The new Jabra Elite 5 are middle-of-the-road between the Elite 7 Pro and Elite 4 Active - more like upgraded Elite 4 Active than a price friendly Elite 7 Pro. The Elite 5 feature a hybrid ANC system to suppress outside noises using feedback microphones on the inside and feedforward microphones on the outside. Compared to its predecessors, the Jabra Elite 7 Pro and Elite 4 Active, the Elite 5 noise cancellation when listening to audio is very similar - good for blocking out "bassy" type ambient sounds - voices not as much.

Design wise, the Elite 5 follows the same style design of the Elite 4 Active and Elite 3 with a tall and compact charging case with flat top/bottom to upright on a desk. The Elite 5 also have tactile physical buttons on-board the earbuds, as well as a raised charging dock that makes removing the earbuds super easy even with chunky fingers. 

 

You can pinch them out or push the earbuds out of the case at an angle. The weight is low, 4 grams per earbud and 39 grams for the case - same weight as the Elite 4 Active. The Elite 7 Pro earbuds/case are heavier (5.5 grams/44 grams). The Elite 3 is the lightest (4 grams/33 grams). Dimensions of the Elite 5 case are similar 6cm long x 2cm thick x 3cm high. 

Opening the charging case does not trigger automatic pairing so, the earbuds have to be taken out in order to be connected. You can switch between earbuds seamlessly but there is a 5 second re connection delay when switching between earbuds for mono listening. Three gesture controls are supported: press, double press and triple press for controlling media playback and call options, which include in-call volume adjustment, mute/unmute microphone, call-on-hold switching (new and current call) and sidetone. 

The Elite 5 earbuds have a long narrow nozzle that inserts deep inside the ear canal. Despite the similarities to the Elite 7 Pro, Elite 4 Active and Elite 3, the Elite 5 earbuds look slightly different due to the "on ear detection sensor" on-board the earbuds for automatic play/pause and auto calls. There are voice prompts too for ANC/Hearthrough. The voice prompts can be heard, although not as clear at 100% volume. Some earbuds reduce the volume to allow the voice prompt to be heard clearly at 100% volume.

 

Like on most ANC earbuds, the Elite 5 ANC microphones are also designed to suppress noises during calls. There is a third microphone on each earbud for speaking. The noise cancellation during calls isn't quite as good as the noise cancellation when listening to audio but it's good enough for conference/ work calls. 

 

In terms of internal hardware, the Jabra Elite 5 has a similar setup to the Elite 7 Pro, Elite 3 and Elite 4 Active using 6mm dynamic drivers. The Elite 5 bluetooth chip is more versatile though, than previous Elite series earbuds supporting multipoint connection as well as all three major audio codecs SBC, AAC and aptX codec. 

 

The Elite 7 Pro supports SBC and AAC but does not support aptX. The Elite 4 Active and Elite 3 support aptX and SBC but do not support AAC. Multipoint dual connection support is useful for connecting the earbuds to two devices as the same time and be able to switch between them seamlessly - convenient when receiving calls. As well as ANC, the Elite 5 feature transparency/ambient mode (Jabra's Hearthrough tech) that enables the ANC mics to pickup external noises, letting you talk to people and  become aware of your surroundings. 

Battery performance is very good at 7 hours with ANC ON - which is 2 hours longer than Elite 7 Pro and Elite 4 Active. With ANC OFF, battery life is 9 hours. The Elite 5 case can hold 21 hours of extra charge. The charging time for the Elite 5 earbuds and case is 3 hours, which is half hour longer than the charging time of the Elite 7 Pro.

The Elite 5 charging case supports wireless charging - same as the Elite 7 Pro so, you can charge the case via a Qi charger. It takes 6 hours via a 5W Qi wireless charger and 2 hrs 30 minutes via cable. The Elite 5 earbuds support quick charge.The Elite 4 Active and Elite 3 cases do not support wireless charging.