We’ll meet JLab’s new tiny TWS and its first high-end model at CES
True-wireless earbuds have evolved into countless subcategories now, with options ranging from the excellent Sony WF-1000XM4 to budget picks with tiny cases, like the Skullcandy Dime. With CES just a few days away, popular value-focused audio brand JLab is showing off its latest pair of pocket-friendly true-wireless earbuds and its first flagship offering, both headed for store shelves in 2023.
The $40 JBuds Mini are the company’s smallest earbuds ever — 30% smaller than the JLab Go Air Pop (via Digitaltrends). Instead of sporting lanyard holes like the AirPods Pro 2, the JBuds Mini charging case sports an integrated loop, so you attach it to something larger like your keys, just to avoid losing it. The tiny case lends the earbuds 20 hours of playback time. Although these buds are small, they don’t sacrifice functionality, with support for full touch controls still included.
The $40 JBuds Mini
JLab has always been a budget brand, but next year, it is diversifying into the flagship segment. The $200 Epic Air Lab Edition earbuds are designed to compete with other high-end offerings, sporting a hybrid dual-driver design, active movie cancelation (ANC), and touch controls like the smaller JBuds Mini. JLabs understandably touts this new true-wireless option as its best-sounding product to date. They’re also backed by admirable battery life, if its claims of 54 hours of playback time are anything to go by.
The $200 Epic Air Lab Edition
To differentiate its product from hordes of other $200 buds on the market, JLabs includes a USB-C dongle in the charging case of the Epic Air Lab Edition. You can plug this dongle into your phone, tablet, or computer to enjoy lower latency wireless audio over Bluetooth LE. If you don’t want to risk losing the dongle, standard multi-point Bluetooth connectivity is also supported.
Renders of JLab’s upcoming hearing aids
JLab also plans to make FDA-approved medical devices, including the $99 OTC Hearing Aid and the Self-Fitting OTC Hearing Aid, for which pricing isn’t clear yet. The hearing aids will debut later this year, while the TWS buds will be on display at CES 2023. They will go on sale during the third quarter of 2023.
