JLab JBuds Mini wireless earbuds are the smallest we've ever seen

Jul 05, 2023

Officially, JLab isn’t saying that its new JBuds Mini wireless earbuds are the smallest in the world. After all, with the insane number of wireless earbuds now available on Amazon, Alibaba, and elsewhere, there could be some that are smaller than the JBuds Mini. Instead, JLab’s claim is that the JBuds Mini are the smallest true wireless earbud from any major manufacturer. And I’m forced to agree — I’ve never seen any buds this small.

JLab announced the JBuds Mini at CES 2023 and we’ve been patiently waiting for the company to make them available. Today’s the day: You can buy them from JLab directly or from retailers like Amazon for $40.

The almost comically small earbuds come with their own metal keyring, and why not? At a total weight of 1e ounce (keyring included), they weigh about as much as four typical house keys. There’s also a variety of colors to pick from: black, aqua teal, mint green, pink, and sage gray.

You won’t find fancy extras like active noise cancellation (ANC) or wireless charging on the JBuds Mini, but considering their price, I’m impressed by what they do offer. They’ve got an IP55 rating for dust and water protection — which is more than Apple gives its $249 AirPods Pro — and they have Bluetooth Multipoint, which lets you keep the earbuds connected to two devices simultaneously without needing to connect/disconnect.

You get a claimed 5.5 hours of playtime in each earbud,or 20 total hours when you include the case. That’s not going to break any records, but it’s still more than enough for a whole day’s worth of use. Plus, you get JLab’s version of transparency mode, which it calls Be Aware, and it’s a great feature for folks who want to listen to their tunes in places where the difference between hearing the world and not could be critical.

Finally, the JBuds Mini can be controlled by the free JLab App (iOS/Android) , which gives you customization of the Be Aware setting, touch controls, and three EQ presets (JLab signature, balance or bass boost). A safe hearing option also helps you to protect your ears from hearing damage with configurable volume limits.