JBL has updated two of its most popular Bluetooth speakers with major improvements. The new Flip 7 and Charge 6 get longer playtime, improved bass response, lossless audio via USB-C, better water protection, and a clever set of accessories that make them easier to carry. These improvements come with a $20 bump in 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 beginning April 6.
Just make sure you already own a charge- and data-capable USB-C cable as JBL no longer includes one with these speakers.
The latest version of JBL’s super-popular Flip speaker gets upgrades both inside and out. The general shape and size is unchanged, but JBL has added a new “pushlock” mechanism on the speaker’s spine that lets you attach a variety of accessories. Included in the box in both a wrist strap and a carabiner loop, which can be swapped in seconds.
You may also notice the presence of an Auracast stylized “A” logo button on the controls. JBL has been transitioning its portables from its older PartyBoost technology to a newer Auracast-based system for creating stereo pairs and multi-speaker groups. It showed up first in 2024 on the excellent JBL Xtreme 4, and now it’s available on the Flip 7 and Charge 6 too. It’s not clear to me what advantages the Auracast-based system offers, but one thing’s for sure: it doesn’t work with JBL’s PartyBoost products. So if you’re hoping to stereo pair two JBL speakers, make sure they’re both Auracast or PartyBoost, but not a mix.
JBL says its new AI Sound Boost — which analyzes music waves in real-time — “optimizes the speaker driver without distortion.” I’m not quite sure what this means for real-world listening, but the company assures us that it “pushes the boundaries of sound performance and transforms the way we listen.”
What does seem real is the Flip 7’s bass response, which is now a little deeper (a low of 60Hz versus 63Hz on the Flip 6), and its extra power: It’s rated at a maximum output of 35 watts as compared to the JBL Flip 6‘s 30 watts.
There’s also the addition of lossless audio via the USB-C port. We’re beginning to see USB-C audio on a lot of wireless headphones, but in the Bluetooth speaker world, it’s a rarity. Using a USB-C data cable, you can connect the Flip 7 to any laptop, tablet, or phone that has a USB-C port. You’ll get CD quality sound sent to the speaker directly, instead of the lossy compression associated with the Flip 7’s Bluetooth connection. Unfortunately, we won’t get USB-C audio at launch. JBL says it will be enabled via a future firmware update, but hasn’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 settings and several EQ presets. I’ve spent a short time comparing the Flip 6 and 7 and so far, it’s these EQ presets that make the biggest difference.
Battery life goes 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 option that lets you extend your use of the speaker by two hours. According to JBL, Playtime Boosts can increase volume while simultaneously increasing battery life, but it disables any EQ mode you may be using.
Finally, JBL says the Flip 7 is even more impervious to water, bumping the rating from an already excellent IP67 to IP68, letting the Flip 7 survive even extended periods of submersion.
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 lanyard rods — or as a wrist strap, with both ends attached to one end of the speaker.
Like the Flip 7, it has Auracast for stereo pairing and multi-speaker grouping, the new AI Sound Boost algorithms, and (after the firmware update) it will benefit from USB-C audio too.
You may notice a bigger change to the Charge’s low-end. JBL has made the woofer itself larger than on the Charge 5, and frequency response is now rated at 56Hz – 20kHz (vs. 60Hz – 20kHz on the Charge 5). There’s more power too, with a claimed 45-watt maximum output, instead of 40 watts on the previous model.
Appropriately for a product called Charge, battery life is up a lot from 20 hours to a claimed 28 hours. Playtime Boost once again handles the final four hours of life extension. It’s not just more efficient — the battery itself holds more juice (34 watt-hours vs. 27) — which means more power for charging connected devices.
And, like it’s smaller sibling, the Charge 6 is now IP68 rated — about the most protection from dust and water that you can get on a non-industrial product.
Instagram is making its way to yet another screen, and this time, Apple TV is getting a taste of the Reels rabbit hole. The company has launched a dedicated Instagram app for Apple TV, bringing Reels, longer videos, and live shows to the big screen. So, if watching one quick clip on a phone somehow turns into an hour of scrolling, there's now a much larger screen for that.
Instagram brings Reels and more to Apple TV
Audio-Technica, a brand well known for making some of the best studio and professional headphones on the market, has just come out with the ATH-AWX7000, which the company itself claims to be its "finest headphones ever." The new flagship closed-back headphone has debuted at an eye-watering price of $3,799. It combines hand-finished Japanese woodwork with a newly developed 58mm driver.
The earcups are made from Kiso cypress, a prized wood historically used for Shinto shrines and Buddhist temples. Each housing is finished by hand with traditional Echizen lacquer, which brings out the grain and is expected to darken over time. The frame and sliders are finished in a deep navy kachi-iro shade traditionally associated with samurai.
This post is brought to you in paid partnership with Best Buy.
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