JBL Tour Pro 2 review: these earbuds have a screen

Am I holding the way forward for wi-fi earbuds in my fingers? Or are JBL’s Tour Professional 2 buds – with a charging case that has its personal built-in show – a parlor trick negated by the smartwatch? Do you want these controls instantly on the bodily product after they’re all simply accessible by way of an app in your cellphone? I’ve been testing the brand new $249.95 noise-canceling earbuds for a pair weeks now, and unusually sufficient, it’s a tough query to reply.

The Tour Professional 2s are the primary to come back to market with an interactive case; HP has introduced one thing related (albeit centered on enterprise clients), and Apple patent filings recommend that the AirPods maker is at the very least exploring this idea. However JBL’s earbuds are right here now and begin transport as we speak within the US after launching in different markets earlier this yr.

Look, I do know we’re all on this collectively for the zany case-with-a-screen experiment. So let’s get the earbuds a part of this equation out of the best way first. The Tour Professional 2s embody an exhaustive, well-rounded checklist of options. Their adaptive noise-cancellation, which adjusts in actual time primarily based on the loudness of your atmosphere, is impressively robust and corresponding to the upper-tier of competitors. Battery life is one other spotlight and rated at as much as 8 hours of steady listening with ANC on or 10 with it off – plus one other 24 or 30 hours from the case, respectively. That outlasts the AirPods Professional, Samsung’s Galaxy Buds 2 Professional, the Nothing Ear 2s, and different premium choices. 

In line with JBL, the sound signature from these 10-millimeter drivers follows the revered Harman response curve, albeit with some further bass tacked on. And whereas the Tour Professional 2s sound completely good, I nonetheless choose the audio constancy from the second-gen AirPods Professional, Samsung’s flagship buds, and Sennheiser’s Momentum True Wi-fi 3 earbuds. To my ears, these earbuds have extra depth, higher dynamic vary, and simply lend extra definition to no matter music is enjoying. The Tour Professional 2s don’t absolutely sound like $250 earbuds to me, so yeah, the case is factoring into that value. You get a number of equalizer settings to choose between, and JBL’s Personi-Fi function can additional tune the audio output frequencies primarily based by yourself listening to traits and preferences. 

The corporate additionally piles on different tips like multipoint, proprietary spatial audio profiles (music, film, video games, and many others.), an earbuds locator utility, and speech detection for mechanically activating ambient sound mode. That transparency / ambient sound mode was the place I used to be least impressed; it simply sounds very stuffy, inarticulate, and lags trendy opponents fairly considerably. Voice name efficiency is obvious and passable, nevertheless, and the earbuds are rated IPX5 for water and sweat resistance. 

To sum all of it up, the Tour Professional 2s are snug, sound good even when not nice, they usually pack loads of battery endurance. JBL additionally notes that the earbuds are prepared for LE Audio spec and might be up to date to allow it as soon as the spec goes mainstream. That would result in extra effectivity and even higher battery efficiency. For now, Bluetooth codec assist is restricted to AAC and SBC.

Now for the principle attraction: that case. It’s fairly giant by as we speak’s requirements because of the built-in 1.45-inch touchscreen LCD on the entrance. However there’s assist for wi-fi charging, at the very least, which isn’t all the time assured even for the cumbersome ones. Do I want the display used one thing cooler like OLED and even E Ink? Positive. As is, you’ll be able to regulate between three totally different brightness ranges, however even the bottom setting isn’t notably dim. Not like the buds inside, the case solely affords the slightest quantity (IPX2) of water safety, so that you’ll need to maintain it dry. JBL tells me it would provide standalone substitute instances down the road since “I dropped my earbuds and broke the display” is a dilemma that now exists, however will seemingly exchange each earbuds and case within the occasion you harm any of them individually.

Whenever you faucet on the show, your chosen wallpaper seems. (There are presets, however you too can use customized photographs. JBL preloaded The Verge’s emblem onto our overview unit.) Slide your finger to the correct, and also you’ll begin biking by the totally different capabilities. And there are greater than you may assume:

Playback controlsVolumeSound mode (ANC, transparency, and many others.)EqualizerTimer: the earbuds will energy down after your chosen time elapsesSpatial audio Display brightnessWallpaper selectionVoiceAware: this determines how delicate the voice detection isSilentNow: you’ll be able to allow ANC even with out music enjoying for a preset quantity of timeAutomatic play/pause ear detectionNotificationsFind My BudsFlashlight

That’s numerous widgets to continuously be swiping between. You’ll be able to (and may) take away those you don’t need by JBL’s cellular app for Android or iOS and reduce that checklist right down to a extra manageable 5 or 6 screens.

