Official Release Dates & Pricing
JBL have given fans their first official glimpses of the Charge 6 and Flip 7, as the products have now been added to the latest version of the JBL Portable mobile app, along with videos showcasing each speaker and its features. With both the Charge 5 and Flip 6 having been released back in 2021, we’re certainly overdue for these upgraded editions.
Key Takeaways:
- We have official looks at the Charge 6 and Flip 7 via the JBL Portable app.
- Both speakers will have improved battery life.
- New tweeters and improved woofer designs will increase sound quality.
- The Charge 6 will feature a removable strap.
- The Flip 7 sees significant changes to its button layout.
What We Know About The New Features
We’re still waiting on a lot of the specification details, but we do have a glimpse at what the Flip 7 and Charge 6 will bring to the table, and how they’ve changed from the previous versions.
Flip 7
- A thicker, more durable interchangeable strap.
- Improved woofer design for better bass.
- Improved tweeter for a richer sound.
- Increased battery life of up to 18 hours (50% improvement).
- Shift to Auracast multi-speaker pairing, away from PartyBoost.
- Consolidated controls.
Charge 6
- Addition of a removable carry handle for easier portability.
- Improved woofer design for deeper bass.
- Improved tweeter for more detailed high frequencies.
- Increased battery life of up to 28 hours (8 hours more than the Charge 5).
- Shift to Auracast multi-speaker pairing, away from PartyBoost.
First Official Images of the JBL Charge 6 and Flip 7
It seems different versions of the app may display these products differently, or JBL has released another patch on the app, but some users are seeing images of the actual models, while others are seeing placeholder images. This may also be due to differences between the mobile operating system (Apple vs Android).
This is what the JBL Portable app is showing to Android users:
And here’s the first images of the Flip 7 and Charge 6.
Charge 6
Flip 7
The design shown is the same as that leaked several months ago from unofficial sources, with neither speaker straying too far from the design of their predecessor.
With that said, both speakers are definitely going to have changes to their multi-speaker pairing protocol. Both the Charge 6 and Flip 7 used PartyBoost, which has since been replaced with Auracast. It’s unlikely that these speakers will have the ability to connect to PartyBoost and Auracast in the way that the Xtreme 4 can, which will disappoint a few people who frequently pair their collection of PartyBoost speakers together.
The arrival of these speakers on the app is a little surprising, as JBL usually announces flagship releases at CES, which took place in January. But much of the audio community has been waiting for the announcement, owed in part to third party leaks, and of course the length of time since the Flip 6 and Charge 5.
Reddit user kubawww1 also noted that there is now a placeholder page for the Flip 7 on JBL’s website, which doesn’t return a true 404 error page. Instead, it seems we may soon have official listings for the Flip and Charge, suggesting a release date sooner than many expected after the let downs from CES.
Late last year I wrote a piece on the impending release of the Charge 6, suggesting a release for early 2025. After all, JBL has left its portable speaker fans hanging for a while now. The last two years have been heavily focused on party speakers like the PartyBox 320 and the more recent announcement of the PartyBox 520.
JBL launched the Go 4 and Clip 5 last year, which are both stellar speakers that I thoroughly enjoy using, and at the same time the Xtreme 4. But with the Flip and Charge being two of JBL’s most popular models, it’s fair to say we’ve waited long enough.
So are one of these the unannounced JBL speaker that was recently teased on their TikTok account? It looks possible, with the JBL Charge 6 seemingly sharing a similar, removable carry handle.
Follow us on socials, or check back regularly for updates as we cover these new releases and potential new information about them.
