JLab JBuds Mini ANC review: $43 buds with strong ANC and battery

They’re tiny. JLab says the earbuds are 30 percent smaller than its Go Pop+ model and the case is half the size, and in person both disappear into almost any pocket. You don’t even need a pocket: a small keychain lets the case clip to a belt loop or bag.

That clip-on case held up well. It never popped open while bouncing on the outside of a backpack, and it survived several drops, including onto a gym mat and outdoors. Colors include Graphite, Navy, Blush Pink and a red, plus a shimmer-finish Jélle edition.

Comfort was the bigger surprise. The buds sit snugly without painful pressure, even with noise canceling on, and they stayed put through hikes and heavy workouts. They’re small enough to sleep in on a plane without really noticing them. An IP55 rating covers dust and sweat, but they aren’t waterproof, so leave them out of the pool.

The active noise canceling (ANC), which uses microphones to cancel out steady background sound, is the standout feature. Part of the credit goes to the fit: the small buds seal well with the right ear tips, which blocks a lot of sound before ANC even starts.

With ANC on, aircraft engine rumble dropped sharply and street traffic faded enough to enjoy music on a walk, though some sounds still got through. In testing, it beat the noise canceling on OnePlus Buds 3, which is a strong showing for a pair under $50. There was no hiss or ear pressure, and turning ANC on didn’t change the sound much.

It won’t match premium Sony or Bose models. When you need to hear the world, the Be Aware transparency mode works fine for conversations, even if voices sometimes sound a little robotic.

Inside are 6mm drivers, and Bluetooth support is limited to the basic SBC and AAC codecs, with no LDAC or aptX for higher-quality streaming. Out of the box, the sound is a bit dull.

The fix is the free JLab app. Starting from the Bass Boost preset and nudging the mids made a clear difference, giving electronic music and hip-hop real weight and leaving vocals clean on acoustic and pop tracks. Pushing the bass softens vocals slightly, and instrument separation isn’t as sharp as on pricier buds, but for everyday listening there’s little to complain about.

The app also lets you assign a wide range of actions to the touch controls, which responded reliably. Multipoint worked well too, so the buds can stay connected to two devices at once, such as a laptop for a work call and a phone for music.

At launch, JLab quoted about 6.5 hours per charge and more than 24 hours with the case; its later figures vary depending on whether ANC is on. In real use, the buds lasted a full flight with ANC running the whole time and were topped up again by the next leg of the trip.

The Find My support is more useful than it sounds. JLab added it in the version that reached the US in September, and calls these the first earbuds under $100 outside Apple and Beats to offer it. You pair the case through the Items tab in the Find My app on an iPhone or iPad, and its location shows up alongside your other Apple gear. Two limits: it tracks the case, not each earbud, and there’s no Precision Finding arrow like an AirTag gives you.

Now the weak spots:

• Call mics let traffic noise through to the other person, though wind was handled better than expected.
• There’s no wear detection, so music keeps playing when you take an earbud out.
• The default sound needs EQ work to shine.

If you travel, work out or just want a pair of earbuds that lives on your keys and blocks out a noisy commute, these are an easy pick at around $43. The size, comfort and noise canceling are the reasons to buy, and Find My is a bonus for anyone who loses small things.

Skip them if you take lots of work calls in busy places or care most about detailed sound. In that case, Soundcore’s Liberty 5 offer stronger calls and longer battery life with ANC, and OnePlus Buds 4 aim for richer audio, though both are much bigger than the JLab buds.