JBL Live 780NC and 680NC launch with AI ANC, LDAC and up to 80-hour battery life

JBL is back with two new wireless headphones. And this time, it is coming for the people who usually default to Sony or Bose.

The company has added the Live 780NC and Live 680NC to its Live series. The 780NC is the over-ear option. The 680NC is the on-ear sibling. Both pack 40mm dynamic drivers, upgraded noise cancellation, and battery life numbers that are hard to ignore.

Let’s start with the headline feature. JBL says these headphones can last up to 50 hours with active noise cancellation turned on and up to 80 hours with ANC off. That is the kind of spec sheet flex that instantly gets attention, especially in a category where premium features usually eat into endurance.

JBL is also pushing its updated True Adaptive Noise Cancelling 2.0, which adjusts in real time based on your surroundings. In plain English, the headphones are supposed to work harder when the world around you gets louder. The company has also added more processing muscle this time, so the ANC should feel more capable than on older Live models.

Calls are getting an upgrade too. Both models use beamforming microphones paired with an AI-trained noise reduction algorithm. Yes, “AI-trained” is now officially on the headphone checklist. JBL says it helps cut through wind, traffic and background chaos so your voice comes through cleaner.

On the design side, JBL has toned down the bulk and cleaned things up. The new models look sleeker, with softer lines, metallic accents and a foldable build. You also get soft-touch ear cushions and customizable controls through the JBL Headphones app, so you are not stuck with whatever button layout JBL picked in a meeting room.

The feature list keeps going. There is LDAC for higher-quality Bluetooth audio, LE Audio, Multipoint Bluetooth for switching between two devices, and JBL Spatial Sound if you want your playlists and movies to feel a little bigger and more dramatic.

JBL is offering both headphones in black, white, champagne, green and blue. Pricing lands at $249.95 for the Live 780NC and $159.95 for the Live 680NC.

So yes, JBL is doing what every audio brand wants to do right now. Better ANC. Better calls. Better battery. The difference here is that the battery life might actually be the part people remember.