This is the review of the comparison between the JBL Charge 4 and the JBL Flip 4. Both the speakers here are from the same brand but from different series and of different price ranges. There is around a hundred dollars difference in their price range currently and that brings the difference in their features and performances. To know which one is good for you to buy, go to the detailed review.

JBL Charge 4	JBL Flip 4
BUY NOW	BUY NOW
PROS	PROS
Powerful audio performance with rich bass. Gets quite loud for its size. Waterproof. Long battery life. Can charge your portable devices. USB-C charging.	Solid audio performance with rich bass and well-defined highs. Reasonable price tag. Battery life.
CONS	CONS
No speakerphone function. Basically the same sound as the Charge 3. The buttons that aren’t lit up are hard to see in the dark.	No track navigation buttons. Underwhelming mid-range sound. Its bass is improved but it still lacks some real bass punch.

SPECIFICATIONS:

Detail Review:

INTRODUCTION:

JBL Charge 4

Out of all the Bluetooth speakers on the market, JBL has the highest quality product currently. This speaker from the JBL is also a qualitative product that offers a great sound quality. The JBL Charge 4 is retailing for around a hundred and eighty dollars. This is the latest version speaker from the Charge series speakers from JBL.

JBL Flip 4

The JBL Flip 4 is the updated version portable Bluetooth speaker of the Flip 3 from the JBL. This speaker is retailing for around eighty dollars currently on Amazon which is quite budget-friendly. You may guess like it may not be qualitative at this price point but this is really qualitative and worth buying at this price point.

DESIGN: 

JBL Charge 4

In comparison to the Charge 3, this speaker is definitely slightly bigger but it almost looks the same. On the top of the speaker, you have got your JBL Connect button, volume up and down button, play and pause button, power button, and Bluetooth button with LED indicators. This speaker has bass radiators on its sides and those radiators pump out when the bass hits. If you see the back, you see we have a couple of different ports on there. At first, you have the USB Type-C port to charge your speaker, then there is an aux port, so you could plug in or aux cord and play the music anywhere and use this speaker as wired, if you don’t want to go Bluetooth and the last port you have there is a USB-A out, so you can use this as a power bank and your cell phone on the go or anything.

JBL Flip 4

Within the speaker, you get a string moving into the speaker for you to carry it around. On the backside of the speaker, you have got the power button, LED lights to indicate the battery level of this speaker, and the JBL connect button. Also, on the back of the speaker, you have the waterproofing flap when you open it you will find the charging port and the aux input. On the top of the speaker, you will find the Bluetooth pair button with volume up and down buttons, and the play and pause button. The speaker is covered in woven fabric and its size is double-sided diaphragms which you’ll see vibrate in a bit.

FEATURES:

JBL Charge 4

This speaker is nicely packed in a box, and in the box, you get the speaker itself, there’s also a charging cable, and this speaker is charged by USB Type-C, so it will have a fast charge which is pretty good and then you get your usual manuals. As far as the battery life on this speaker has a 7500 milliamp-hour battery which can give you 20 hours of playtime. Connecting the Charge 4 via Bluetooth is actually really easy as this speaker is also IPX7 waterproof, which means you can submerge this in 1 meter of water for up to 30 minutes. 

The Charges 4 is definitely an amazing speaker for your money and then another good thing about the between the Charge 4 is that this have a pretty great technology that JBL has to offer and that’s called the JBL Connect and what that is is, it transfers the data from whatever Bluetooth speaker your phone is connected to, to the next Bluetooth speaker available. You can actually connect up to 100 of these speakers if you’re having a big party, if you happen to have a hundred speakers you could connect up to a hundred of these.

To pair this speaker with your mobile, turn on the speaker first then press the Bluetooth button on this speaker and turn on the Bluetooth in your mobile device. Then the JBL Charge 4 will pop up in your mobile Bluetooth settings and select it down, you are done. To sync many of these speakers together through the JBL connect just press the Connect button on all the speakers after turning on the Bluetooth in the speakers, and it will get connected. Keep in mind when you sync all these speakers together, you’re connected to one main speaker, that one main speaker is your main speaker. So, when you hit play or on whatever media you’re streaming from on your smartphone, it’s there’s a two-second lag from speaker to speaker.

JBL Flip 4

As far as some of the key specs of the JBL Flip 4, this supports Bluetooth 4.2, 12 hours playtime off one charge, IPX7 water resistance, JBL connect for party boost, and a built-in mic. The speaker features a party boost where you can pair multiple JBL compatible speakers together for enhanced stereo effects or to amplify your music and get a party going. There are some key strengths of the JBL Flip 4 Bluetooth speaker. First is the voice and call quality, watching videos on Flip 4 is quite unexpected. It was better than playing booming music on the speaker.

It’s also waterproof but this one won’t float, so have that in mind when you go dunking this at the pool. The speaker can also be used to launch google assistant if you remove the play/pause button to launch google assistant when you tap and hold. That’s a perfect segue to the app used to maximize the functionality and configurability of the JBL speakers, that is the JBL Connect app. This app has issues of its own but let’s get you up to speed with what it is. It is 2021 and most audio tech manufacturers are making apps to go with their audio tech. Example Bose, Sony, and the JBL with respective apps meant to enhance your listening experience on whatever device you’re playing music from.

