Portable speakers from JBL are incredibly popular among many people around the world. The Flip model is a prominent representative of wireless speakers in the mid-price segment. Designed primarily for active people who cannot live without music.
Although this year the company introduced the fourth generation of “flips”, you can still find “three” on sale at a slightly lower price. In this regard, the question arises: “What to choose - JBL Flip 3 or Flip 4?” Let's look into this.
Appearance
The materials used here are rubberized fabric that is pleasant to the touch and plastic with a soft-touch coating. Similar materials can be seen in the more expensive Charge speaker, which is good news. At the ends of the acoustics, just like the Charge, there are passive metal radiators with a corporate logo.
The controls are located towards the top of the column and are divided into 2 groups. The first is the buttons that protrude on top of the fabric covering: Bluetooth pairing, volume keys and call answer keys.
The second group is located nearby, but on a plastic insert: the power button and JBL Connect. In addition to them, there is an LED charge level indicator, a hole for a lanyard and a plug behind which 2 connectors are hidden - 3.5 mm and microUSB.
Performance is too productive
The top-end processor inside the Galaxy Z Fold 3 does not let you down: everything works quickly, applications fly, the browser sparkles with an abundance of open tabs, there are no complaints here.
But the smartphone gets hot.
Moreover, it heats up categorically and furiously, for no apparent reason, while in your pocket and with applications unloaded from the multitasking area. It seems that the gadget is trying to remind the owner that it is here, in your pocket, it is powerful, it WORKS!
You take it out, open it according to the instructions above, you see that nothing is running and there seems to be no reason for such furious heating, you close it and put it in your pocket. The smartphone begins to cool down. What was it? Unclear.
But the gadget is productive, that’s a fact.
Characteristics
The JBL Flip 3 has 2 8W speakers, which allow the speaker to produce decent sound. The frequency range here starts from 85 Hz and ends at 20 kHz. The battery has a capacity of 3000 mAh, which allows you to enjoy music for about 10 hours from a full charge.
As for moisture protection, it’s not so simple. The speaker can be taken in the shower, it is not even afraid of rain, but dipping it into a pool or sea is not recommended.
Functions
The portable speaker Jbl Flip 3 copes with the main function - high-quality playback of musical compositions using Bluetooth connection to devices that support this technology, running on any operating systems (iOs, Android, Windows).
However, the column will delight the user with advanced functionality:
- a built-in microphone with a noise reduction system and echo cancellation allows you to use the speaker as a speakerphone and conduct a telephone conversation while being half a meter from the audio device;
- Jbl Connect technology makes it possible to amplify the sound many times over by connecting up to three such gadgets to the device.
Functional control of the Flip 3 column is carried out using six buttons:
1. The button with a line inside a circle is responsible for turning Flip 3 on and off.
2. A button with a symbol that looks like an hourglass - for Bluetooth connection of two or three compatible speakers, connecting them to one device using Jbl Connect technology. Just press this key on the gadgets, and the same track will be played from them.
3. The multi-function button, indicated by the handset, allows you to:
- with a single click, turn on and pause the playback of a track, as well as switch to speakerphone when making a phone call;
- Press twice to switch to the next track.
4. The key with the “+” icon, when pressed, increases the sound volume.
5. With the “-” sign - decreases.
6. The button marked with the Bluetooth logo activates the wireless connection to the transmitting Flip 3. To do this, you must:
- turn on bluetooth on your smartphone;
- turn on the speaker power:
- press the Bluetooth key on the Flip 3 portable speaker;
- on your mobile device, select the name of the column in the “connected devices” list and tap on it;
- launch your favorite musical composition on the installed audio player.
To change the name of the Jbl device, update the program, adjust stereo sound, the user needs to download the Jbl Connect application to the smartphone.
Sound
JBL does not provide amplitude-frequency characteristics for drivers installed in manufactured speakers, therefore, due to subjective perception, each user has a different assessment of the quality of the reproduced sound. However, everyone agrees that Jbl Flip 3:
- thanks to two dynamic emitters with a power of 8 W each, it has a large volume reserve, visually incomparable with its dimensions;
- Although low frequencies predominate, after working with the equalizer on your mobile device, you can listen to any musical genre;
- the sound has no dips even at maximum volume;
- Passive radiators add color to the sound.
Battery
A lithium-ion polymer battery with a capacity of 3000 mAh and a voltage of 3.7 V is responsible for the autonomous operation of the speaker for ten hours.
The Flip 3's stated battery life can be achieved when the speaker plays music tracks at a volume level not exceeding 50%.
The audio device does not have a fast charging function, so it takes up to three and a half hours to fully restore the battery capacity.
You can charge the Flip 3 speaker using the USB Type-A/microUSB cable included, either from a power adapter with a DC output voltage of 5 V, 1A current, or from a USB port on powerful devices.
Appearance
There are practically no external differences from the JBL Flip 3. The materials here are absolutely the same as in the previous version. The only thing that immediately catches your eye is the mirror surface of the end radiators - it looks cool.
As for the controls, they remained in their places, with minor changes. Thus, the call answer button was replaced by the “Start/Pause” button. The power keys and JBL Connect have a small edge and are slightly recessed into the body. The charge level indicator remains, as well as the plug, with two connectors - 3.5 mm and microUSB.
