

That doesn’t mean it sounds like Harry Styles and co, but rather that you won’t get the full effect of its 20W of power unless you’re right in front of it. JBL Charge 3 – Sound qualityĭespite being almost entirely cylindrical, the sound that comes from the Charge 3 is quite one-directional. Any of the black, blue or red versions are nicer and the grey one’s only worth considering if you like boring things. My review sample came in a fetching mint green colour, reminiscent of mint choc chip ice cream but nowhere near as tasty. Just make sure that flap round the back is closed properly If you’re more a hot-tub kind of person it can put up with 1m of water for up to 30 minutes. A five-light indicator on the plinth shows how much is left, and, when you’ve got it plugged into the mains, how long to go until it’s fully charged.Įxposed bass ports at either end will make you doubt its waterproofing, but I took it into the shower alongside my bottle of Wash ‘n’ Go and the water bounced off it like a duck in a kagoule.
#Jbl charge 3 price Bluetooth#
Having rewatched Inception recently, I used it to charge another Bluetooth speaker. Of course, that’ll eat into its battery life, but with about 20 hours at your disposal you can probably afford to lose a bit. It’s not exactly a substitute for a pocket-sized charger but it’s certainly handy to have the option. The Charge 3’s whopper of a battery (6000mAh, twice the size of the one in the Samsung Galaxy S8) can be used to juice your phone.
#Jbl charge 3 price portable#
Round the back there’s a flap that covers the usual micro USB for charging, a 3.5mm input for anyone still clinging to their old iPod Classic, and one other socket you don’t usually see on portable Bluetooth speakers: a full-size USB port. I only had the one, so wasn’t able to test it, but in theory it’s only limited by funds and logistics, so if you can get 500 supported speakers in the same place, you can really test the patience of your neighbours. This is used to activate the JBL Connect feature, which allows you to connect other JBL-made products to form a symphony of speakers all playing the same tune from the same phone. In the middle, next to the power button, you’ll find one that looks like a cross between an hourglass and an infinity symbol. A row of buttons on top offer the usual array of controls: Bluetooth pairing, volume adjustment, and play/pause, which you can press twice in quick succession to skip a track, or hold to summon Siri or Android’s Google Assistant from your phone. Those are features you don’t find on every Bluetooth speaker and it’s available at a decent price, so there must be a catch, right?Ībout the size of a Thermos flask and covered in a tightly woven fabric, the Charge 3 is essentially cylindrical but for a flattened platform on the bottom that ensures it sits still. Either way it comes with heavy-duty waterproofing, a whopper of a battery that’ll let you siphon off juice if your phone dies, and you can daisy chain similarly branded speakers together to boost the volume. JBL’s Charge 3 is a USB phone charger with a Bluetooth speaker built in.