Monitor controls and quantity changes work properly sufficient, though you’re by no means proven what tune is at the moment enjoying; it’s simply the controls. (You’ll be able to’t quick ahead or rewind by long-pressing the buttons, both.) Different core duties like switching audio modes or EQ modes additionally pose no challenge. However even right here, I’m already questioning whether or not the show is important and the way a lot comfort it provides. You’ll be able to carry out a number of of those capabilities by the remappable earbud gesture controls with the case stowed away. And sure, they’re all current in JBL’s app in your cellphone. 

However some inherent advantages do include the display. For one, there’s by no means any mistaking whether or not or not your earbuds are charging or how a lot battery stays. I can’t inform you the variety of occasions I’ve wound up with one absolutely charged AirPod – insert any earbud model right here, truthfully – and the opposite absolutely depleted simply because the contacts wanted cleansing or didn’t align completely. However with the Tour Professional 2s, that info is all the time seen in a small font on the prime of the show. And because it’s essentially the most urgent information for earbuds, it stays there as you swipe by the opposite widgets. 

There are even some rudimentary, tremendous fundamental smartwatch-like options tossed in: the case helps you to see and reply/reject incoming calls, and it may present an alert everytime you obtain messages in your cellphone. Once I say an alert, it actually simply says “new message on cellular gadget” more often than not, so don’t anticipate a lot context. The message notifications disappear so rapidly that they’re not often useful, so I left them off.

Does the case make life simpler general? …Maybe? Technically it’s quicker to seize the case and alter some random setting than it will be to tug out your cellphone, unlock it, discover and open the JBL app, and go searching for a similar toggle. And it’s good to have the Discover My Buds software proper there in the event you open the case and uncover one or each buds to be lacking. 

However all of those “advantages” include a giant assumption: do you actually carry your earbuds case in your individual always? Most of the time, I go away mine in my backpack or my coat’s chest pocket. If that’s you, some great benefits of this interactive case exit the window except you alter your habits and maintain it inside attain. 

I can’t think about anybody who routinely wears a smartwatch will see a lot to get enthusiastic about with the Tour Professional 2s both. Apple, Samsung, and Google all present deep controls over their respective earbuds proper from their wearables; hell, the Apple Watch can now inform you how a lot noise the AirPods Professional (or Max) are canceling in actual time. There’s solely extra synergy rising in these walled-off gardens. However JBL doesn’t have a horse in that race. Many corporations don’t. So if you consider it that means – a platform-agnostic audio model attempting to face out – the Tour Professional 2s make a bit extra sense. 

And so they’ve undoubtedly bought me pondering what’s to come back. How lengthy will or not it’s earlier than earbuds are a totally unbiased supply of leisure? It’s not arduous to think about some firm constructing flash storage into an earbuds case and letting you sync music to it out of your cellphone. You’ll be able to already accomplish that with a smartwatch; why not simply prolong that to the precise listening gadget? Perhaps a number of years from now we’ll be utilizing AirPods with an iPod nano crammed into the case. 

I haven’t uncovered any singular compelling motive that can maintain me utilizing the JBL Tour Professional 2s instead of my favourite wi-fi earbuds. The surefire battery standing is useful, however I’m too set in my methods to present earbuds helpful pocket house. That’s true for this primary attempt, at the very least.

This idea isn’t going to start and finish with JBL – or HP for that matter. I predict we’ll see others attempt their hand at “good” earbud instances. Honestly, no concept has ever struck me as extra Samsung, however I suppose the Galaxy Watch lineup covers related bases. Perhaps somebody will determine an excellent motive for earbuds to have a display. For now, this appears like one display too many.

However I can’t knock creativity and an try at one thing new. The Tour Professional 2s don’t measure as much as the very best earbud contenders relating to sound, however they undoubtedly have a novel gimmick. They’re offbeat and bizarre. Let’s maintain getting bizarre. One thing good has to come back out of that.

Pictures by Chris Welch / The Verge