Connects as expected (with Android)
You don't need any app to simply play music. I found the speaker in the Bluetooth settings and that's it. Thus, the speaker can be connected to two devices and play sound from them alternately. To connect another sound source, you will first need to disconnect the speakers from one of the previous devices.
Were there any problems? Unfortunately yes.
Several times, playback on iPhone (iOS 13.3) stopped on its own. It was cured for a while by rebooting the iPhone, but after five minutes the problem happened again.
The proprietary JBL Connect application for iOS generally sees the acoustics every once in a while. Fortunately, the utility is practically useless. If suddenly you or your friends don’t have another JBL speaker with support for PartyBoost technology. This, by the way, is a huge problem, which will be discussed later.
Ok Android.
There are no problems with smartphones on the green robot. Both during playback and in the JBL Connect app. On the subject of iPhones never glitching. Well, yes!
Android OK iOS not OK
The volume bar syncs with iPhones, but not with Android smartphones. In the latter cases, you need to separately adjust the volume on both the speaker and the smartphone. However, this is not a problem, just a nuance.
Model characteristics
Surprisingly, the characteristics remained virtually untouched. Only the frequency range has undergone changes. It became a little wider - 70-20 kHz. The 3000 mAh battery remains, but the battery life is slightly longer. Now the speaker can work up to 12 hours from a full charge.
The main difference between Flip 4 and 3 is improved water resistance. Now you can safely swim in the pool or sea with the speaker. It will also withstand submersion for up to 30 minutes without any problems.
If you compare JBL Flip 4 and Charge 3 (older model), you will notice some similarities, especially in terms of moisture protection and sound quality.
Impressions and conclusions
Over the course of a week, I still couldn’t get used to the clamshell form factor. Galaxy Z Flip 3 is, first of all, an interesting and unusual accessory that attracts attention, and only secondarily a functional smartphone that is convenient to use in everyday affairs.
Yes, in 2022 this is still an innovative gadget and Samsung is great for promoting flexible screens to the masses. I am sure that the target audience of this device will consist mainly of girls who are tired of the dominance of iPhones around them, who want to attract attention not only with their appearance and outfits, but also with their gadgets.
Galaxy Z Flip 3 is a spectacular, eye-catching accessory. And only then the smartphone.
Galaxy Z Flip 3 will not become the Korean company's bestseller, although it will sell well in the first few months. Considering the abundance of offers from Samsung, including the opportunity to trade-in an old smartphone for a new one with a significant discount and installment plan, there will be fans of both the flexible “folding phone” and the flexible “book”, Galaxy Z Fold 3.
I parted with this smartphone without much sadness, having gained an interesting experience. Whether such an experience is worth 89,990 rubles is up to you to decide. But I would recommend not to fall for the “WOW” effect when you first pick it up.
And you will experience this effect, I guarantee.
Main differences
The first difference between the models is the dimensions. “Flip 4” is 4 mm taller, but smaller in diameter at 6 mm. Due to some technical changes, the “troika” gains weight - it is 65 grams lighter.
In terms of frequency range, the fourth generation model is better: it beats the three at 15 Hz. That's all the technical differences. You can also add to this that the Flip 4 has a call answer button replaced with a Start/Pause button. The acoustics sound much better and are equipped with an improved version of moisture protection technology.
How the Galaxy Z Fold 3 takes photos. Zoom is a pain
An example of day and night shooting without zoom from the main camera.
The cameras on the Galaxy Z Flip 3 are slightly worse than those on the Galaxy Z Fold 3. In particular, it’s better not to use the zoom at all, the photos won’t turn out very well.
Considering that I shot all the examples in daylight under ideal conditions, the presence of a zoom is not very clear to me. I forgot about it and recommend it to you.
Below are examples:
Photos taken with the main camera without zoom.
Photos with the main camera and wide-angle.
In general, the photos turn out decent. But that's as long as you don't use zoom.
Even a 2x zoom already begins to distort the photo:
Photo with the main camera and 2x zoom.
And if you turn the zoom to maximum, you get something completely indigestible:
Photo taken with the main camera during the day with maximum zoom.
Again, overall the photos come out great, even at night. Just don’t need to use the zoom, which seems to have been added just for the sake of it.
Yes, the smartphone also takes photographs when closed; the external screen is used as a viewfinder. It looks funny, but for the “me” it will do:
The external screen, by the way, is touch-sensitive and you can display several widgets on it, such as weather, player controls and a world clock. You can switch between them by swiping.
Conveniently, you can also pay for purchases without opening your smartphone. Simply bring it to the terminal and place your finger on the fingerprint scanner on the right side of the device.
Flaws
- Compared to the previous model in the Flip line, the new internal equipment has forced some of the speaker's parameters to increase, such as length and weight, but these are almost imperceptible changes.
- The kit does not include a cable for the 3.5mm AUX jack.
- There is no power supply for the microusb cable.
- Technically, the application has not yet been updated, so it is possible that it simply will not see the option to pair with the speaker. You need to stay tuned for updates.
- If a user buys a speaker to create an acoustic pair with other speakers, he should be aware that only similar devices that have the Connect+ function are paired.
