementation

  • HDMI 2.1 and 100 watt USB-C

  • Razor-sharp 4K image

  • Highly configurable panel settings

  • Sell ​​without a stand to save money

disadvantage

  • Eva has a sketchy story

  • Overwhelming color performance with our sample

The mythical Eve Spectrum is a monitor you may have heard of. It was a fully crowdfunded show that was due out a year ago. But it never did. This left funders very disappointed as they feared they had lost their money to a project that would never come to fruition.

But lo and behold, to my surprise, I now have the test device of the 4K version in front of me.

The Eve Spectrum 4K is essentially everything a lot of gamers could want in a monitor: 4K, IPS, fast at 144 Hz, with HDMI 2.1, DisplayHDR 600, G-Sync / FreeSync, with all the panel optimization settings you can think of The OSD can only dream, a very minimalist design – the list goes on. The design was created in collaboration with the community and many players loved it.

But is the Eve Spectrum 4K good enough to become one of the best gaming monitors out there? Well – and maybe it was worth the wait.

design

The front of the Eve Spectrum 4K with the screen off.Niels Broekhuijsen / Digital Trends

The Eve Spectrum is the most minimalist monitor I've ever seen. In itself it's just a 27-inch panel with very thin bezels and a power LED on the underside. And I'll say it for itself, because the standard $ 799 kit doesn't come with a stand – that will cost you an additional $ 99.

This is something that the community wanted and, in my opinion, a great move. The enthusiast market has a penchant for attaching monitors to wall mounts and monitor arms in the name of cleaner, more minimalist-looking setups, and I'm all for it. Heck, those mounts often cost less than $ 99 or so at this ballpark.

The styling of the Eve Spectrum is nothing more than clean and classy.

However, if you do, I am happy to announce that the booth is for the most part worth the price. It's beautifully machined and painted and feels like a high quality piece of kit. My only complaint? It's so slim you'll see the cables behind it. That, and at its lowest height, is still tall, with the bottom of the display just over 3 inches above the desk.

Otherwise, it has a full range of customizations, including rotating it to portrait. It doesn't pivot, but that doesn't really matter. The stand also has a recess under the foot to pass cables underneath, like your keyboard.

The optional stand attached to the back of the Eve Spectrum 4K.

The boxing and branding of the Eve Spectrum 4K.

Other than that, the design of the Eve Spectrum monitor is very small. The backend only offers the connections and controls in a very clean, rectangular design. There is no aggressive, player-centered styling here – just clean and classy. I've always thought that less was more, and I really like the aesthetics of the Eve Spectrum.

Ports & controls

The side connections on the back of the Eve Spectrum 4K.Niels Broekhuijsen / Digital Trends

The Eve Spectrum I'm reviewing is the 4K model. Since this is a high refresh rate 4K panel, it is expected to include HDMI 2.1 – and it is here: The 4K Eve Spectrum includes a DisplayPort 1.4a input and two HDMI 2.1 ports. This makes it ideal for connection to your PC and two modern consoles, so that they can run in full RGB colors without chroma subsampling and with HDR activated at 4K and 120 Hz.

In addition, the display has a USB-C upstream port, which is ideal for docking the monitor with a single cable connection and display input, access to the USB hub and a power output of up to 100 watts via USB-C offers . It uses the DisplayPort protocol, and the OSD (on-screen display) lets you either prioritize the refresh rate to hit the full 144Hz, but with the USB hub running at USB 2.0 speeds, or the display at 60 Limit Hz, but USB 3.1. reserve bandwidth for the ports.

With HDMI 2.1 and USB-C with 100 W power, the Eve Spectrum offers the best connection options in the gaming monitor class

The only catch is that there's no ethernet port, so it's not a full-fledged hub. But chances are you're only using the USB-C docking feature for a second laptop besides your desktop anyway.

The USB hub itself has two USB-A and one USB-C ports, all of which run at USB 3.1 Gen 2 speeds for up to 10 Gbit / s bandwidth.

The display is powered by an external brick, but the power cord is on the short end. This means that especially if you mount the monitor on an arm and want to keep the cabling tidy, you want to have a cable tray under your desk that you can slide it into, as it won't dangle all the way to the floor without it.

