Jabra is exiting the consumer earbuds business. The move is shocking as it comes only a day after the company unveiled new models of its Elite earbuds. Peter Karlstromer, CEO of parent company GN, said the decision is “part of our commitment to focus on attractive markets where we can deliver profitable growth and strong returns.”
The company will discontinue the Jabra Elite (consumer earbuds) and Talk (mono Bluetooth) product lines. In late 2023, it pivoted the Elite line towards the premium segment in a move designed to compete with industry heavyweights Apple, Sony and Bose. However, the company lamented that its target markets “have changed over time.” Its current assessment is that “we cannot generate a fair return on investment compared to the many other opportunities we have within our Hearing, Enterprise, and Gaming businesses.”
Jabra will reduce the inventory of the to-be-discontinued products, and it expects to complete the wind-down by the end of the year. However, GN says it will service and support its devices “for several years.”
Although a bit farther under the radar than obvious competitors like AirPods, Jabra made some high-quality audio gear. Engadget’s audio expert Billy Steele called the 2021 Jabra Elite 3 “the new standard for affordable wireless earbuds,” as the company struck an alluring balance between quality and value.
Now, who’s pumped for the new Jabra Elite 10 and Elite 8 Active earbuds coming later this month?
