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If toughness and durability are important to you, or if you plan on exposing your speaker to a lot of water, I'd recommend the JBL Charge 5.
#Jbl charge 4 vs charge 3 Bluetooth#
If you have to be able to connect to other devices using a 3.5-millimeter audio cable or you've got an older JBL Bluetooth speaker you'll want to connect to with JBL Connect+ and not PartyBoost, I'd recommend getting the JBL Charge 4. In conclusion, and given that the audio quality of both the JBL Charge 5 and the JBL Charge 4 is so similar, I'd say the speaker I'd recommend really comes down to what specific features you care about.
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Because the JBL Charge 5 is new it retails for $180 US dollars, while you should be able to snag the JBL Charge 4 for around $130 US dollars. The Charge 5 does use Bluetooth 5.1, which offers better data transfer rates and a stronger wireless range than Bluetooth 4.2, which is used by the Charge 4. Neither speaker features a microphone that can be used to take phone calls directly on the device. Neither the JBL Charge 4 or the JBL Charge 5 offer Apple Siri or Google Assistant integration.
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Some other final things you'll want to take into consideration. The button clickiness on both the JBL Charge 5 and the JBL Charge 4 is comparable, even though I did feel like the Charge 5 buttons were slightly easier to press.
#Jbl charge 4 vs charge 3 portable#
Older JBL portable Bluetooth speakers let you configure the Play button to activate either Apple's Siri or Google's Assistant, but you can't do that on either the JBL Charge 4 or the JBL Charge 5.Īnd one final note here. It's also worth saying the Play button on both speakers lets you start, stop and skip songs - and that's it. Said differently, you can only connect a JBL Connect+ speaker with another JBL Bluetooth speaker that uses Connect+, and a JBL PartyBoost speaker with another JBL Bluetooth speaker that uses PartyBoost. It's also important to note that JBL's different connection technologies don't work with each other, so you can't connect a JBL Charge 4 with Connect+ to a JBL Charge 5 with PartyBoost. These distances are obviously with a clean line of sight and if other obstacles are in the way the range will decrease for either, but you're looking to get two new speakers to connect to each other, you'll probably want to go with the JBL Charge 5. JBL speakers connected through JBL Connect+ can hold a connection over roughly 40 yards, while speakers using JBL PartyBoost can hold a connection while up to roughly 80 yards away from each other. The difference, and the only reason it appears JBL made the move away from JBL Connect+ to PartyBoost is the range that can be between connected speakers. Both JBL Connect+ and PartyBoost let you connect up to 100 other JBL speakers together, so there's no difference there. The biggest difference here is obviously the technology that JBL uses for each speaker to connect to other JBL speakers.
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It's not a huge deal, but I did find it to make the Charge 5 a little less stable and more subject to being knocked over. Alternatively the Charge 5 features ridged rubber lines that run diagonal across that same location. The JBL Charge 4 has a flat base that's roughly four inches wide that sits at the bottom of the speaker. One of the bigger differences on the outside between the Charge 5 and the Charge 4 is the stand. Both feel tough, it's just that the external passive radiators on the JBL Charge 5 feel tougher. While the external passive radiators on both speakers have the same look and shape, the passive radiators on the JBL Charge 5 feel a bit more sturdy and like they have less give than those on the JBL Charge 4. Additionally, the end caps on the Charge 5 have much more of a rubbery feel to them, whereas on the Charge 4 they feel more like plastic, and therefore I'd assume they have a higher likelihood of cracking. The rubber end caps on the end of the speaker on the JBL Charge 5 stick out from the speaker unlike on the JBL Charge 4, which means that if you stand it vertically the Charge 5 will lean to one side. Both the Charge 4 and the Charge 5 feature the same wire mesh covering that gives JBL's line of portable Bluetooth speakers its distinct look while keeping all of the internal parts safe and helping it hold up under tough conditions.