The controls and connections on the back of the Eve Spectrum 4K.

On the back there are controls for the monitor, which consist of a direction switch and an on / off button. Pressing the switch takes you to the OSD of the display, which is one of the most extensive OSDs I have come across on a gaming monitor. Of course, you'll find the usual range of connectivity, system, color, and overdrive settings, but the Eve Spectrum has a few more tricks up its sleeve.

For gamers, Eve offers a cheating crosshair, an FPS counter, a low latency mode, adaptive sync settings, response time settings and strobing modes for the backlight. Of course, backlight strobing won't work with Adaptive-Sync enabled, but that's to be expected.

In the meantime, the OSD also includes settings to customize the behavior and colors of the Power LED with full RGB support. If you don't like the white light, just change it according to the colors of your setup. Isn't that neat?

However, there is one strange thing about the OSD: it's blurry. This is a 4K monitor, but the OSD is not very nicely designed, nor is it programmed to have the same sharp resolution as the display. But it's an OSD, and it's well-equipped, so do you really care that it doesn't look nice? It's also a bit slow to adjust values, and I would prefer to have a brightness adjustment option that doesn't require me to dig deep into the menu for quick changes. But unfortunately.

picture quality

Testing the Eve Spectrum 4K Monitor with a Spyder Colorimeter.Niels Broekhuijsen / Digital Trends

The Eve Spectrum is based on the same panel as the LG 27GN950 that we tested last year and that was very good indeed. With that, the Eve Spectrum is off to a good start, and while the specs aren't all that different, Eve throws a factory calibration into the mix that claims a typical Delta-E (color difference from real) of 0.59, especially on our device in his attached report indicates a Delta-E of 0.5. As a reference, any number below 2.0 is considered good enough for professional editing, so I was anxious to double-check those numbers.

But there's more to it than just color accuracy. The IPS panel offers a resolution of 4K (3840 x 2160) for razor-sharp images, has an advertised static contrast ratio of 1000: 1, as is expected from IPS panels, and can display up to 1.07 billion colors since it a 10. is bit (8 bit + FRC) panel.

I was disappointed when testing the display's color performance. Brightness and contrast tests were great and delivered a good 500 nits of brightness at 100% and achieved the promised contrast ratio of 1000: 1 perfectly, but the panel did not come close to the promised color performance.

Coverage of the DCI-P3 space was limited to 95% instead of the promised 98%, which is acceptable, but gamma was 2.3 instead of 2.2, the white point was 7100K instead of 6500K, but worst of all was the color accuracy Reading I received a Delta-E of 2.31, which is outside the acceptable norm for professional color grading and, according to the accompanying report, is far from the promised value of 0.5. Normally I would reduce this to differences in the test equipment, but with such a large discrepancy I can hardly believe that this calibration was even performed.

And let's face it, a typical Delta-E across all of its tests of 0.59 is too good to be true anyway. The only monitor I've ever achieved this with is Acer's ConceptD CM2, which isn't a gaming monitor at all, despite the fact that LG's 27GN950 was terribly close. Nevertheless, our Spyder X Elite calibrated the display to acceptable standards within a few moments, refined the white point, the gamma performance and corrected the colors to a Delta-E of 1.46.

Browse the web on the Eve Spectrum 4K gaming monitor.Niels Broekhuijsen / Digital Trends

That said, it's about more than just synthetic testing, and most players probably don't care that much about perfect color performance anyway. When I tested the LG 27GN950, I found that the left and right sides of the panel fell off in brightness near the edge, making it almost look like a piece of parchment that was still rolled up on each end. To my surprise, the Eve Spectrum showed no such phenomenon, and while it wasn't at all annoying on LG's panel, it looks much higher quality when the same panel is evenly illuminated to the edge.

Additionally, the amount of IPS glow and backlight bleeding from this IPS panel was also minimal – either this device was selected to be sent to me (although Eve claims not to do so on its website), or Eve has a trick his case for the monitor construction, which limits these effects better than LG. I kind of feel like it's the latter, but I don't believe it as I haven't seen any other units. That's not to say there aren't any, the lower left corner shows a little more sheen, but it's very acceptable.

