Recently, I started working on my family ancestry tree with the help of my grandmother which means lots of phone calls and note-taking. With the Jabra Talk 45 Bluetooth headset, I’ve been able to get through hours-long conversations, thanks to a comfortable ear hook coupled with adjustable sound settings. During testing, I also checked for battery life and general performance. Read on to see what I thought.
Design: Easily spotted
One of my biggest concerns with Bluetooth headsets is that most of them have a sleek black design that’s hard to spot. That means if I forget where I set it, I’ll probably find it three days later. The Jabra Talk 45, however, was clearly designed for forgetful folk like myself. While the frame of the headset is black with silver striping, the ear tip is bright orange—and easily spotted on a desk or table. When placed on your ear, the ear tip vanishes, leaving only the sleek dark headset visible. A clear plastic ear hook ensures an ergonomic design and fit (more on that below). What’s really nice about the Talk 45 is that you can swap which ear you would prefer it to be on. It comes preassembled to rest on the right ear. However, if you’d prefer to hear and speak from the left ear, you can pull off the plastic ear hook, flip it, and put it back on without any hiccups.
Comfort: Sturdy and comfortable
When I first began to use the Jabra Talk 45, I noticed my ear would ache after a few hours of use. However, with time, the ergonomic design of the ear hook ensured ultimate comfort. There have been times I have wanted to swap to put on headphones and completely forgot it was in my ear, it’s that comfortable. It also helps that unlike other models, such as the Jabra Talk 25, the Jabra Talk 45 is very secure on the ear. You won’t have to worry about it falling out.
Setup Process: Charge it before use
The Jabra Talk 45 comes with about halfway charged, but it’s in your best interest to charge it completely before delving into heavy use. A charging cord accompanies the Jabra, and you’ll have to pry open the flap to the micro USB charge port. Once you get it charging, come back for it later; it takes about an hour to charge to full. As for the headset itself, it comes preassembled in the packaging, with extra bright orange eartips for different fits and plastic ear hooks in the event you lose or break either.
Performance: Little perks that go the distance
One of the greatest features of this headset is that silver strip is actually a button. Press down on it, and it will tell you not only the battery life remaining, but also how much talk time you have left. For those like myself who forget to charge a Bluetooth device, this was a game-changer. No longer did I have to worry about whether my charge would last through a long phone call. Another fantastic feature is the Siri/Google button. Located on the bottom of the headset—or top, should you choose to switch to the left ear—the button allows for easy access to a plethora of options. You can use voice commands to launch apps and open programs like the Crime Junkies podcast or the latest Kendrick Lamar album. Connecting to each is as simple as pressing the button and telling Google to play it. However, as much as I wanted to love this button and its features, I ended up having a love/hate relationship with it. I wanted it to work, but it took multiple tries for Jabra Talk 45 to register my voice commands. Mostly, I ended up manually going into Spotify and Google Maps to pull up my podcasts and GPS directions. Where the Bluetooth earpiece shines is when it’s used for both phone calls and Zoom meetings. With dual microphone technology, the Jabra Talk 45 ensures that not only will your voice come through crisp and clear, but unwanted ambient noises will be tuned out. Audio on the receiving end also comes through just as clearly. With automatic volume adjustment, you don’t even need to touch your phone—the Jabra Talk 45 does all the work for you. Because the sound comes through with such clarity, Talk 45 has become my go-to for all meetings. With up to 98 feet of connectivity, should you need to leave your Android or iPhone on the desk while you dash for that second cup of coffee, you’ll be able to keep your call without any interruptions. I checked this against my spacious three-floor Midwestern home. When I left my phone on the third floor, I only lost signal when I went to grab a quick lunch on the first floor. While it doesn’t quite make the 98 feet, it still does a good job of going the distance if you need to step away from your phone.
Battery Life: Depends on what you’re doing
After an hour’s charge, the Jabra Talk 45 is supposed to have 6 hours of talk time. In the 40+ hours of testing this device, I came to learn that this depends heavily on usage. If I wanted to talk on the phone, for example, the battery life remained fairly consistent. Flipping to Spotify and Google Music, however, destroyed battery life. The Jabra Talk 45 didn’t last 40 minutes of a podcast despite having 2.5 hours of charge left. If you want to use this for podcasts on the fly, look elsewhere. It’s not designed for such heavy playback (plus the audio is mono). Also, once the initial charge of one hour is complete, plan on setting aside up to two hours of charge time for the Jabra Talk 45. The battery life, for the most part, handles talk well. While using it for Zoom and regular phone conversations, the charge time was accurate. The Jabra Talk 45’s eight days of automatic standby mode also ensured that days later, I was still able to chat with coworkers with hours of battery life to spare.
Price: Higher than the rest
Jabra Talk 45 vs. Jabra Talk 25
However, cheaper doesn’t always mean better. The Talk 45 has that sweet, dual-microphone technology that ensures a crisp voice every time, as well as automatic volume adjustments depending on the severity of background noise. Don’t worry—if Talk 45 isn’t as loud as you’d like it to be, you can manually change it on your phone. In contrast, Talk 25 only has a single microphone for its use. It also has manual volume adjustment buttons on the top of the device. This not only contradicts the completely hands-free features of the device, but this also means that if you want more control over your device, then the Talk 25 is more suited for you. While both of them can stream at great cost to the battery life, it’s important to note that Talk 45 has the Google/Siri option to ensure hands-free use. Talk 25 can certainly stream music too—I’m listening to Panic! At the Disco as I write this—but you’ll have to pull it up on your phone manually. If you want hands-free use, the Jabra Talk 45 is better for your needs. While the price gives me pause, the features of the Jabra Talk 45 are too great to brush it aside for a more budget-friendly option. It’s comfortable thanks to an ergonomic ear wrap and versatile with its voice command features. While the battery could be a lot stronger, the other aspects make this a strong Bluetooth headset I’ll be using for a long time.
