The $80 JLab Work Buds offer excellent call quality for WFH life

Modular wireless earbuds are rare in today’s market. The Shure SE215 helped kick-start the subcategory, allowing for both wired and wireless listening. Now comes the JLab Work Buds, the first wireless earbuds with a detachable boom mic designed specifically for clear calling.

At $80, the Work Buds boast unique features that enhance sound and call quality, along with massive battery life and multiple ear accessories for optimal fit. But are their shortcomings forgivable when factoring in overall performance and price? Let’s find out.

What we liked about them

Superb call quality (with the boom mic)

JLab isn’t known for its call quality, but the Work Buds are a huge step in the right direction. The buds alone work decently for voice and video calls, though there is a noticeable echoing on the opposite end. Attaching the boom mic significantly improves quality for loud, clear results in every environment.

All client and family calls were met with positive feedback; they thought I was speaking directly into my Google Pixel 6 Pro. Their responses were similar to what I’ve heard when using the best work-from-home earbuds and headphones.

You can connect the mic to the buds during calls, which is clutch when the quality drops in wireless mode. You’ll need to adjust it properly for accurate vocal capture. There were a few times when people couldn’t make out my words, so I bent the mic closer to my mouth. It’s an effortless fix.

Satisfying, energetic sound

While heavy on bass, the Work Buds have a more refined sound profile than previous brand releases. JLab also lets you personalize audio in different ways. Let’s start with the three built-in EQs: Balanced, Bass Boost and JLab Signature. These can be switched out by performing three taps on the left ear bud. You won’t have problems cycling through them since the touch pads are highly responsive.

Most of my time was spent testing Balanced, which leveled out frequencies and complemented most music genres. Orchestral recordings sounded fantastic, highlighted by vibrant horns and strings that shined on jazz tracks. JLab Signature accentuated mids to allow me to hear vocals clearly, but Bass Boost diminished them, along with highs.

Another option for tweaking sound is the customizable EQ in the companion app. Bass, midrange and treble are all adjustable. Unfortunately, the feature wasn’t available at the time of writing, as the app is currently in the process of being updated for a rerelease. My past experiences with the EQ have not been good. Bass and treble were overemphasized, which was problematic for classic rock and hip-hop songs that had powerful low-end presence. What I can say is that the Customized EQ sounds terrible right out of the box, but switching to Balanced or Signature cleans up the frequency range to deliver fuller, crisper sound.

JLab even included a Movie mode for better lip synchronization and reduced audio lag. Movie scenes and YouTube clips already ran smoothly. Turning on the feature didn’t change anything.

An abundance of features for the price

Many of the best budget earbuds offer coveted features like active noise cancellation (ANC), ambient listening modes, control customization, digital assistance, personalized sound settings and even spatial audio. The Work Buds support many of these, along with others that make them distinctive among the inexpensive buds crowd.

Battery life is easily the Work Buds’ unsung feature. They have up to 10 hours of use on a single charge and an additional 50 hours with the charging case, which is amazing. Playtime is close to accurate, though I noticed that using the boom mic decreased it by two hours on the connected bud.

Be Aware is JLab’s version of transparency mode, and it works well. My awareness increased when working on the balcony, as the buds picked up most incidental sounds around the pool area. Other disruptions like pedestrian chatter and police sirens were audible from a distance. The feature was also helpful for communicating with my wife around the house; I could hear her from across the living room without having to take off the buds.

The JLab Music app is the hub for all extended functionalities. Listening modes and sound settings have already been discussed. You can disable motion sensors, perform software updates and switch out the controls.

Bluetooth multipoint might be the feature you utilize most. This makes switching between a smartphone and laptop (and vice versa) a breeze. It’s programmed exceptionally well to decipher commands between devices. I loved the flexibility of managing Spotify playback on my Pixel 6 Pro and jumping right into a FaceTime call on my MacBook Pro.

The additional tips and cush fins helped me achieve proper comfort and fit. I prefer the ear hook design of sporty JLab models like the Epic Air Sport ANC, but the Work Buds rested nicely on my ears and maintained a tight grip.

It would have been nice to see other signature JLab features like the built-in charging cable on the charging case and Tile integration. However, the current feature set, plus a boom mic, is more than generous for $80.

What we didn’t like about them

A huge case with no wireless charging

JLab has created some of the coolest-looking charging cases out there. The Work Buds case isn’t one of them. I get that it needs to be slightly bigger to accommodate the boom mic, but not this big. Holding it in hand felt like I was clutching onto a giant pebble. It’s durable and stores everything nicely. Unfortunately, it isn’t something you can stash comfortably in denim pockets. There’s some heft to it as well, not including the buds and mic.

Not having a built-in charging cable or wireless charging doesn’t help its case. No pun intended.

Weak, buggy connectivity

Wireless range was subpar with audio stuttering when going past the 30-foot mark. There was also an issue with dropout that often occurred when traveling from room to room.

The digital assistant functioned well on iOS, Android and Windows devices. I couldn’t say the same for macOS devices; there is a bug that decreases audio and volume drastically after enabling Siri. You must unpair and re-pair the buds to fix the issue.

The JLab Music app was another concern. Software issues are normal before a product launch, but JLab’s app made it frustrating to access sound tools during testing. I was mostly given a “please connect the device in Setting” message every time I opened it. I’m hoping to update this review once it goes live.

How they compare

Bottom line

The JLab Work Buds are a good value with nearly double the battery life of standard AirPods, terrific call quality via boom mic and nifty features that tailor performance to preference. Software updates open the door for more features as well.

That doesn’t mean the Work Buds are without flaws. Bugs and connection issues can be a turnoff for listeners with little patience. Then there’s the large charging case that isn’t exactly fashionable compared to other pocket-flattering models out there.

Is there room for improvement? Of course. Still, the Work Buds check off several boxes that attract budget-conscious shoppers looking for strong performance — and especially good call quality — from low-priced buds.