I must hand it to Skullcandy as while they have a plethora of true wireless earbuds, they make sure they have various types of wallets. From the one that is willing to spend over $100 for audio or those that are on the fence but want to get into true wireless. That is where the Jib comes into play and is super accessible. But how good are a pair of $30 true wireless earbuds?
Style
So “Jib” is their lowest tier of earbuds in their lineup. Jibs previously were wired and have now been added to the true wireless world. First off, these earbuds are super light. They come in at 48.5g which is almost 1/3 the weight of their Push earbuds I covered over the summer. Jibs have silicone tips to stay in the ear and come in various sizes. Each earbud features buttons with the Skullcandy insignia embossed on. They are rated IPX4 for sweat/water resistant. The case is light as well but slightly bulky but nothing too crazy. It feels like it’s plastic but is a bit flimsy and cheap feeling. Also, it charges via microUSB. I imagine this was to keep the cost down.
Skullcandy Jib comes with a charging case, silicone ear tips and a microUSB cable.
Features
There isn’t any app to accompany the Jib earbuds, but I am not too surprised by that. As mentioned earlier each earbud has buttons. You can press for instance to play/pause, double tap and hold to increase or decrease volume controls and even access voice assistants such as Google or Siri. I only tried with Google while paired with a Galaxy Fold 2 and it worked w/o any issue. While the buttons do work, I wish they had more “click” to them. I feel like I have to kind of grab the earbud to click on it at times or else I’m putting it in my ear canal.
On the battery side you get a total of 22 with 16 in the case and 6 on the earbuds. Battery life seemed to live up to those numbers. Making calls on the Jib seemed to fare decent with me being able to hear the other party and vice versa without issue.
Sound
Jibs are utilizing 6mm drivers for your audio listening. I wasn’t expecting any noise cancelling but since they seem to fit snug in the ear you get a slight amount of noise seclusion. For its price point these earbuds don’t sound that bad. I did feel they are lacking in the bass area especially while listening to tracks such as “Meek Mill – Litty”. There is not much thump to be felt. Vocals can sound a bit far while listening to “Usher / Ella Mai – Don’t Waste My Time”. Also cranking them at higher levels can get a bit scratchy.
Verdict
When first looking at its price point, I didn’t expect much out of Skullcandy’s Jib earbuds, but they can surprise you a bit. They are light and comfortable in the ear, have decent battery life and audio is okay. Basically, with these you get what you pay for. Check out Jibs for $29.99 on Skullcandy or Amazon in True Black or 92 Blue.
