This is the review of the comparison between two smart speakers from two popular brands in the market. The comparison here is between the JBL Link Portable and the Sonos Move. To know which one is good for you to buy, go to the detailed review.

JBL Link Portable	Sonos Move
BUY NOW	BUY NOW
PROS	PROS
Solid audio performance. Packed with features. Combines portable use with Google Assistant for convenient smart home management.	Wireless connection is reliable. The sound is open and loud. Great sound on indoors and outdoors. Great charging base. Effective Auto-true play.
CONS	CONS
We miss dynamics and control, it gets pretty tame. No JBL Connect support. No aux input.	Pricey. aptX Bluetooth support is missing. Too heavy speakers. It cannot be used as rear cinema speakers.

SPECIFICATIONS:

Detail Review:

INTRODUCTION:

JBL Link Portable

The JBL Link Portable is a hands-fee speaker meaning you can just talk to it like Alexa devices as this has a built-in Google Assistant. This speaker is retailing for around a hundred and eighty dollars on the JBL website.

Sonos Move

The Sonos Move is Sonos’ speaker that was released in the year 2019 and they have listened to things that we’ve been asking for for years. This is Bluetooth weather-resistant speaker and it’s also portable with a built-in battery.

DESIGN: 

JBL Link Portable

As far as the design of this speaker, the actual speaker is covered with a cloth-like material that looks like a grille and the speaker is actually cylindrical in shape. On the top of the speaker, in the center, there is your Google Assistant button that starts activates on press and holds for around two seconds and that also pay and pauses your music when shortly pressed. Then you do have two microphones on the top of the speaker for your voice commands. Also, on the top of the speaker, you have the volume up and down button. On the backside of the speaker first, you have the Bluetooth button, then you have the mic mute button, then your power button that has the LED, then a LED panel that shows the battery left in your speaker, and at last you have your USB Type-C charging port.

Sonos Move

As far as the design of this speaker, at the backside starting at the bottom, you have your connector for your dock you have a USB-C port and then up at the top, you have your pairing button, your Bluetooth and Wi-Fi selector, and then your power button, and at the very top you have a cutout for your carrying handle which is a nice way to carry it around. The bottom of the speaker has a rubber foot on it, it’s covered in some plastic here so nothing stuck to it it’s all nice and grippy when you bring it home.

If we look at the top on the front side, you have your Sonos logo and your speaker looks basically like most of the other speakers from Sonos, very familiar look to that. Then around the bottom is where it’s very different, this has a nice rubber coating all around it, which is giving you your drop resistance. If we look at the top up there on the speaker, you have your same kind of touch panel up at the top, you got your microphone array around there and then your microphone emblem to where you can turn on and off your microphone, and then you have your play pause and your volume up and down buttons.

FEATURES:

JBL Link Portable

This speaker comes in nice packaging and the box itself claims some of its features such as the built-in Google Assistant, and eight hours of playtime. This also features IPX7 water-resistant which means you can submerge this speaker in one meter of water for up to 30 minutes, and it will be all right. So it is definitely really great to have such features from a speaker like this from JBL. Inside the box, you get the speaker itself, some documentation such as the quick start-up guide, warranty and all, and also, you get the USB Type-C charging to charge this speaker. Also, this speaker comes with a nice charging dock which is really great as with the help of this you can use the speaker all the time while it’s charging and you can use your voice assistant without any struggle for the whole day. 

As far as the battery life it features eight hours of playtime as the JBL claims and it takes about only three and half hours to charge from zero charging left. As far as charging it uses USB Type-C for charging which is really good to have as that is what gonna give you the quick charging feature. As far as the charging process, you can charge the speaker in two ways. One is you can charge the speaker directly by connecting the USC-C cable that comes with the speaker into the speaker. The second way is by keeping the speaker on the charging dock for this if you take a look at the bottom of the dock there is a way to insert the USB-C cord then you have to insert the other end of the cable into a charging brick. Unfortunately, you are not getting one with the speaker but you will definitely have one around the house. That’s it you are done, you can place the speaker on the dock, it starts charging, and you are good to go.

As far as the cons of the speaker, I personally think the time it takes to set up the speaker is one of the cons of this speaker. It takes such a long time to set this up, not only it takes time it is also challenging to set this up like for my parents are not that familiar with the tech and all so for people who are not familiar with the tech will find the setup process to be challenging. The second con is that if you are an Apple user then you cannot use Apple music as this speaker supports only Spotify and Youtube, they support Apple music. As far as the pros, no of pros is more than the cons of this speaker. the first pro is the charging dock as it allows you to stream music and have your voice assistant the whole day while the speaker is placed on the dock. Another pro is the sound quality, even though it is a smart speaker it sounds really good.

