JBL has updated two of its most popularBluetooth speakerswith major improvements . The raw Flip 7 and file 6 get longer playtime , improved bass part response , lossless audiovia USB - C , better water protective covering , and a clever set of accessories that make them easier to take . These betterment come in with a $ 20 bump in Leontyne Price : the Flip 7 costs $ 150 , while the Charge 6 is $ 200 . Both can be preordered in a variety of colors and patterns starting March 10 , with deliveries start April 6 .
Just verify you already own a charge- and data - up to USB - C transmission line as JBL no longer includes one with these speakers .
JBL Flip 7
The belated version of JBL ’s super - popular Flip speaker gets upgrades both inside and out . The cosmopolitan flesh and size is unchanged , but JBL has bring a new “ pushlock ” mechanism on the speaker ’s spine that permit you attach a form of accessories . Included in the box in both a wrist strap and a snap ring loop , which can be swap in seconds .
You may also note the presence of anAuracaststylized “ A ” logotype button on the controls . JBL has been transitioning its portable from its older PartyBoost technology to a newer Auracast - based organisation for creating stereo pairs and multi - speaker groups . It shew up first in 2024 on the excellentJBL Xtreme 4 , and now it ’s uncommitted on the Flip 7 and Charge 6 too . It ’s not percipient to me what advantages the Auracast - based system offer , but one thing ’s for sure : it does n’t work with JBL ’s PartyBoost intersection . So if you ’re hoping to stereo couple two JBL Speaker , ensure they ’re both Auracast or PartyBoost , but not a admixture .
JBL enounce its new AI Sound Boost — which canvass music waves in real - meter — “ optimizes the talker driver without distortion . ” I ’m not quite certain what this mean for substantial - worldly concern listening , but the society assures us that it “ push the bound of sound performance and transforms the way we listen . ”
What does seem real is the Flip 7 ’s freshwater bass response , which is now a little deeper ( a Sir David Alexander Cecil Low of 60Hz versus 63Hz on the Flip 6 ) , and its supernumerary power : It ’s rated at a maximal output of 35 W as compared to theJBL Flip 6‘s 30 watt .
There ’s also the accession of lossless audio via the USB - hundred port . We ’re beginning to see USB - vitamin C sound on a hatful of wireless headphones , but in the Bluetooth loudspeaker world , it ’s a rarity . Using a USB - one C datum cable , you may connect the Flip 7 to any laptop , pad , or earphone that has a USB - C port . You ’ll get candle caliber phone sent to the speaker flat , instead of the lossy contraction associated with the Flip 7 ’s Bluetooth connection . regrettably , we wo n’t get USB - one C sound recording at launching . JBL enounce it will be enabled via a future microcode update , but has n’t said when that ’s expected to arrive .
In the JBL Portables app , the Flip 7 gets an enhanced , multi - band equalizer for custom EQ mount and several EQ presets . I ’ve spent a brusque fourth dimension comparing the Flip 6 and 7 and so far , it ’s these EQ presets that make the biggest difference .
Battery life story snuff it from 12 hours on the Flip 6 to a claimed 16 hours on the Flip 7 . Some of that extra stamina is the battery itself , but it ’s JBL ’s new Playtime Boost pick that permit you extend your use of the speaker by two hours . According to JBL , Playtime Boosts can increase volume while simultaneously increasing battery animation , but it disables any EQ mode you may be using .
Finally , JBL says the Flip 7 is even more impervious to water , find the rating from an already excellentIP67 to IP68 , lease the Flip 7 survive even extended periods of submersion .
JBL Charge 6
JBL has given the new Charge a similar set of enhancements . The speaker now comes with a woven strap that can be used as a carry handle — with each end attached to the built - in laniard rod — or as a carpus strap , with both ends attach to one end of the speaker .
Like the Flip 7 , it has Auracast for stereoscopic photograph union and multi - speaker pigeonholing , the new AI Sound Boost algorithms , and ( after the firmware update ) it will benefit from USB - C audio too .
You may detect a bigger variety to the Charge ’s low - closing . JBL has made the woofer itself larger than on the Charge 5 , and frequency answer is now rated at 56Hz – 20kHz ( vs. 60Hz – 20kHz on theCharge 5 ) . There ’s more king too , with a claimed 45 - watt maximal output , instead of 40 watts on the previous model .
fitly for a product name Charge , barrage life is up a tidy sum from 20 hours to a take 28 hours . Playtime Boost once again handles the last four hours of life extension . It ’s not just more efficient — the battery itself hold more juice ( 34 watt - hours vs. 27 ) — which stand for more power for charging connected gadget .
And , like it ’s smaller sibling , the Charge 6 is now IP68 rated — about the most protection from dust and water that you could get on a non - industrial intersection .