It works as intended but with a catch rather on some JBL devices. The app allows you to connect your phone to the speakers, you can see all the speakers you are connected to previously, you can see how much charge you have on its speaker, even rename the individual speaker, and pair it to other speakers. Even has a cool subtle detail that shows you the color of the speaker you connected to, allows you to mop the speaker buttons to certain features like launching google assistant and it’s so futuristic. It allows you to update the speaker’s firmware.

There are some downsides too about the app, firstly the app is slow and laggy, inconsistent and some parts feel poorly built, for example, my devices section. Furthermore, the app keeps closing in the background even if it’s the only app running on the phone’s memory, and takes even longer to restart afterward. In addition to that, pairing a speaker to another speaker can be quite fast and is never consistent. A hit or miss of sorts, do it now and it talks seamlessly the pairing process is smooth, do it two hours later from now and it needs it to disconnect, switch the speakers off and back on again, and redo the process, quite a pain sometimes.

The JBL Flip 4 is a great speaker, that’s just hampered by poor software. The JBL is taking ages to put right, in fact, I advise to just play music on the JBL Flip 4 with just plain good old Bluetooth. The app so far according to me, in my experience, only facilitates pairing multiple speakers together in switching channels as they play and in any case, most people want to go out and get two speakers like me, you’ll be fine with just pairing to the speakers without the app. In fact, unlike other manufacturers that offer you equalizer controls, in the apps that control various sound parameters like bass and treble on the speakers, JBL offers none of that in the app which adds to more emphasis.

SOUND QUALITY:

JBL Charge 4

When the Charge 3 came out, it was really bad, it was lacking highs like crazy and then they sent out quite a few updates and the speaker actually right now sounds pretty good, so it’s not sounding terrible like they were when it first came out. But comparing these two, the Charge 4 is still turned pretty better it might just be because it has a wider dynamic range as far as sound frequencies just because it has a better best performance that it sounds a little bit better. But it’s not to the point where I would be like this will blow your mind away. It’s a little bit better, a little bit of improvement in sound but it’s not so huge.

JBL Flip 4

Sound quality is good, quite refined, clarity is amazing and balance is configured just right. Just based on looks we initially expected the speaker to have an overemphasized bass signature but surprisingly, we actually found it was well balanced and handled the lows well with just the right amount of emphasis. It pumped out powerful bass, without overwhelming the vocals. The crispness was great on the trebles with strong details without being too shiny. It mixed seamlessly with the mids and sounded quite full. What was most impressive was how the sound quality held even at higher volumes without really any distortion.

WHICH TO BUY?

In my opinion, you can buy any of the products based on your preferences. If you prefer to buy a qualitative product and want better features then you should buy the JBL Charge 4 because it has better features than the Flip 4. If you can’t afford that price range then you can go for the JBL Flip 4 because it is also worth buying for the price and it has better features for its price range compared to some other speakers available in the market at this price point.

Expert Reviews of JBL Charge 4:

By Expert Reviews
Despite cutting a couple of handy features, the Charge 4 is an impressive fourth entry into JBL’s mid-range Bluetooth speaker series…

By What Hi-Fi?
Great sound plus rugged design and handy features equal a top Bluetooth speaker…

By TheStreamingBlog
JBL’s Charge series just gets better with every new release. With Charge 4, we’ve seen that its audio quality has highly improved compared to the previously released Charge 3. It delivered cleaner, clearer, and more refined sounds with mids and…

By Tech Radar
For the money, the JBL Charge 4 is a definite no-brainer. For just $150 (£160, AU$200), you get a speaker that lasts all day, sounds great, can put up with all kinds of abuse, and tops your phone up in a pinch. Yes, there are better-sounding speakers…

By PC Mag
The JBL Charge 4 is an excellent option for those who want a waterproof, powerful-sounding portable Bluetooth speaker in a moderately sized frame.

Expert Reviews of JBL Flip 4:

By TheStreamingBlog
After we’ve tested the Flip 4 Bluetooth Speaker from JBL, we can definitely say that it gives off impressive quality sounds with big and full bass, plus crystal-clear vocals. Not only that, but the other great thing about the speaker is that it’s now…

By Gadget360
The Flip 4 is a mighty performer given its tiny size and is another solid option in the sub-Rs. 10,000 segment. Its sound isn’t perfect, as the mid-range isn’t distinct enough, and vocals can be overpowering. However, it does deliver good bass,…

By Digit
The JBL Flip 4 is a more mature product, offering better-balanced sound than its predecessor, the Flip 3. However, its bass delivery is still a bit weak, and it is here that the UE Wonderboom plays better. Nevertheless, the JBL Flip 4 offers great…

By IndianExpress
JBL has long been the go-to audio device for a lot of people. The company has been offering very dependable and affordable personal audio products and this means it has been able to create a dedicated user base over time. Its latest is the JBL Flip…

By Pocket-lint
If you’re looking for a decent and relatively affordable speaker that you can throw in your bag, take to the beach, or wherever, then the JBL Flip 4 is a convenient solution. At the right volume, it delivers a decent sound that can fill small/medium size…