Shortly after unveiling new versions of its Elite 10 and Elite 8 Active earbuds, Jabra announced its exit from the consumer earbuds market. Jabra’s parent company, GN, revealed that it will be discontinuing its Elite and Talk audio product lines to focus on more promising areas of its business, citing the escalating costs of competition.
“The market dynamics have evolved, and we now believe that our return on investment in this segment is not justifiable compared to other opportunities within our Hearing, Enterprise, and Gaming divisions,” stated GN CEO Peter Karlstromer. “We are deeply appreciative of our retail partners who supported the Elite and Talk product lines, as well as the consumers who chose our products.”
While the decision to discontinue the Talk series—comprising older-style mono Bluetooth headsets—is unsurprising due to declining demand, Jabra’s Elite range of wireless earbuds has been well-regarded since its debut in 2016. Last year, the company shifted the Elite lineup towards the premium audio market, but GN has now concluded that the investment needed to stay competitive in this space is no longer viable in the long term, despite initial gains in profitability.
Jabra will not be exiting the audio category entirely. The company will continue to develop its enterprise-focused Evolve series. The recently introduced second-generation Elite 8 Active and Elite 10 earbuds will still be available for purchase later this month, marking the final additions to the Elite lineup. Jabra plans to support these products for several years and expects to sell out its remaining inventory by the end of 2024.