JBL has been offering a great range of wireless speakers for the past couple of years now and the company is one of the few audio focused brands that offers appealing audio quality at a fairly good price. The newest product from JBL is the Flip 3 which has seen some improvement in design as well as audio output.
The Flip 3 continues the trend with a round cylindrical shape just like the Flip 2 and the first Flip speaker.This time however you get a fabric mesh and a lot less plastic, which is nice to see. The updated look seems to be inspired from the UE Boom speaker, not only because of the new mesh, but also the rubberised volume, call and Bluetooth keys embedded on it. These also work as the play, pause, next and previous controls for your music. The new speaker is water resistant as well, a feature that a lot of speaker makers are incorporating in their products. Now you can’t dunk the speaker in water, but it can withstand some splashes or mild rain.The microUSB port for charging and the auxiliary port are nicely protected with a plastic flap and right next to it is the battery indicator LEDs and the power button. There is also another button that lets you pair another JBL speaker, say another Flip 3 or a Pulse 2, for a stereo experience. Coming in a variety of colours one can choose from yellow, teal, red, pink, orange, gray, blue and black.
On the inside there are two 1.5-inch audio drivers and bass radiators at the two ends just like the JBL Charge 2. The Flip 3 definitely has a improved sound quality when compared to its predecessors and quite good for something under Rs 10,000. The bass radiators improve on the bass, but when you crank the volume up to full or anywhere close to that, the highs tend to overpower the lows. In simpler terms, the audio starts to hurt your ears and all the bass vanishes, which is due to the compact size of the speaker. Still, the overall performance of the Flip 3 is commendable.
The battery life on the speaker is worth mentioning as the company claims that it can go on for 10 hours after a full charge. Keeping the volume lower to about 60-75% churned out even more. There is also a JBL app to help you check the battery status and connect other JBL speakers. Sadly no equaliser settings or anything else on the app that could enhance the experience.
If you are looking for a good wireless speaker for everyday use or when you are travelling, the Flip 3 is one of the many options available today. It doesn't offers any distinct feature over other speakers, but is one of the best sounding speakers at its price. The Flip 3 is officially priced at Rs 9,990 and can be picked up around Rs 8,000 on various online shopping portals. You can also check out speakers from Logitech and the new Altec Lansing waterproof speakers in the same range.
