Jabra has just announced two new headphones. Immediately afterwards, he confirmed that he was leaving the market

In a most peculiar move, Jabra has announced two new TWS headphones from the Elite range and, immediately afterwards, confirmed that it is leaving the consumer market. That is, it will stop manufacturing headphones at the user level to focus on the most lucrative segment and the one in which it has the most experience, which is the business segment.

The new headphones… A couple of days ago, Jabra announced the second generation of its consumer-level flagships, the Jabra Elite 8 Active and Elite 10. Two headphones with ANC, Dolby Audio sound and a very interesting case. The case has Bluetooth LE and can connect to any device via 3.5mm jack or USB-C. That way, you can listen to sound in the headphones from any source, even those that don’t have Bluetooth.

The easiest way to understand it is to imagine the screen of an airplane. The most normal thing is that these infotainment systems do not have a Bluetooth connection, but rather we have to use wired headphones to be able to listen. Well, instead of that, we can connect the case to the screen via jack and the headphones to the case via Bluetooth. The case receives sound from the airplane screen and outputs it to the headphones wirelessly. A very cool trick.

… they are the last ones. These devices will be available in mid-June, their prices will be 229.99 and 279.99 euros (Elite 8 Active and Elite 10, respectively) and they will be the last consumer headphones launched by the brand. Because? For a very simple reason: they leave the consumer market. They are abandoning it, plain and simple, as confirmed by Jabra’s parent company, GN Group.

Jabra says goodbye. Not quite, but she does it. As the firm explained in a statement, “GN has decided to gradually reduce its Elite and Talk product lines to focus and dedicate more resources to more attractive parts of the GN business.” This is how they detail it from the company:

“The reorientation of the Elite product line towards the premium segment, initiated in 2023, has resulted in a higher level of profitability than before. However, the investment required for future innovation and growth in this highly competitive space is considered unjustified in the long term given the associated risks. The Talk product line follows a similar logic and is positioned in the declining mono Bluetooth market. Therefore, after a thorough review of the company, the decision has been made to gradually reduce the. Elite and Talk product lines.

Some figures. To give us an idea, in 2023 the consumer business generated 1,253 million Danish crowns (167 million euros) in revenue for GN Group. The Elite range represented 70%, the Talk range 10% and the BlueParrot range, which will now move to the business division, 20%.

What’s wrong with my headphones? GN assures that the inventory reduction will be gradual and that they intend to finish it by the end of 2024. However, they affirm that they will continue to offer service and support to customers “for several years.” How many exactly? They have not confirmed it.

An ultra-competitive market. And the market for completely wireless headphones for consumers has a huge number of very fierce players with whom it is difficult to compete. Samsung, Apple, Xiaomi, Sony and Huawei are just some of the names that may come to mind. Jabra did not make bad products by any means, but the truth is that fighting these titans is not an easy thing.

What other things does GN Group do? Jabra is not the only brand in the group. The company has ReSound, Beltone, Interton and Danavox in its portfolio, which are brands of medical grade hearing aids for people with hearing difficulties. It also has SteelSeries, the gaming device brand; and perhaps a lesser known one dedicated to sound devices for military units: FalCom.

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