Sonos Move

As far as the packaging the speaker comes in a nice package and the Move comes in a Sonos branded bag that’s kind of a thick material that it’s gonna give it some protection, they’re also saying this is drop resistant but you don’t just throw it down and abuse it and not take care of it. In the box, you also get your charging dock which is a really cool feature along with the speaker itself and you do get some documentation. The only thing I don’t love about the charging dock is that it’s proprietary and it’s all connected, so none of this can be undone. So I would set this up in your house somewhere and forget it. Every time you take your Move out and bring it back or take it into another room, bring it back to sit it back on your dock, and don’t Move it so that we don’t risk breaking it.

I’d call it a little bit more transportable than portable you’re not gonna want to take it on a walk but I found the carrying feature that you can use the back handle that’s built-in pretty useful. However, it’s a little heavier than most portable speakers, so you definitely want to keep that in mind. But if you’re going camping or want to take it to the beach or places on the go, poolside definitely you can do things like that. But it’s not something you want to throw in your backpack and take on a hike because it’s definitely heavier than that you’re gonna want for that.

Some facts are coming straight from Sonos off their website, so they are definitely some things you need to keep in mind. If you get this speaker and want to use it as a Bluetooth speaker, for example, you’re going camping, tailgating, or something like that, you must have it set up to your Wi-Fi first. You have to have it added to your system and then you can use it as a Bluetooth speaker, so don’t just grab it on the way throw it in the back of your car, and think you’re going to be able to use it because you won’t be able to. When you’re on Bluetooth, you will not be able to use the Sonos app or Alexa control that you will have to use like your Spotify app. You can pair two of these for surround sound in your home but you must be on Wi-Fi as that does not work on Bluetooth.

The weather resistance is rated as IP56, which means it’s protected from very fine particles such as dust and heavy liquid splashing including heavy rains and snowfall, and also, you can use these at the beach. Also, you can use these within your home and you can add it to like a room within your Sonos group but you can’t use them as like surrounds and you also cannot pair it to your sub since it’s going to Move around your subs gonna be stationary, you can’t pair it just to your sub. The batteries in these should last around three years and they will offer a replacement at that time but in the meantime, you should get around 900 charges before needing to do that. Also, if you’re someone who travels and wants to take this with you, this is TSA approved you can take it in your carry-on.

SOUND QUALITY:

JBL Link Portable

As far as the sound quality of the speaker, it is really a great speaker. even though it is a smart speaker, it sounds really good compared to other smart speakers in the market at its price range. This speaker features 360 degrees sound so it fills the whole room and no matter whatever direction your speaker is facing you will get the same level of sound with the same quality. It is louder, it has a lot of great basses and it also sounds crisp and clean. If you are using this outdoor, it will sound louder than most speakers available in the market.

Sonos Move

This speaker offers surprisingly good bass nothing that will blow you away but is certainly well suited for home use. Impressively high volume levels are easily achieved that can fill medium to large-sized rooms, yet the sound never ventures into the realms of distortion. The Sonos Move easily beats the Echo and Google Home speakers for audio quality and even stances a fair competitor with Apple’s HomePod although much like the Google Home Max, these audio focus speakers do take the edge for bass and sound projection.

WHICH TO BUY?

In my opinion, both of these speakers are good to buy as they both are performing well for their price range. If you want a louder speaker even outdoors, then you can buy the Sonos Move because it is louder than the Link Portable. If you want a good smart assistant and you don’t give much importance to sound quality, then you can buy the Link Portable because the smart assistant in Link Portable works better than the Sonos Move for a lower price.

Expert Reviews of JBL Link Portable:

By PC Mag
The JBL Link Portable speaker offers Bluetooth and Wi-Fi connectivity along with AirPlay 2, Chromecast, and hands-free Google Assistant support in a waterproof design with solid audio performance for its size.

By What Hi-Fi?
For a great, affordable, durable home smart speaker, you’ll be hard-pushed to find a product that can match JBL’s Link Portable

By Pocket-Lint
The JBL Link Portable is a lovely, compact speaker that’s a perfect size for delivering decent sound (from what we have heard so far), whilst…

By LB Tech Reviews
JBL Link Portable is both a portable speaker and a smart speaker. It is easy to use and the sound is perfectly OK. But you pay extra for…

Expert Reviews of Sonos Move:

By theguardian 
The Sonos Move is an excellent, smart, great-sounding speaker that is truly wireless. Packing wifi and Bluetooth, a 10-hour…

By CGM 
With the Move, Sonos has built one of the best portable speaker systems I have ever used, and while it is pricey, it is well worth the cost for anyone that demands quality…

By techgearlab
The Sonos Move maintains the company’s reputation for great sound and seamless multi-speaker management while adding…

By TheStraitsTimes
It sounds almost unbelievable that the Sonos Move is the audio firm’s first portable speaker. It is also Sonos’ first Bluetooth speaker, though…