JLab GO Air
Consumers who don't care about fancy features or high-quality sound should get the JLab GO Air. The poles are comfortable enough for everyday use and stable enough for practice. The microphone quality may not be the best, but it will get you on the phone quickly, and the integrated USB charging cable is a great plus of the JLab. Listeners who want better sound quality at a similar price should consider the Anker Soundcore Liberty Neo.
Busy people rarely have time to play with fancy features, which is why the JLab GO Air made an impression among the utilitarian crowd. As the name suggests, these wireless headphones are for listeners who are always on the go. For $30 you can't go wrong. We spent two weeks with the GO Air to let you know the pros and cons before you buy.
Design of JLab Go Air True Wireless Earbuds
Available in white, khaki green, black and navy, the JLab Go Air True Wireless Earbuds feature a functional design that is very similar to the JBuds Air. Like the buds, the Go Airs snap magnetically into the charging case, but a quick look at the case will give you some idea of how JLab managed to keep the price of these buds so low: there's no lid and the buds are exposed to the elements.
The magic of magnets means the plugs won't fall out of the case when you hold them upside down, and we can confirm that even a violent shake won't knock them out of the case (we can't promise the same if you decide to throw the charging case across the room). While the JLab Go Airs feel secure in their case, the lack of a lid means they're exposed to dust or other debris in your bag or pocket.
The materials also hint at the low price of these headphones, with everything feeling rather plasticky. While that's not necessarily a bad thing (especially when you consider that these buds have an IPX4 sweat resistance rating, making them suitable for exercise), the Go Airs certainly aren't going to win any design awards.
Battery life and connectivity
Again, when we talk about battery life, you get actually what you pay for with the JLab Go Airs. You get 15 hours of battery life from the charging case and up to five hours of playback with just the buds. That's on the lower end of the range for true wireless headphones, though it's not much worse than Apple's AirPods, which offer about 24 hours in total. We found the claimed battery life to be about right when listening to a mix of music and podcasts at medium volume.
We have no complaints when it comes to connectivity. With Bluetooth 5.0 support, pairing is quick and efficient, and after you've first paired the Go Airs with your device, they'll automatically connect when you take them out of the case. One great feature that belies the cheap price of the JLab Go Airs is the ability for two earbuds to connect independently; this means you can listen with one earbud while the other remains in the charging case, which could effectively double your battery life (if you don't mind listening with just one ear).
Sound quality Of JLab Go Air True Wireless Earbuds
The sound quality of the JLab Go Air True wireless headphones leaves a lot to be desired; so while we wouldn't expect audiophile-level fidelity at this price point, it might be worth spending a little extra if you want to do your tracks justice.
Like other JLab headphones, these headphones support three different equalizer presets: JLab Signature, Balanced, and Bass Boost. JLab Signature boosts high and low frequencies, while Bass Boost only boosts the lowest frequencies. As you can probably guess, Balanced is designed to provide an even sound, with no particular frequency boosted above others.
Of the three, we generally preferred listening using the Balanced preset, finding the mids a bit too deep in the JLab Signature and the bass too muddy with the Bass Boost.
When listening to Little Simz' Selfish, the distinctive rap vocals were prominent enough in the mix, but we found the bass to be extremely muddy, bleeding into the mids and the track sounding rather unclear.
As with previous JLab models, the charging case has an integrated USB charging cable that sits in a slot on the bottom of the case; it's a handy feature that means you won't have to fumble for a cable every time you need to charge, but it's worth bearing in mind that if that integrated cable breaks, you won't be able to charge the charging case or the headphones.
The Go Airs themselves are much smaller than the JBuds Air (20% smaller to be exact) and come with three sizes of gel ear tips, so you should be able to achieve a snug fit. We found them to be quite comfortable and felt secure enough to train with - although the option to add ear fins wouldn't be bad for a higher level of security.
What is it like to use JLab GO Air?
Like the JLab JBuds series, the JLab GO Air is all plastic from the charging case to the earbuds. While it may not be the most eye-catching, it does reduce the cost and weight of the headset. Each earpiece has an angled nozzle that protrudes from it; these are large in diameter and may be uncomfortable for listeners with small ear canals.
