JBL makes a mean Bluetooth speaker, and the brand's Flip series has been my all-time favorite for multiple generations. The JBL Flip 7 is its best yet, with good sound, a travel-ready size, and subtle but effective upgrades over the previous two models in both sound and features. I love this speaker and its nearly indestructible design, and now it's finally getting some good sales. Right now, you'll find it for $50 off its $150 retail price, the lowest we've seen it yet.
Photograph: Ryan Waniata
Photograph: Ryan Waniata
Photograph: Ryan Waniata
JBL
Flip 7
I used the Flip 5 as my go-to audio companion at home and on the road for years. The Flip 7 is better, providing even clearer and more powerful sound to enhance everything from barbecue jams to dialog as I watch movies from my PC in the hot tub (what can I say, I like to multi-task!). The Flip's design works great for the hot tub since it's fully dunkable, and it offers convenient controls for my slippery hands when I need to adjust the volume or pause the fun.
The Flip 7 offers some cool new features, including a new detachable loop that breaks away with the press of a button (just make sure you don't lose it), upgraded IP68 dust and water resistance, and a new shockproof casing tested for 3-foot drops. The Flip line has always been pretty drop-friendly, and I can personally attest to dropping this thing a lot with no ill effects.
JBL has also begun to add Auracast to its new speaker line, a future-looking feature that uses a new Bluetooth protocol for latency-free transmission of an infinite number of devices. Auracast is still new, but it's an extremely promising technology, and it currently lets you connect the Flip 7 with other JBL Auracast speakers in tandem. The only downside is that JBL has done away with its older PartyBoost feature, so you can only group the Flip 7 with newer speakers like the Charge 6 and Clip 5.
As far as sound quality goes, this is a more refined Flip, with minor upgrades to instrumental definition, noticeable in instruments like brass, strings, and vocals. It's not a big change over the Flip 6, but it's good to see improvement, and the speaker has lost some of the more aggressive touch that sometimes led to minor distortion in older models. Like virtually any Bluetooth speaker, it will still distort if you push it too hard, but I clocked it at over 75 dB in my review without any audible issues.
You'll also get a bit more battery life this time around, going from 12 hours in previous models to 14 (depending on volume), so you can take it off the grid for a bit longer. You can even push that up to 16 hours with its new Playtime Boost mode, though that cuts out some bass.
It all adds up to a sweet little package. It's my first recommendation when anyone asks me about a great portable speaker, offering the perfect compromise between size, sound, and durability. While it's been bouncing up and down in price lately, now's a great time to catch it at the lowest price we've seen yet.
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