In July 2019 Jabird announced one of the smallest and lightest truly wireless and waterproof headphone on the market. Having been a wireless headphone user for many years, we were excited to try a new headphones by Jaybird. In full disclosure, Jaybird send us the Vista to provide our unbias and honest review.
The Vista is offered at $180 which puts it in the same class as Apple Airpods and Jabra Elite wireless headphones. The price may seem a little high, but when compared to cheaper wireless earbuds on Amazon.com they are far superior in quality and sound. All have true wireless capabilities, on board charging, and waterproof. I’ve been using Jabra Elite earbuds for years so I will be making a lot of comparisons to the them throughout this review.
The Jaybird Vista Features
Jaybird Vista Case
The Jaybird case is extremely small and light weight when compared to the competitors. It’s clam-shell design with a small lanyard make it really nice to toss in your pocket and forget it’s there, or easily retrieve it. Weighing in at just 6 grams, it’s one of the lightest and smallest on the market, while still offering an additional 10 hours of charge. The case also offers a quick charge feature to add an hour of play time to the headphones in just 5 minutes in the charger. Connecting the headphones via Bluetooth is simple, just hold down the button in the center of the case, watch for the light on the front, and scan for the device on a phone or computer.
The case also has magnets to secure the headphones when dropped into the case. It’s a nice feeling to just sortof toss them into the case and the magnets grab them and secure them in the right position.
The case using USB-C for charging, something Jabra still hasn’t moved toward and is still using micro-USB. I’m currently paired with the Samsung Note that has USB-C charging, so it’s nice to only have a single cable to charge both.
Jaybird Earbuds
The earbuds are centered around a 6 mm milled driver that fairly decent sound quality. The Jaybird app allow for fine tuning the EQ to provide a customizable sound. This is something I really liked as I enjoy many different styles of music.
The earbuds can be used to take phone calls in stereo or use each headphone independently. This is something Jabra Elite headphones can’t do. Even cooler is that you can use each earbud independently, and maintain battery in each earbud independently. In theory you could get up to 32 hours of listening when using only one earbud at a time, and charging the other during use.
The earbuds are IPX7-rated waterproof and sweat-proof. I sweat in them a lot. I use them on outdoor bike rides a couple times a week, and haven’t had any issues with them yet. Time will tell, if issues arise and if they do I’ll keep them updated here. For example after about a year of the Jabra Elite earbuds I started having issues where one earbud was quieter than the other. I’ve read online it’s a common issue, some say it’s overheating, other say they just get dirty.
Some of the features missing that we would like to have that were offered with the Jabra Elite are the hear through feature that allows you to hear the surroundings. The functionality on the earbuds is a little limited too, with only a single button on each earbud.
Jaybird Vista Earbud Buttons
There is only a single button on each earbud on the Jaybird Vista while there are two buttons on each ear bud with the Jabra Elite. While the Vista buttons are customizable, I still found myself lacking functionality at the earbud. You have to select button functionality in the app for 1 of 3 button clicks. Single click (default play/pause), double click (default next song), click and hold (default to power off). To use volume, google assistant, next/previous, or volume up/down require setup in the app and loss of other functionality previously assigned to the button. Even the custom setting for single click only offers functionality capable with Spotify premium account. I am and Amazon music user so these customizations were useless to me.
Jaybird Vista Earbud Fit
The earbuds come with a 3 sizes of silicone ear gels that all have a wing to fit into the upper part of the ear for a secure fit. I used some of the first generation wireless Jaybird headphones year ago. The wings attached around the driver/battery and quickly became useless. The earbuds were contently falling out of my ears unless I was sitting still at a desk. The new Vista earbuds fit really well, I can’t get them to fall out of my ears if I wanted to. Additionally, it worth pointing out, the Jabra Elite headphones are larger. I’ve been told it looks like I have olives in my ears when wearing them. Also, I’m not the only one to complain about the look of the Airpods just being ridiculous. As an avid mountain biker, I’ve seen a number of Airpods laying on the trail having fallen out of riders ears. The Vistas have to be my favorite fitting earbuds with a low profile, even after wearing them for hours, sleeping against them on an airplane, I have the least pain with them.
Sound
The headphones feature Jaybirds JBS1 wireless technology using Bluetooth 5.0 to connect to any bluetooth audio source. Now I’m no audiophile, but I like good sound, and can tell the difference between poor sound and good.
If I had to pick the Jabra Elite or the Jaybird Vista over sound alone, I think I’d pick the Jabra. However, with the Jaybird app, a lot more can be achieved in terms of finding the sound you like than with the Jabra Elite.
Jaybird App
The Jaybird app has to be my current favorite for managing the headphones. The battery life, EQ, button assignment, and profiles make a perfect companion to the headphones, and its easy to use.
One annoyance was the updates to the ear pieces. I was traveling without internet access and kept being requested to update my Jaybird Vista. Only after failing to update a number of times was I able to proceed with sections of the app.
Button controls can be customized in the app.
Find my bud is a feature to find earbuds that might be lost. You must allow location access and it will use a small amount of additional phone battery. However, it works surprisingly well. While I have never lost an earbud, as a mountain biker it’s nice to turn on this feature when riding to offer a little bit of security.
Voice prompts are offered to readout power and battery life when turned on. This can be changed to only queue on tones, voice and tones, or turned completely off. Additionally, there 8 different languages to select from.
Lastly in the app is settings for the Auto off. It can be set to “Don’t turn off”, “Turn off after 15 min”, or “Turn off after 60 minutes”
Frequently Asked Questions about the Jaybird Vista Headphones
Who are the Jaybird Vista for?
The Vista are targeted at athletes with the waterproof and sweat-proof design, they stay put during everything from running, gym sessions, cycling and everything else we tried from yard work to writing reviews.
What it’s like to use the Jaybird Vista?
The Vista have a unique shape and ear fit design. The ear gel are more oval in shape that most round shapes. They seal out almost all outside noise. There is a single button on each earbud that can be used in three functions. Single press, double press, and press and hold. The single press can be used to answer and disconnect phone calls or control music.
Are Jaybird Vista good Gym headphones?
The Jaybird Vista have to be our favorite gym headphones we have used to date. The small and compact case, low profile ear buds, waterproof and sweat-proof make them ideal for gym use. I can keep the case in my pocket and forget it’s there because it’s so small.
How long does the battery last in Jaybird Vista earbuds?
During normal use in ideal conditions sitting at a desk I was able to get close to the advertised 6 hours of playback with both earbuds powered on. It takes about 2 hours to charge the earbuds back up to 100%, but they can be speed charged for an hour of use in just 5 minutes.
How do you pair Jaybird Vista to your phone?
The Vista are about the easiest headphones to pair with. Simply open the case, hold the internal button for a couple seconds and look for the device in your available devices to connect.
Do the Jaybird Vista have a warranty?
Yes, in AMR and AP One-Year limited warranty. In EMEA Two-year limited warranty.
The Bottom Line
Would I recommend the Jaybird Vista headphones to a friend? Absolutely, with the caveat they are a bit expensive. But the overall value is right on par with other headphones in the same category. They stay put in your ears and don’t fall out. They are comfortable for long periods of time. I haven’t experienced any latency issues with them, or even any connection issues thus far. The biggest issue has been when the earbuds try to “Update” from the app. It always seems to hang and fail. This hasn’t effected the use of the earbuds, but I anticipate I’m not benefiting from the updates. Overall, a great buy, keep an eye out for new colors and think about these as a great holiday gift for that special someone.
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