There are a lot of options in the truly wireless earbud market, but Apple’s AirPods pretty heavily dominate it. If you’re an Android user (or an iPhone user looking for something different), however, the Jaybird Vista should be on your shortlist.
If you’ve shopped around for truly wireless earbuds at all, you’ve probably run across the name Jaybird a time or two—the Run XT was a pretty popular set when it was first released. But there was room for improvement there, and Jaybird saw that. That’s why the Vista was born.
This set of earbuds takes what Jaybird learned with the Run XT and improves it in every possible way. The case is sleeker and smaller; the buds are lighter and more comfortable, and—maybe most importantly—they sound even better. In fact, this is the first set of truly wireless earbuds I’ve tried that can compete with AirPods’ sound profile.
Let’s Talk About That Case
If I have one big complaint with the Run XT, it’s the case—it’s effing huge. It’s not really pocketable because it’s so big, and its rounded shape just makes it all-around awkward. The Vista’s case fixes both of those issues because it’s smaller, flatter, and more squared off. The overall footprint means it should fit really went in your pocket. It does mine, anyway.
When it comes to how the case opens, it’s sort of the opposite of AirPods—If AirPods have a “vertical” case, then the Vista has a horizontal one. It lies flat, and the top flips open, which is a similar design to what nearly everyone else (aside from Apple) is using right now. While I don’t think it’s quite as sleek as AirPods’ case, It’s still better than almost all of the competition. The case is held closed by a magnet (as opposed to a clasp), which stays in place pretty damn well—I grabbed the little lanyard and flung it around pretty hard, and it remained closed. It works well, and I love the streamlined form factor.
One (mostly minor) complaint with the Vista case has to do with the color. I have a Nimbus Gray model for review, and while the gray is quite sleek, it gets dirty pretty easily. Just regular use (read: being thrown in my bag or pockets) has the case looking a little dingy and discolored around the edges. I doubt you’d have the same issue with the Black or Mineral Blue models.
It’s also worth noting that Jaybird opted for USB-C charging on the Vista case, which isn’t a given even though it’s the year two-thousand-and-nineteen. You know, the year that everything should be USB-C but somehow still isn’t.
But I digress. The case is small, light, clean, and charges over USB-C. It also charges your buds, of course, because that’s its primary job. Speaking of, Jaybird says you should be able to get about 6 hours of use from the buds by themselves (at medium volume), with the case offering an additional 10 hours. And if you find yourself in a position where you’re desperate for tunes but the buds are dead, 5 minutes in the little box will get you an hour of playback.
In use, I assume those numbers are accurate. I didn’t use the Vista for a solid 6-hour session at any point, but I was able to use them multiple times on a few trips (including four 3+ hours flights) without needing to throw the case at a charger. I realize that’s not super scientific, but I feel like it’s still pretty damn real-world.
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