Overall, the Eve Spectrum 4K I tested has one of the best IPS panel implementations I've seen, but I'm a little at a loss as to why I couldn't reproduce the color performance Eve tested. In any case, the performance is more than good enough for most use cases that I wouldn't pass the monitor on just based on the test results I had with my sample.

Playing in the Eve Spectrum

The Eve Spectrum 4K gaming monitor with cyberpunk on the screen.Niels Broekhuijsen / Digital Trends

The most important factor for gaming performance is the fast refresh rate of 144 Hz. 144 Hz is now the norm for gaming monitors, while there are monitors with 360 Hz in the upper range. You don't get that at 4K, of course, where you're limited by overclocking to 160 Hz at the highest end on LG's models with the same panel, and although this overclocking option isn't available on the Eve Spectrum, you can opt for a 240 Hz variant decide by falling on a QHD panel (2560 x 1440). However, other than extremely competitive gaming, I can't see a fall for anything over 144Hz.

But let's forget all of that for a second, turn on adaptive sync, turn on HDR, and start a few games with the graphics sliders all the way up. Here the Eve Spectrum shines in the truest sense of the word.

In HDR games, the Eve Spectrum 4K literally shines.

I didn't think I would like it that much, I thought the smaller 27 "panel would offer a lesser experience than my own 34" ultrawide despite the higher resolution, but boy, I was wrong. Playing at 4K for immersion is tremendous value, especially when playing games that have textures with the required resolution. I've played Mass Effect Legendary Edition, Horizon Zero Dawn, and even started Cyberpunk 2077 because it would be almost criminal not to do it. Long story short, the Eve Spectrum offered a level of resolution that was fun to play on, especially with immersive titles like these that have texture resolution to aid them. Coupled with 600 nits of HDR brightness, I could lose myself in game worlds for hours.

Of course, when it comes to competing titles like Insurgency Sandstorm, the Eve Spectrum 4K isn't lazy either, although it's important to keep in mind that it's a 4K monitor. While I had no problem playing the above story-based titles with higher visual fidelity and relying on Adaptive-Sync to keep things running smoothly, in this competitive online shooter I had to lower the graphics settings to get close the 144 Hz refresh rate to come – budget for a beefy graphics card if you're interested.

Our opinion

If you're looking for a proper 27-inch 4K gaming monitor, the Eve Spectrum is as good as possible. Priced at $ 799 and another $ 99 for the stand, it competes head-to-head with LG's best and offers some additional features, albeit with a bit more risk due to the company's history.

The Eve Spectrum may be well over a year late, but it's certainly not lacking in demand and it's still one of the best, if not the best, 4K gaming monitors money can buy. With HDMI 2.1, DisplayHDR600, 98% coverage of the DCI-P3 color space, a great IPS panel implementation and a mighty tidy design, the Eve Spectrum 4K is a display that many gamers can be itchy about.

Are there alternatives?

The best alternative right now is 27GP950 from LG, which is the successor to the LG 27GN950 that we tested last year. All three are essentially identical monitors based on the same panel, except that LG's new version has HDMI 2.1. The LG panel also does 160Hz overclocking and comes with RGB, and it costs about the same when you include the kickstand.

This makes the Eve Spectrum a tough best seller, but if you're into the minimalist design, want the 100 watt power output, skip the booth, and want the customizability, the Spectrum 4K may have the edge.

How long it will take?

Eve covers the Spectrum with a three-year warranty, including a 14-day DOA period and a pixel policy that states that the display must have no bright pixels and up to five dark pixels before a replacement is guaranteed. That being said, I don't see any reason why the Spectrum 4K shouldn't last at least five years like any monitor should, if properly cared for, do.

Should I buy it?

This is where Eva's reputation can come into play. The weight you place on the company's longevity and ability to deliver will no doubt put some off – and that's fair.

But just because of the quality of this brilliant monitor, the Eve Spectrum is absolutely worth buying.

Editor's recommendations



18 Nov
Blog

Apple iPhone 12 Mini Review: Tiny Yet Mighty Phone

iPhone 12 Mini

"The iPhone 12 Mini is exactly what small phone fans have been waiting for: a full-featured iPhone in a tiny size."

