JBL has a track record of making good products that won’t break your bank account, and when the JBL Flip 3 was first released it was just another product to địa chỉ cửa hàng to the list. It came out way back in 2015, & while there is a newer version out now some people might still be wondering if the Flip 3 is worth picking up. While the newer Flip 4 does have a few extra features thrown in, is it really that much better than the Flip 3 or can you get away with saving a few bucks & picking up the older model?
Related: JBL Flip 2 Review/ Best công nghệ bluetooth speakers under $50
Editors Note: This nhận xét was updated khổng lồ reflect the market as it is in 2019, with new links to useful information, & an overall kiến thiết overhaul lớn match the style of our recent reviews.
What’s in the box?
In the box you get manuals, the JBL Flip 3, & a micro USB charging cable.
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JBL has a fairly standard boxing process & that hasn’t changed between the Flip 3 và the previous version, or any other JBL product for that matter. In the orange và white box you’ll get the Flip 3, a bright orange micro USB cable, và the warranty and information booklets.
Build và Design
Everything is clearer in hindsight, và looking back it was really around the time of the JBL Flip 3 where the company really began to lớn nail down its thiết kế philosophy. If you remember the Flip 2, you know that it was basically just a hunk of plastic.
This was the first Flip to introduce the fabric covering which gave it the splashproof build and a way better grip. It also comes with an attached string for hanging from places which came in handy when hanging it from my pack on a hike and also just for hanging it somewhere in the bathroom during a shower. Of course, as the Flip 4 is newer there’s some expanded functionality, like an actual IPX7 waterproof kiến thiết rather than just a splashproof covering.
As far as button placement is concerned, the Flip 3 again blazed the path for the Flip 4 as they have almost identical buttons and functions. That said, it was different from the previous version which had all of its buttons along the vị trí cao nhất (or the side depending on how you orient the speaker). The Flip 3 has them embedded into the fabric of the speaker & also on the hard plastic portion on the back.
The bluetooth không dây pairing button, volume controls, and call answer/end button are all found along the side of the speaker blending into the fabric. Along the spine are the power nguồn button và the JBL connect button which allows you to lớn connect multiple JBL speakers together. The current version of this feature lets you connect up lớn 100 speakers together, but unless you have a lot of friends or a lot of money (or both), I don’t see too many people needing khổng lồ connect more than three. Under that are five small LED lights that let you know how much juice you have left và further down you’ll find the AUX input & micro USB charging port hidden under a sealed flap.
So what did JBL do to the ends? It turned them into dual passive external radiators which is just another feature that found its way into the Flip 4.
Connectivity
Using công nghệ bluetooth version 4.1, the JBL has a range of about 30 feet & we found this lớn be on the lower kết thúc of the spectrum. I was able lớn get khổng lồ about 50 feet before any serious sputtering began to lớn interrupt playback.
The onboard controls work flawlessly và people couldn’t even tell that I was talking to lớn them via the microphone built into the speaker instead of a phone. Playback controls also work as advertised as well so you can skip between tracks and pause or play music with no problems, which is fairly standard stuff that also found it’s way into the Flip 4 so you’re not really missing too much either way.
Battery Life
Battery life was another area that JBL improved on when making the Flip 3. When compared khổng lồ the previous Flip 2 it was a huge improvement. It has a 3000 mAh battery that provides roughly 9.5 hours of constant playback which is going khổng lồ get you through most of the day without a problem. Of course, the new Flip 4 adds a few hours khổng lồ that and maxes out at 12 hours of constant playback.
Sound Quality
The JBL Flip 2 was one of our favorite speakers for a long time not just because of the low price, but also because of the sound quality. We were curious how the Flip 3 would hold up to lớn its predecessor and weren’t surprised at all that it also sounds very good for the price.
The lows are nice and full sounding for a speaker of this size (and even some that are a little bigger). It can definitely be felt if you place it down on a table & let the external bass radiators to go to lớn work. The bass in Baby Blue by action Bronson can be easily distinguished but isn’t overpowering at all.
The mids were a little bit forward but just enough to lớn make vocals & guitars a little bit easier lớn hear và doesn’t ruin the experience at all. Even background synths weren’t annoyingly masked by other elements of the low end.
Highs get a little harsh when maxed out, but if you keep it slightly under max volume it’s perfect. In Cinder và Smoke by Iron và Wine the screechy slides of the guitar will make your ears perk up a bit but if you lower the volume a little it’s barely noticeable.
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Should you buy the JBL Flip 3?
JBL always had a good thing on its hands with the Flip series, but it seems lượt thích they rethought a couple of aspects of the speaker that made the Flip 3 the beginning of a good thing. It was, and still is, arguably one of the best speakers under $100 you can get.
The only problem is that the JBL Flip 4 now exists, which has many of the same features and improves upon others (like an IPX7 waterproof build). It also packs more of a punch in the battery life department & still somehow manages lớn maintain a sub-$100 price tag. There are times when you can even find the Flip 4 hovering around $75, so unless you can find a Flip 3 for dirt cheap there really isn’t any reason why you should pick one up over a Flip 4.