Jlab has been making earbuds for a while now, and they all seem to have one thing in common: they’re all cheap. Cheap doesn’t always mean a bad experience, but it doesn’t guarantee good value either. At just $20, the GO Air Pop headphones are some of the cheapest on the market, but I’ve heard worse that they cost more. They are not greatbut since they can be purchased practically with pocket money, they don’t have to perform miracles to get a permit. While they’re not for audiophiles, they’re fine if you don’t want to invest heavily in earbuds that you plan to use and abuse.
G-Lab Go Air Pop
Read comments
.jpg?q=50&fit=contain&w=755&h=430&dpr=1.5)
Read more reviews
.jpg?q=50&fit=contain&w=128&h=128&dpr=1.5)
.jpg?q=50&fit=contain&w=128&h=128&dpr=1.5)
The Jlab GO Air Pop earbuds cost an incredibly cheap $20, all with some good life features. Although they don’t look great, they seem perfect for anyone whose kids are always losing their earbuds.
- Single earphone mode
- Dirt cheap
- Two-year warranty
- Good response to touch control
- It is difficult to get it out of the case
- The single mode controls are wonky
- Rat tail charger
- Sounds are distorted in most EQ profiles
Design, hardware and what’s in the box
The GO Pop Air buds, as you would expect for a Hamilton 2, are cheap-feeling plastic and weigh barely anything. The earphones are placed in the charging case with relatively strong magnets, making it difficult to take them out. At first I thought the problem was just my fat fingers, but I asked someone with less sausage-like fingers to try to get it out, and he almost gave up after a minute. With a little practice, it will be easier to get them out, but the soft sides, slight tapers, strong magnets, and low profile of the buds while in the case all come together in a Voltron of frustration.
.jpg?q=50&fit=crop&w=825&dpr=1.5)
Anyone who hates getting 6-inch micro-b cables with cheap electronics will be relieved not to find one here, because the box has a built-in USB-A cable with a reversible end tucked at the bottom. In addition to being a nice change of pace for anyone tired of flipping USB cables multiple times to plug them in, this is great for anyone with USB charging ports in their outlets, but even more frustrating if like me you hide your wall warts behind furniture.
Single mode is very easy to use, and will automatically turn on when you put one of the buds back in the charging case, or just take one of them out. However, you only have access to the controls assigned to whichever headset you’re using. So, if you just want to input the left bud, a single tap will lower the volume, a double tap will summon your assistant, and a long press will skip again. While you can make do with the left bud by using Assistant to turn up the volume or skip forward, the same can’t be said for using the right bud. The right bud raises the volume with a single tap, skips when held down, and plays/pauses with a double tap. Although gesture timing is easy to determine, it’s frustrating how to split up the controls – splitting up the audio between the buds? Preposterous!
To Jlab’s credit, there’s one thing that’s done very well here, and that’s packaging. It only contains a small bud packet and a couple extra bud pieces, and it’s not too big. The packaging is all paper and cardboard, so it’s nice to see that the packaging can be stacked with recyclable paper.
Sound quality, features, battery life
One of the first things I noticed when I installed the Pop Airs was their impressive noise isolation. A good seal like this has the downside of being uncomfortable after a while. The tips are fairly stiff, which makes for a very aggressive stamp, so I usually end up taking them out after 3 or 4 hours.
.jpg?q=50&fit=crop&w=825&dpr=1.5)
Jlab brags about the three EQ profiles built into the headphones, and it’s refreshing to have that without having to put another app on my phone. The EQ comes in Balanced, Bass Enhancing, and JLab Signature flavors. Bass boost is exactly what it sounds like, where the bass is so intense that it distorts and distorts the vocals. The balanced sound still has extra bass, but at least the highs and mids keep it distortion-free. The JLab Signature is V-shaped, with the same mid-bass and a few additional extra features thrown in for good measure. The extra bass can be fun sometimes, so I won’t call it that everyone bad. The only Bluetooth codec supported by the GO Air Pop headphones is SBC, but based on the sound of it, this low-bitrate codec isn’t the bottleneck. Although they’re not meant for sitting down on a quiet evening enjoying an album, that doesn’t mean they’re useless.
The headphones are IPX4 rated, so they seem like a good choice for cheap gym headphones. However, it’s not just race that you need to think about. I once saw someone accidentally crush their Airpods Pro case when they dropped a loaded bar, and they looked just as devastated as they did when they realized what had happened. If that happened to the julep buds, I wouldn’t feel a thing. Likewise, if you’re getting earbuds for a child, they’re cheap enough that you won’t be upset when they inevitably lose them.
.jpg?q=50&fit=crop&w=825&dpr=1.5)
JLab claims over 8 hours of battery in the headphones and another 24 hours in the case. This is in the same ballpark as I got, but you can easily extend that with a lot of use of single buds. The battery on the box is a bit wonky, showing a solid red light for any ratio between 100 and 25, and flashing red below that. Charging leaves less explanation, as it flashes blue while charging and goes steady once it’s full.
Should you buy it?
maybe. Not everyone needs the best earbuds money can buy. There are reasons to own inexpensive earbuds, whether it’s to hit the gym, do yard work, or just give your live-streaming relative’s iPad at the dinner table. Beyond that, there’s not much reason to go out of your way to buy earbuds that you know are kind of crappy. However, between the two-year warranty, acceptable sound, and IPX4 rating, it looks like they could find a home in a lot of gym bags.
Buy it if…
- You want cheap IP-rated earbuds to walk around
- You have a child who constantly loses his earbuds
Don’t buy it if…
- You care about sound quality and don’t mind paying for it