  • Incredibly compact size

  • Great camera quality

  • First class performance

  • Any iPhone 12 function

  • Weak battery life

  • The screen can actually feel tight

The iPhone has not been "small" since the iPhone 8. Although Apple has kept its main models compact compared to major Android competition, your only choice for a really small phone from Apple was to buy or keep an iPhone SE with an older model. Either way, you had to choose between the latest features and capabilities and a phone the size you prefer.

That is no longer the case. Now we have it iPhone 12 Mini.

I'm so excited that Apple chose the $ 700 iPhone 12 Mini because there's no reason why people who want a small phone should be treated like second-class citizens. You should be able to get a fully functional modern iPhone in a size that won't challenge your hand. And with a few caveats expected, we have just that.

The basics: hardware, specifications and functions

Apple's consistency between iPhone models isn't exactly exciting, but when you think about it, it's exactly what you want to see. Considering the iPhone 12 Mini is smaller and cheaper than the base iPhone 12, there has been ample opportunity for Apple to sacrifice – just look at the iPhone SE. But that was not the case. Aside from the fact that the battery and screen shrink, which are obvious changes, the iPhone 12 Mini is identical to the iPhone 12.

iPhone 12 Mini

iPhone 12 Mini

It starts with the design, which translates very well when scaled down to that size. The lack of curves and the focus on sharp edges suits a small phone that tries to be as efficient as possible with space, and Apple's hardware finish is exquisite again. The lineup's bright color options also go well with the playful size – though I loved the completely incognito look of my black phone that was spiced up with a red leather case.

Apple had ample opportunity to sacrifice in the 12 Mini, and it didn't.

It's not typical for a phone of this size (and price) to match the rest of the top-end specs of the iPhone 12 Mini. The A14 Bionic chip in the controller is equally powerful when compared to the other iPhone 12 models, so the performance of the 12 Mini is excellent. You get good speakers, the latest in Ceramic Shield screen glass, IP68 water resistance, top-notch feel, face recognition, and more on the list. Apple will also remind you that this is the smallest phone that doesn't yet have a full 5G implementation with Sub-6 and mmWave, as well as global network band support.

I went through all of the specifics of this platform's features in my full iPhone 12 review. I recommend reading them for a complete picture of what the iPhone 12 series offerings are. After that, you can see here what makes the iPhone 12 Mini special.

A lovely little phone

Unlike modern mini cars, the iPhone 12 Mini is actually small. And it's not just "small" because it's smaller than the iPhone 12, which has now grown to a 6.1-inch screen – it's really small. It's shorter, narrower, and lighter than the iPhone 8 (and the latest iPhone SE) and one of the smallest fully featured modern smartphones.

iPhone 12 MiniAndrew Martonik / Digital Trends

You can't help but feel a sense of nostalgia when you get to the iPhone 12 Mini from another phone. Think back to a time when you could have a phone that was compact and yet was considered state of the art. But after a day with the 12 Mini, I didn't think of its size as something new – I just used it and enjoyed hell.

The iPhone 12 Mini doesn't expect anything from you. It's so light and your hand folds lightly around the sides for a secure grip. It actually makes sense to use your thumb to reach across the screen or up. And gosh, it doesn't just fit in a pocket, it doesn't even stretch the fabric. On several occasions, I kept the iPhone 12 Mini in my coat pocket and forgot it was there. Half an hour later, I caused a moment of panic when I feared I had left it somewhere.

The iPhone 12 Mini doesn't expect anything from you. Still, it's an incredibly powerful phone.

It's very liberating to have a small phone that doesn't feel like a burden to carry and use, but is more than capable of doing everything you need in the day.

iPhone 12 Mini

iPhone 12 Mini

With a 5.4-inch display, the 12 Mini has just enough screen space not to feel cramped. And iOS 14 is identical to a bigger screen on this smaller screen – you get the same icon grid and buttons, but things are just a little bit smaller. Every app works perfectly, and I never felt the need to go into settings and increase the font size or the screen zoom. Basically, when you view your inbox, you're just missing an extra email or reading an article in the browser, missing a few extra lines. Everything is just as lightning fast as it was on the iPhone 12 as I was able to run apps and multitask with no issues. To my surprise, I didn't have any thumb collisions with two-handed typing, but because it's so tight I really enjoyed typing with my finger.

