{"id":103697,"date":"2025-03-12T11:45:46","date_gmt":"2025-03-12T11:45:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/?p=103697"},"modified":"2025-03-12T11:45:48","modified_gmt":"2025-03-12T11:45:48","slug":"jbl-charge-6","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/jbl-charge-6\/","title":{"rendered":"JBL Charge 6 brings improved sound, connectivity, build, portability and battery life"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

JBL’s Charge 6 keeps the excellent design, while updating some of the hardware and software elements, but is it worth $80 over the Charge 5?<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

JBL just announced the Charge 6 alongside the Flip 7<\/a>. At $200, the Charge 6 represents a slight step up in sound, size, battery and price from the $150 Flip 7. As the name suggests, the star feature of the Charge 6 is the ability to use it as a USB-C powerbank. The speaker has a 4722 mAh battery. For reference popular modern smartphones range in battery capacity from around 3500 to 5000 mAh. Note that the same battery is also used to power the speaker itself, so using the Charge 6 as a speaker will further drain the battery.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On the topic of battery life, Charge 6 gets four additional hours over the previous model, for 24 hours on a single change. You can boost this by another 4 hours with JBL Playtime Boost, which enables an EQ preset that reduces bass frequencies and lowers the overall sound quality. Fast charge will get you another 150 minutes of playtime from 10 minutes of charging. Unfortunately there’s no USB-C cable included in the box.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One aspect that has stayed largely the same is the design. The Charge 6 keeps the iconic cylindrical shape, measuring 228.8 x 98.5 x 94.0 mm and weighing just under one kilogram. There’s a USB-C port, charge indicator and the following buttons: play\/pause\/skip\/previous, volume up, volume down, Auracast, power and Bluetooth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Image Credit: JBL<\/a><\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
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The biggest change to the design is the new color-matched, detachable carrying strap, included in the box. This should help portability. The Charge 6 is also more rugged than the previous model, It’s IP68 waterproof, dustproof and drop proof. This protects the speaker at a depth of up to 1.5 meters for up to 30 minutes. Drop testing has been conducted by JBL at 1 meter above concrete.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Image Credit: JBL<\/a><\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Charge 6 features JBL Pro Sound. The latest model has an upgraded 53 x 93 mm woofer and the same 20mm tweeter. Software should help further boost the sound capabilities of the Charge 6, with AI Sound Boost. This uses AI to analyze music in real-time to optimize the speaker driver without distortion. Lossless audio also comes to the Charge 6 when the speaker is connected to a device via USB-C, providing you are using compatible content from supported services. Lossless audio is available via a software update through the JBL Portable app.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When cable-free, the Charge 6 connects via Bluetooth 5.4, with support for Auracast, which lets you use two Charge 6 speakers as a stereo pair for a wider soundstage. You can also connect any other Auracast-enabled JBL speakers, such as the Flip 7, Xtreme 4, Clip 5, or Go 4.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

JBL Charge 6 is available to pre-order today for $199.95 in black, blue, white, red, camo, or purple.<\/a> Shipping is due to start April 6. If the new features don\u2019t interest you much, but you\u2019re still in the marketing for a similarly sized speaker, check out the Charge 5, which is on sale on Amazon currently for $119.95.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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