I’m a really big fan of the Jaybird X3, they’re usually on sale for $100, they sound
great, their build quality is decent, and their battery life is ok.
But I don’t know whats a bigger disappointment…
Star Wars The Last Jedi or the Jaybird Run.
I feel the Jaybird Run were rushed out the door, and even after being on the market for
a few months, they still have their issues.
The Jaybird Run were released in the fall of 2017 and retails for $179.99, a pretty
fair premium over the older Jaybird X3 which retails for $129.99 but are usually on sale
for $100.
Even if the Jaybird Run were on sale for the same price as the X3 I still wouldn’t get
them in their current state.
If you want to pick the Jaybird X3 up ill have a link in the description below and if
you use the link it really helps out the channel.
Just a quick run down of what you get with the Jaybird Run, you get your carrying case
that also charges the ear buds, you get a total of 4 pairs of ear fins, you get a total
of 4 silicon ear tips.
Two pairs are oval and 2 pairs are round.
You get a short micro USB cable for charging and a classic jaybird carrying pouch.
But surprisingly you don’t get comply ear tips which are one of the reasons why I like
the Jaybird X3 so much.
So heres the biggest problem with the Jaybird Run, they suffer from rampant connectivity
issues.
And if I remember correctly this is one of the reasons the AirPods were first delayed.
When I first got the Jaybird Run and opened the Jaybird App I first got a notification
that there was a firmware update for the RUN.
But since it meant downloading an app and directly connecting the Jaybird Run’s case
to my computer I was like “Ehh ignore, aint nobody got time for that”.
So I went a few days with the original 1.0.4 firmware.
And it was awful, I couldn’t get through a single song without either of the ear buds
disconnecting, mainly the left ear bud.
So eventually I was like ok lets get the new firmware, and although it was easy to instal
it kind of took me back to 2011 when I had to physically connect my iPhone 4s to my computer
to get the newest iOS Update.
After installing the new firmware update there was a significant improvement.
Connectivity was much more stable… but is still wasn’t as good as any of the other
wireless ear buds I’ve tested.
Just keep in mind the right ear bud on the RUN is the master and the left ear bud is
the slave.
If you move your head a certain angle then the left ear bud will lose connection, if
you cover the right ear bud too much then the left ear bud will lose connection, and
I even found that placing your phone in your left pocket will cause the ear buds to lose
connection in some cases.
Theres only so much software can do but I think this is a hardware issue, but I would
love to be proven wrong.
But the Jaybird Run also feature the worst amount of latency I’ve seen in a long time.
The AirPods have almost no latency while most wireless ear buds have about half a second
or less of latency.
So some people can ignore it.
But the Jaybird Run have like 2 seconds of latency.
And personally I cant watch Youtube videos with this type of latency.
But connectivity issues isn’t the only grip I have with the jaybird RUN.
Their carrying case is among the cheapest and filmiest I’ve tested so far.
I am highly concerned that this lid is just going to eventually end up snapping off.
The ear buds also aren’t magnetically aligned to their case like most other wireless ear
buds.
And this is one of those small things you’re going to miss when you don’t have it any
more.
Since the ear buds don’t magnetically attach themselves to their case I noticed I drop
these ear buds why more frequently when I’m taking them out or putting them back into
their case while at the gym.
And putting ear buds into your ear after they were on the gym floor is just disgusting.
And I think its also dangerous.
Battery life on the Jaybird RUN is pretty fair.
When you put them in they will verbally tell you their current battery status and through
the Jaybird App you can see how much battery each ear bud has.
But when it comes to performance, I go to the gym 4 times a week for 2 hours And Jaybird
claims the ear buds can hold a 4 hour charge and the case adds another 8 hours, and thats
roughly what I’ve been getting.
Usually by the 5th workout day I have to put these guys back on the charger.
Now I’m not completely hating on the Jaybird RUN, they have a few good things going for
them.
the Jaybird Run are very low profile when you stick them into your ears.
And with the Jaybird RUN you have a lot of combination options when it comes to tips
and ear fins.
And once you find that perfect combination they fit very well.
The fins keep them locked in place and their low mass means they wont wiggle out like the
Bose SoundSport Free if you’re moving around too much.
One of the things that always made Jaybird special as a brand is their sound quality.
And just like the X3, the RUN sound great…
if they mange to keep a connection.
And you can make them sound how ever you’d like through the Jaybird APP.
If you listen to a lot of hip hop you can make them bass heavy, or if you want to you
can really bring the vocals out.
But the only problem is that they don’t get too loud, so this might be a problem if
you workout at a gym that really likes to play Havana at max volume over and over and
over again.
The Jaybird Run also has some really easy to use buttons that doesn’t require a lot
of effort to press.
If you press once on the right ear bud you’ll play of pause your music and double pressing
will skip a track.
And if you press the left button once you’ll activate Siri.
But Siri will only talk to you in the right ear bud.
But unfortunately triple pressing doesn’t go back a track which is something I really
want to see.
Jaybird Also gives you the option to make the left button lower your volume and make
the right button raise the volume.
But in most cases I prefer the default settings.
The Jaybird RUN have some really good things going for them.
They are very low profile, they are very light weight, and they give you a lot of customization
options when it comes to finding your perfect fit.
They sound good but at the expense of volume.
But their battery life is just good enough.
But their rampant connectivity issues is just not acceptable for a company like jaybird
in a highly saturated market.
I can’t recommend the Jaybird Run in their current state.
If they release a new firmware update then I’l give them another try.
But for the JayBird Run 2 they need to fix the connection issues, improve the carrying
case with a sturdy hinge and magnets for the ear buds, they need to improve the drivers
and battery life, and they need to swap out the micro USB port on the charging case for
a USB C port.