JBL has become a strong supporter of Google Assistant technology over the years. As a self-described audiophile and fan of Google Assistant, this couldn’t make me happier. JBL started with smart speakers and soon moved onto connected headphones.
They were one of the first to release a smart display and later this year JBL will even have a Google Assistant Android TV soundbar. That will have to wait for another day though, today we’re here to talk about the JBL Everest 710GA headphones with Google Assistant built-in.
Design
The JBL Everest 710GA have an unassuming design. There is nothing that really stands out or jumps out at you when you see them. The body is plastic with PU leather on the ear cups and headband.
All of the physical buttons are on the right ear cup including a slider power switch, volume controls, playback controls, Bluetooth pairing button, and the Connect and Share button.
The Connect and Share button makes use of JBL’s ShareMe 2.0 technology which allows you to pair another set of BT headphones and share audio with them. In theory, this sounds like a fantastic feature.
Unfortunately, while I could get headphones to pair successfully, each time it would disable media audio playback in Bluetooth settings. The only way to toggle media audio back on was by disconnecting the second pair of headphones. So in practice, the Connect and Share feature fell short and it became a button with no purpose.
While there is no physical button on the left ear cup the JBL Everest 710GA includes a touch-sensitive button where you’ll find the JBL logo. This easy to activate button for Google Assistant is sometimes a little too easy to activate.
If you find yourself removing the headphones often to interact with people you’ll most likely trigger it inadvertently. It can be a little annoying but overall didn’t pose much of an issue in overall use for me.
The ports are split between the ear cups with the micro USB charging port on the left side. It’s hard to believe headphone manufacturers are still using the micro USB port these days.
While I’ve all but transitioned to USB-C exclusively, products like this require me to keep some micro USB cables lying around. I can’t wait for the day that micro USB truly dies off and audio companies fully embrace the USB-C port.
The 2.5mm headphone jack is housed in the right ear cup allowing for a wired backup. As a strong supporter of the headphone jack, I’m grateful for this backup. I don’t always remember or want to charge up my headphones and the majority of the time I opt for using the headphone jack on my phone.
Comfort
The cushioned headband combined with the lightweight nature of the plastic build ensured that I never felt too much pressure on the top of my head. While the ear cups with their soft foam, PU leather, and oversized shape kept my ears comfortably enclosed.
Some headphones suffer from the headband squeezing too tightly against your melon causing discomfort, and I’m happy to report that’s not the case with the JBL Everest 710GA headphones. My only complaint would be your ears tend to get warm after a while but that’s entirely normal for closed back headphones.
Assistant on headphones
What helps the JBL Everest 710GA stand out amongst the crowd is the built-in Google Assistant integration. As an avid user of Google Assistant, using it with several smart speakers, a smart display, and my smartwatch I was excited to get my hands on yet another way to use Assistant.
The only problem was, I could not think of a way having Google Assistant on my headphones would benefit me. I was hoping once I got my hands on them that would all change. Sometimes you cannot truly understand the benefits of a product or feature until you’ve actually experienced it.
First off, the Everest 710GA provided the easiest pairing experience I’ve ever had with a Bluetooth device outside of using NFC. My phone immediately detected them, showed me a notification, and walked me through pairing them with my phone. It also set up access to Google Assistant during this process.
Activating Google Assistant was also extremely convenient. There is no physical button and no voice command is required. Simply placing your finger on the touch-sensitive ear cup on the left side activates Assistant.
Lastly, my favorite feature of having Assistant on my headphones was listening to my notifications and the ability to reply with my voice. However, the reply feature is not one I would use very often unless I was at home.
I don’t really care for people listening in on my conversations in public. This is why most times you’d find me replying to texts in public instead of taking a phone call.
For this same reason, you’d also rarely find me using Assistant on these headphones in public in general. Even though you have all of the same great features of Google Assistant and an easy way to access it, I’d prefer to not be that person talking to his headphones in public. Then when I’m at home, I’m surrounded by smart speakers and don’t generally need to use Assistant on my headphones.
Which begs the question, when would I actually take advantage of using the Assistant functionality on the Everest 710GA? To be honest, outside of listening to my notifications I rarely used Assistant on these headphones. It just didn’t fill a personal need for me. However, that doesn’t mean it won’t for you.
Sound
The Everest 710GA without a doubt have some good sound. They aren’t the best I’ve ever heard in this price range but they won’t disappoint either. The highs are clean and crisp without being overwhelming leading to plenty of detail and sound separation in music. While the bass balances out on the other end adding a little kick but not enough to please you bass heads out there.
Overall, I’d say the sound is balanced and clear. My one criticism is the soundstage is more limited than I prefer which leads to less than an immersive audio experience in my opinion. This is just a small nitpick of mine but overall the JBL Everest 710GA offer some solid sound for enjoying your tunes.
Battery life
JBL promises up to 25 hours of battery life and in my experience, the Everest 710GA headphones have been nothing short of fantastic. I’ve been using them on and off for a couple of weeks now testing out Google Assistant and listening to music.
Even with me constantly triggering Google Assistant they are still going strong. If you were to completely drain them, no worries because within two hours you can have them fully charged and ready to go.
Say you don’t have access to a charger, well that’s when the super handy wired backup comes into play. Just make sure to keep the cable in the included carrying case for emergencies.
Final Thoughts
There is no shortage of competition in the headphone market at all price points. JBL has a leg up here on most others being one of the few to offer Google Assistant built-in with the Everest 710GA.
While the Connect and Share feature fell flat for me the Everest 710GA made it up to me with fantastic battery life, comfort, and more than decent sound quality. What it really comes down to is price and whether Google Assistant support is worth $250 to you. Most headphones in this price range will offer similar sound quality, comfort, and even noise cancelation. JBL themselves sell several models that fit this bill.
However, if Google Assistant support is that killer feature for you then you can’t really go wrong for the price here. If you don’t mind picking up a pair in silver you might even get lucky to score a pair for as low as $170 on Amazon. Otherwise, the gun metal color version pictured here will set you back $250 minimum.