Size comparison: iPhone 12 vs. iPhone 12 Mini vs. iPhone 12 Pro max

iPhone 12 modelsAndrew Martonik / Digital Trends

I admit that the 12 Mini doesn't provide an immersive video viewing experience, nor does the screen give you an expansive viewfinder for taking photos. But it's perfectly functional on both accounts. If you plan on using your phone for a lot of media operations, you probably won't even consider the 12 Mini in the first place.

I know the screen is the same as the iPhone 12, but I swear it won't get quite as bright as the larger phone's screen. There have been a few situations with the 12 Mini out in the sun where I've pulled the Control Center down to increase the screen brightness only to see that it was already set at 100%. Other than these cases, the screen is fantastic: great colors, good viewing angles, low reflectivity, and crisp text.

Battery life

When the rubber hits the road, the only place the iPhone 12 Mini falls short is in the fuel area. On a weekend trip to beautiful Mystic, Connecticut, I spent a lot of time outdoors with 100% screen brightness, taking tons of photos, and leaning on Google Maps while keeping up with my usual messaging and social media apps. And the results … weren't great.

Battery life is the only annoying part about using such a small phone.

On Saturday I took the phone off the charger at 8 a.m. and was discharged to 10% battery by 9 p.m. as we enjoyed a nightcap under a patio heat lamp. That's four hours of screen on, which is respectable, but when the battery is very low it's not to be trusted. Sunday brought more of this with it when the phone went off the charger at 8 a.m. After more than three hours of on-time, the battery was charged with a worrying 40% battery by 1:00 p.m. when I plugged in to use CarPlay to drive home.

iPhone 12 MiniAndrew Martonik / Digital Trends

Apple's cited estimates for video playback paint a rosier picture than reality. It is clear that if I use the iPhone 12 Mini the same way as the 12 or 12 Pro, I am going to exceed the limits of the battery life by the end of the day. On lighter days, with time inside and via WiFi, I got through the day by 20% to 30% – but that's still not a good sign for late evenings or days when I need a hot spot or have to spend a lot Navigate time in Google Maps.

If you get stuck to your phone all the time, this is not the phone for you. However, I don't think this will be a problem for so many people as the philosophy of many who want a small phone is also consistent with the expectation that there is no need to have a phone in hand all the time. Know what you are getting into and be ready to charge it up a little in some situations and you will be fine.

If you want to live connected to your phone, this is not the phone for you.

The advantage of a tiny battery is that it charges very quickly. With a 20 W charger, it accelerates from 0% to 50% in 30 minutes. And because the capacity is so small, it even charges a little quickly from a computer, a charger with a smaller wall thickness, or the MagSafe charger. Even my car's low-power USB port easily drained enough power to add a significant charge when running CarPlay.

Cameras

Perhaps the best thing about the iPhone 12 Mini is that Apple didn't skimp on its cameras in this small case. This was something you had to keep in mind when considering an iPhone SE as a small phone option. The 12-megapixel main camera and 12-megapixel ultrawide camera make a great pair – that's what the $ 999 iPhone 12 Pro does, and all the more so at the price.

Few people expect a camera to be this good on a $ 700 cell phone, but it delivers.

In daylight, you get bright and colorful photos with just enough pop and added warmth to make them feel a little more alive. The sharpness and level of detail are excellent, even with mixed lighting photos that require additional processing. In low light, photos are just as good as long as you can keep your hand steady. The camera relies on long exposures in night mode, but the results are excellent. And if you keep the lights on, the selfie camera is good too.

I'm so familiar with this camera setup that I often forget how impressively it relates to the competition. Anyone who picks up this phone will be amazed at the photos that come out of it. Same goes for video, where you can get crisp 4K 60fps footage with great colors and stabilization. You may choose not to shoot in Dolby Vision HDR due to limited playback compatibility. You can also skip it to save space. My friend Michael Fisher made maximum use of his 128GB Mini the first afternoon after installing apps, recording videos, and syncing iCloud Photos to the phone. You should spend at least an additional $ 50 on the 128GB model as the 64GB base feels very tight.

You won't be missing out on the camera features of the $ 300 iPhone 12 Pro anymore.

