Jaybird Vista review

There's no shortage of options when it comes to sports earbuds, which means it's getting harder and harder for new products to stand out. While the Jaybird Vista earbuds aren't the cheapest option available, they offer more than enough to stand out among similarly priced, and even cheaper, earbuds.

Design

Design

• Includes three different-sized ear inserts
• Tiny carrying case
• Customisable on-ear controls
• Waterproof and sweatproof
• Comes in four colours

• Read more about the Jaybird Vista's design

  The Jaybird Vista earbuds are designed with athletes in mind. They have a minimalistic, matte coating with a unique wingtip to keep the buds in place during active workouts. This wingtip design is similar to the older Jaybird Run earbuds, with some major improvements.

  While the wingtip is supposed to help the earbuds stay in play, it stuck out of my ears and didn't offer any additional stability for me. However, the good news for people whose ears don't work with the wingtips is that the Vista earbuds come with three different-sized inserts, including one option without wingtips, which ended up being the best fitting option for me. The earbuds stayed in place even without the wingtip.

  The upgraded Vista earbuds have a removable silicone ear tip that encases one entire side of the earbud, making it easier to change between the three different sizes and also helping water, sweat and dust from getting into the drivers. They also have basic single-tap and double-tap on-ear controls that you can change using the Jaybird app.

  One of the best things about the Jaybird Vista earbuds is the tiny, lightweight charging case. While it doesn't hold as much of a charge as some other larger cases, it's one of the only cases I've ever had that easily fits in the notoriously small front pocket of women's jeans. The case also comes with a woven lanyard so you can easily connect it to a keyring.

  Another selling point of the Vista earbuds is that they're IPX7 waterproof rated, which means they can be fully submerged in water for up to 30 minutes. You won't have to worry about ruining them during a sweaty workout or by going for a run in the rain.

  You can get the Jaybird Vista earbuds in four different colours: black, blue, green and grey.

Performance

Performance

• Well-balanced audio
• No noise cancellation
• Easy-to-use app

• Read more about the Jaybird Vista's performance

  Setting up the Vista earbuds is fairly straightforward. When you open the charging case, an LED light starts to flash indicating that it's ready to pair with your phone. After you pair it the first time, the earbuds automatically connect every time you remove the earbuds.

  Using Bluetooth 5.0, the Vista earbuds have a solid connection. Each earbud works independently, so you can use either bud while the other one is charging or take either one out if you want to be able to hear ambient noise such as traffic.

  The Jaybird app is easy to use and offers more customisable options than I thought it would. When you set up the app, it personalises settings based on how you hear different tones. You can then adjust these settings to suit your preferences.

  The app also allows you to change the on-ear controls of each earbud. Options include volume, play, pause, playing a favourite playlist or powering off.

  I wasn't expecting a lot from the Vista earbuds in terms of audio quality, but I was pleasantly surprised. They aren't the best earbuds I've listened to, but they have a well-defined base and an overall rich, full sound.

  The Vista earbuds don't offer noise cancellation, which is fairly common in headphones designed to be used during exercise. This is usually for safety reasons as you want to be able to hear some ambient noise such as traffic when you're running or exercising outside. The downside to this is that you can't block out noise if you're wearing them in a noisy environment like on a train or at the office. However, the Vista earbuds fit snugly inside the ear, which offers a decent degree of noise isolation.

  A big selling point of the Jaybird Vista earbuds is how well they stay in your ears during all kinds of movement. I wore them during a range of activities from dancing to rock climbing, and I never felt like they were in danger of slipping out. However, as I mentioned, I did have some fit issues with the two earbud attachments that included the wingtip. The earbuds weren't able to go far enough into my ear to have the wingtip sit flush against my ears, so if you know you have small ears, you might want to make sure your pair is returnable if you want to use the wingtip design.

Battery life

Battery life

• Decent battery life
• Five-minute quick charge gives an additional hour of listening
• USB-C charging cable

• Read more about the Jaybird Vista's battery life

  The earbuds have a six-hour battery life with an additional 10 hours of charge in the case. They also support quick charging, allowing you to get an hour of play with a quick five-minute charge. To fully charge the earbuds, you'll need to charge them for around two hours.

  The charge lasted through all my workouts, but when the earbuds died on a long train trip, the quick charge really came in handy.

  The case charges with an included USB-C cable.

Should you buy the Jaybird Vista?

If you're looking for a pair of earbuds that are durable enough for the gym and unobtrusive enough for your daily commute, it's hard to go wrong with the Jaybird Vista earbuds. Even though they're designed for exercise, they've become one of my go-to daily headphones thanks in large part to how easy it is to slip the small carrying case into my pocket or bag.

However, they don't feature any noise cancellation, so they aren't ideal for drowning out a noisy office or train.

Pricing and availability

Price

RRP: $349.95

Where to buy

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Specifications

Where to buy

Images: Jaybird