Part of an increasingly competitive earbud market, the JBL Reflect Mini NC headphones hope to appeal to anyone leading a busy and active lifestyle needing something reliable when exercising.
A trustworthy in-ear headphone that isn't going to fall out or be irritating during a workout is surely an ideal choice for anyone switching between indoor and outdoor training.
But creating a reliable yet high-performance product has proven to be not without its challenges.
I've been using a pair of Reflect Mini NC earbuds for the last month and here are my thoughts.
The good
The touch capabilities I found to be easy to use and reliably responsive. This is made even better by the support of the JBL app, which allows you to assign responsibilities, like switching tracks forward or back or pausing, of your choice to either side.
It's worth setting these up to your preferences early on so you get used to how you choose to use them - but there's a feeling of ease being able to reach for a quick brush of the ear to change songs.
They are also AI-enabled, allowing connection to smart assistants, like Google or Amazon Alexa.
The battery life is more than capable for the regular everyday user, like me. The lifespan allows you to forget recharging them for days at a time without running into issues.
True tech-heads might argue other products deliver a longer lasting case charge, but in my experience, by the time you naturally give it a thought, a simple overnight rev-up is more than enough to meet the 100-minute charge time requirements and puts them right for at least one week of gym sessions.
A total advantage for achieving comfortability is the ear tips and Earfin Stabilizers that come in the box. Three sizes of both are included for each ear and I recommend taking five minutes to pair your ears to the correct sizes, which you can combine as you like before you start wearing the earbuds.
Don't assume the size provided will fit. If it doesn't, it causes discomfort and impacts the overall ease of usage - you don't want to be feeling irritated while listening to your favourite tracks and definitely not while trying to juggle a workout.
Once matched correctly, the headphones sit securely and comfortably throughout a range of activities.
The IPX7 water-resistant function is as good as advertised, and that's what matters. Seeing they offer water resistance to a depth of 1m for 30 minutes, I was excited that these could potentially hold their own underwater.
They do not.
While they can be dunked and immediately return to full working order, I found they were unable to play anything whilst actually submerged. They're ideal if you're running in the rain, or singing in the shower, but swimmers should stick to anything above IPX8 for full water functions.
Although bigger than some other products, I liked the case. It's compact and tidy, giving the product an edgy point of difference that is stylish as well.
The bad
The Active Noise Cancelling (ANC) with 'Smart Ambient' works well at the gym where sometimes the booming in-house music just isn't quite right, but you will need to make sure you pump up the volume and jig the audio preferences to get it working well.
The ANC function minimises surrounding environments but I found its effectiveness fairly hit and miss.
Don't expect a lot of consistency across this function.
Once your own music starts playing, the quality of the sound itself is rich and you're able to slip away into a world of your own - but depending on the music you're listening to and where you are, it can be harder to achieve this goal.
The verdict
The overall look of the product and the sleek case make these earbuds easy on the eyes and the product delivers in most areas JBL boasts it does, if falling just short around some others.
If you're able to find the perfect, secure fit for your ears during a workout, these make for a worthy investment.
Newshub was supplied JBL Reflect Mini NC headphones for this review.