On rare occasions, I'd miss the 12 Pro's 2X zoom camera, but otherwise this is a camera setup that is perfectly on par with this phone. Anyone who buys the 12 Mini won't be missing out on the subtle improvements to this third camera and the promise to take RAW photos with a future software update.

Our opinion

The $ 700 iPhone 12 Mini plays in a category of its own: a really small phone with an otherwise first-class experience. It's small enough to be manageable in everyone's hands and pockets, but it has full iPhone 12 features, from the great hardware, to the processing speed, to the camera quality and software experience.

If the annoying decision of choosing between a phone with high-end features or a handgrip phone put you off, this is it iPhone 12 Mini should be your next purchase. But not everyone has such a strong sense of size, and if so, they should look out for the slower battery life and a screen size that after years of getting used to 6-inch displays may feel restrictive.

I absolutely like the size of the iPhone 12 Mini, but I don't think I can make it my main phone. I need more confidence in battery life and that means moving back to the iPhone 12. And as much as I love the size of the 12 Mini, I can handle the Standard 12 without feeling weighed down by its size – that makes it an easy choice to get the medium sized phone.

Are there any better alternatives?

In this size and price range, you really have no other choice. You can get one for literally half the price Google Pixel 4a It's the same size but not a competitor outside of the camera.

Then there are phones that are larger but still handy and comparable in price and options. You can buy these for a $ 100 premium iPhone 12This is a logical choice if you can handle more screen and want longer battery life. The Google Pixel 5 is still relatively compact and costs the same as the 12 Mini – it also has a great camera and streamlined software experience that iPhone owners will be familiar with.

How long it will take?

Because the 12 Mini was built on the same platform as the iPhone 12, it should have a long lifespan. There will be several iOS updates in the future, and the A14 Bionic chip is very powerful to run them. It also has strong water resistance should it take a splash or a dunk. The iPhone 12 Mini will easily last two years, or up to four years if you are tight on your budget.

Should you buy it?

Yes, if you feel disenfranchised by the ever-growing size of smartphones and are longing for a compact model that doesn’t save on functions.

Editor's recommendations




15 Jun
Blog

JLab Go Air Earbuds Review: Small, But Mighty Affordable

JLab Go Air earphones

"The Go Air are a valuable pair of real wireless commuter buds"

  • IP44 waterproof

  • Comfortable design

  • Affordable

  • Short charging cable

  • Mediocre sound quality

Granted, it's a little unusual to rate an audio product that is as conservative as the new JLab earphones. The circumstances have to be just right to justify this. This means that the product must come from a reputable brand that is filled with interesting functions and is in demand.

Allow JLab to tick off all three boxes with the real Go Air wireless earbuds for $ 30. The incredibly affordable buds offer a total lifespan of 20 hours with the included charging case, waterproof IP44 protection and excellent customer reviews on Amazon. Sure these buds are too good to be true, right?

Out of the box

The packaging of the Go Air is as compact as the buds itself and in JLabs standard light blue. The box opens like a book and shows a quick guide to the controls on the inside of the cover and the earphones, which are located on the right under a plastic housing.

JLab Go Air earphonesNick Woodard / Digital Trends

In addition to the buds and casing, JLab throws in two additional pairs of gel pad tips. There is no separate charging cable here, since the housing has its own funny short cable. It's one that doesn't do much else than turn the case into an uncomfortable dongle for the USB port to which it is connected.

There is a pull tab on the charging case, which I have not seen since activating the remote control for my old car stereo. In addition, however, it is easy to connect to Go Air. JLab even provides a five-minute video that will take you through the entire process.

The connection of these buds was a delightful surprise. It is common not to expect much from cheap buds, but I have had no significant dropouts. The weather was a little too bad for extensive testing, but when I used my phone to move around my garden in the house, there was also a solid Bluetooth range.

design

The structure of the Go Air seems to be one of their biggest selling points. In a few words, they are light, small and comfortable.

Nick Woodard / Digital Trends

To give a bit more context, each bud weighs about 5 grams, which is equivalent to the Samsung Galaxy Buds + and is only one gram heavier than the Apple AirPods. At 50 grams, JLab's charging case is significantly bulkier than Apple's 38-gram featherweight, but that's hardly a problem worth holding against the Go Air.

