Immediately after introducing upgraded versions of its\u00a0Elite 10 and Elite 8 Active earbuds, Jabra says it\u2019s departing the consumer earbuds market entirely. Jabra\u2019s parent company\u00a0GN announced that it\u2019s winding down\u00a0its Elite and Talk audio product ranges in order to \u201cincrease focus and resources on more attractive parts\u201d of its business, citing the rising costs of competition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe markets have changed over time, and it is today our assessment that we cannot generate a fair return on investment compared to the many other opportunities we have within our Hearing, Enterprise, and Gaming businesses,\u201d said GN CEO Peter Karlstromer. \u201cI am very grateful to our retail partners, who have supported us on the Elite and Talk product lines, as well as to the consumers who made us a part of their lives.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The departure for Talk \u2014 a dated-looking lineup of over-the-ear mono Bluetooth headphones \u2014 isn\u2019t surprising given the decline in that category, but Jabra\u2019s Elite range of wireless earbuds have been generally well received\u00a0since launching in 2016. The decision follows last year\u2019s decision to redirect the Elite lineup towards the premium audio market, with Jabra\u2019s parent now saying the level of investment required to remain competitive is \u201cdeemed unjustified in the long-term\u201d despite having initially resulted in \u201cstronger profitability.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jabra isn\u2019t exiting the audio category entirely, however, with\u00a0Digital Trends\u00a0noting that the company will continue developing its enterprise-focused\u00a0Evolve lineup. The second-gen Elite 8 Active and Elite 10 earbuds will still be available to buy later this month as the final entries to the Elite lineup. Jabra will continue to provide support for the products for \u201cseveral years,\u201d and expects its remaining inventory to be depleted by the end of 2024.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Immediately after introducing upgraded versions of its\u00a0Elite 10 and Elite 8 Active earbuds, Jabra says it\u2019s departing the consumer earbuds market entirely. Jabra\u2019s parent company\u00a0GN announced that it\u2019s winding down\u00a0its Elite and Talk audio product ranges in order to \u201cincrease focus and resources on more attractive parts\u201d of its business, citing the rising costs of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":6878,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[43,188],"tags":[155],"class_list":{"0":"post-6877","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-news","8":"category-tech","9":"tag-technology"},"yoast_head":"\n