They are available in four different colors: black, white, green and navy blue. My test device was the green, which was not remarkable in terms of aesthetics, but was helpful in preventing dust and dirt from becoming visible.

The included case has an open-air design, meaning there is no lid to protect the buds when you travel with them. The buds themselves are secure inside the case, but the open structure of the case makes me careful if they get worn or damaged in transit.

The Go Air have a design that reminds me of a Google Pixel Buds 2 bargain basket – that is, even though they're a bit bulky, these buds still fit snugly in your ear. I don't think they're completely impermeable to the classic hoodie test, but I appreciate their relative slenderness.

There are no buttons on the Go Air, just touchpads on the JLab logo of each bud – more on that below.

properties

Most of the features built into Go Air aren't stand-alone in themselves, but when you put it all together, the overall picture becomes a bit more impressive, especially for such inexpensive buds.

JLab Go Air earphonesNick Woodard / Digital Trends

Let's start with the battery life, which according to JLab is five hours of playback per charge, with three additional charges included in the Go Air case. According to JLab, you get an hour of playback after 15 minutes of charging. During my tests, I found that JLab's battery statistics are correct.

While these numbers are by no means incredible, they can still lead to much more expensive products like the AirPods (five hours) or Amazon Echo Buds (five hours). Apple offers you a bit more listening time at 24 hours overall, but the Echo Buds, like JLab, type at 20 for around $ 100 more.

The Go Air is waterproof to IP44 and protects the buds from splashing water at every angle. This is important for buds at this price because the Echo Buds have an IPX4 rating and the AirPods have no waterproof rating at all.

The Go Air touch controls are not as intuitive as I would have liked. There were a handful of cases where I touched the buds just to be greeted by them in return. For the most part, however, you can skip or pause tracks, adjust volume, call up a voice assistant, or switch between one of JLab's three EQ modes. They work, but the experience has been inconsistent.

Audio quality

The Achilles' heel of most headphones and earphones in this price range is sound. For some reason, audio companies seemed to have cracked the code for affordable features, but left a lot of room for improvements in audio quality.

JLab-go-air-5Nick Woodard / Digital Trends

Unfortunately, I have to report that the Go Air fits into this mediocre shape. On a positive note, these buds are well suited for easy listening to content such as podcasts or occasional TikTok videos. In addition, they have a usable call quality that made it possible to hear and be heard well enough while braving the windy conditions to take my dogs for a walk. They just lack the clarity and range that can often be found with higher-priced counterparts to be suitable for high-quality music listening sessions. On the other hand, that comes with the area of ​​$ 30 buds.

There are three different EQ settings available that allow you to set the 8mm drivers in the Go Air. With three fingertips on both buds you can switch between the sound modes JLab Signature, Balanced and Bass Boost. I found the JLab Signature mode to be the tastiest, but even this mode lacked the low end and it sounded generally distant. Bass Boost has helped this low end, but the deficit has not been fully addressed. The symmetrical mode has attenuated the entire frequency range, which is not always a bad thing. Unfortunately, if you don't start with great sound at the beginning, flattening the EQ won't magically improve things.

If you can accept that $ 30 earphones with great sound aren't realistic, this can mitigate the sting with the Go Air. You just can't compete with the sound of buds with better components, but the only way that should stop you from considering them is if you somehow expected it.

Our opinion

The JLab Go Air has the features and price tag to be a valuable pair of real wireless commuter buds. Unfortunately, they only lack the sound quality to be your main hearing aid for music.

Are there any better alternatives?

There aren't many buds in the Go Air weight class with such features, but there are options that are worth spending a little more on. The $ 120 Edifier TWS NB are our most affordable true wireless earbuds due to their active noise cancellation and solid battery life. If you can handle a cable, the $ 100 1More Triple Drivers are our favorite affordable earbuds.

How long will they last?

At this price, longevity is not a problem for most customers. However, JLab offers a two-year warranty on Go Air.

Should you buy them

Yes. They may not sound like a winner, but the JLab Go Air costs $ 30 and has a similar battery life and better water resistance than the Apple AirPods. Essentially, it's the low-risk, high-reward bud pair that you should take a risk.

Editor's recommendations