Latest news with #JBL
Tom's Guide
11 minutes ago
- Business
- Tom's Guide
Huge audio sale at Best Buy — 5 deals I'd get from $124
The Best Buy Back to School sale continues this week offering deals on all things college related. This week's sale has a particularly large number of deals on headphones and Bluetooth speakers. For example, right now you can get the JBL Xtreme 4 Portable Speaker for just $249 at Best Buy. That's $130 off and the lowest price I've seen for this Editor's Choice speaker. Below I've rounded up five of the best audio deals you can get right now at Best Buy. For more savings, see our Best Buy coupon codes and our guide to the best back to school laptop sales. Yes, there's a newer model of these headphones, but we called the original OpenRun Pro the ultimate bone conduction headphones for athletes thanks to their competitive sound, barely-there feel, and amazing 10 hours of battery life. They earned a near-perfect score in our Shokz OpenRun Pro review. The Beats Pill is a redesigned version of the company's first (and most popular) Bluetooth speaker, now with improved sound, 24-hour battery life, USB-C charging, access to Apple's Find My network and compatibility with Android and iPhone. Plus, it's IP67-rated for water resistance, so you won't get caught short in the rain. The JBL SoundGear Sense Hybrid are a great set of earbuds for those who want to enjoy their workout music and monitor their environment at the same time. They feature JBL's OpenSound Technology with air conduction, which doesn't completely close off your ear canal. Their flexible hooks can latch onto your ears and be adjusted at different angles to form a secure fit. The Beats Solo 4 might not feature noise canceling, but they make up for it by sounding pretty good. They're comfortable as well thanks to Beats new foam, and they fold up super small so that they can fit into any bag. There's also loads of battery life — 50 hours, to be exact. The Xtreme 4 is the GOAT of portable speakers. In our JBL Xtreme 4 review, we said the Editor's Choice speaker offers excellent bass, party mode, and a terrific design. Its IP67 rating also helps protect it against water or dust. At 4.6 pounds it's not something you'll want to carry all day, but its performance is unrivaled.
Android Authority
7 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Android Authority
I tested two new Govee indoor lights and turned my place into an enchanting light show
Govee Table Lamp 2 Pro x Sound by JBL The Govee Table Lamp 2 Pro x Sound by JBL offers gorgeous lighting effects and Bluetooth speaker functionality. It sounds great and will look even better. While there are better speakers at its price point, none of them look as good as this one. You can never have enough RGB lighting, right? Not only does it definitely improve fps while gaming (this is scientifically proven), but these lights can set the mood and turn any space into a mesmerizing light show. I got my hands on a couple of Govee units from their latest indoor range, and I've been testing them for about a week, and spoilers: I am kind of loving them. Let's take a closer look at the Govee Table Lamp 2 Pro and the Govee Uplighter Floor Lamp. Govee Table Lamp 2 Pro: Smart, colorful, and sounds great Edgar Cervantes / Android Authority I am definitely going to use all the lighting I can get, but if I had to pick only one, it would probably be the Govee Table Lamp 2 Pro x Sound by JBL (yes, that's the full name), because of its level of versatility. It offers lighting in many modes, has an integrated battery, and works as a speaker. This combination of characteristics makes it portable, fun, and functional. I was pleasantly surprised by the design as soon as I pulled this thing out of the box. It looks super futuristic and cool. In fact, I have gotten comments on it from pretty much everyone who has walked into my place. The cylindrical design with rounded edges is sleek, as is the transparent lower section. And while it is pretty much all made of plastic, it feels like a solidly built project with a nice weight to it. Let's talk about lighting. That is likely the main reason why you're getting this. After all, there are plenty of great portable Bluetooth speakers out there, but very few that are this eye-catching. Edgar Cervantes / Android Authority The unit comes with 210 LED beads that illuminate all around the Govee Table Lamp 2 Pro. The fun part is that you can pick between a wide range of themes, the whole color spectrum, or you can even customize your own themes. Additionally, it can react to music. The reaction time really impressed me when I started playing with this. Then, it all made sense when I took a look at the spec sheet. It has a 32ms response time, which is likely the best I've seen in these types of products. When I started playing music I kind of fell in love with it. The cool thing is that you can also use it as a regular lamp. Just select the 'Illumination' setting in the app, and you can change the color temperature to your liking. It can output 600 lumens of light, which is pretty much like having a lower-powered light bulb on. Now, I was already liking this thing, but then I started playing music and kind of fell in love with it. I knew it was powered by JBL, but I wasn't expecting too much out of it. Edgar Cervantes / Android Authority There's a 2.5-inch, 500cc JBL speaker in here. The highs, mids, and lows are very nicely balanced, and the deep bass can make my desk rumble if I turn the volume up. It also gets pretty loud. Usually, I would listen to my laptop speakers at full volume. When connected to the Govee Table Lamp 2 Pro, I keep the volume at about 20%- 30%. It has a 5,200mAh battery built in, so you can run it for about 4.5 hours when only playing music, around 4 hours when only using it for lighting, or 1.3 hours for both. If I had to complain about anything, it would be that the power port is on the bottom, so it can be a bit of a hassle to plug and unplug when going between stationary and mobile. Of course, it comes with all the bells and whistles of a smart light product. It connects to your devices using either Wi-Fi or Bluetooth, and you can control it using voice commands or the Govee app, Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant, Matter, IFTTT, Razer, and more. Govee Table Lamp 2 Pro x Sound by JBL MSRP: $179.99 See price at Amazon Positives Surprisingly good sound for non-dedicated speaker Surprisingly good sound for non-dedicated speaker Gets pretty loud Gets pretty loud Technically portable (includes battery) Technically portable (includes battery) Really cool lighting effects Cons Pricier than other speakers and/or comparable lights Pricier than other speakers and/or comparable lights Larger than common portable speakers Larger than common portable speakers Not bright enough to use for actual illumination (600 lumens) Govee Uplighter Floor Lamp: 3-in-1 illumination Edgar Cervantes / Android Authority It's a bit hard to follow something like the Govee Table Lamp 2 Pro, which I am praising so much here, but the Govee Uplighter Floor Lamp won't be left in the shadows, so to speak. The Govee Uplighter Floor Lamp is a 3-in-1 light. It can light downwards, making it a great general floor lamp, or reading light. It also has lights all around the sides. The side lights aren't strong enough, so they are more meant for setting the mood. And if you want a bit of flair added to your ambiance, there is an upper light that creates a rippling effect that will make any corner or ceiling look like a dream. The Govee Uplighter Floor Lamp won't be left in the shadows. My one gripe is that you can't have all the lights on at the same time. More specifically, you have to choose between the ripple light and the main illumination light. The side lights can be on regardless. This one is actually much brighter than the table lamp, as the middle and lower lights can output 1,000 lumens of brightness, much like a bright LED light bulb. Edgar Cervantes / Android Authority Of course, you can customize the lighting to your liking, whether you want to change the theme, color, white color temperature, or create your own DIY color effects. And if you prefer, you can control it using the physical buttons on the lamp. These make it easy to switch between the bottom and ripple lights. The secondary button can cycle through the effects, but there are so many that I kind of gave up on it. I would rather use the app to pick the theme. Connectivity won't be an issue here. It also uses both Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, and you can control it with all the main digital assistants and their respective apps. This includes Alexa, Google Assistant, Matter, and the Govee app. Govee Uplighter Floor Lamp MSRP: $179.99 See price at Amazon Positives Really cool ripple lighting effect Really cool ripple lighting effect Plenty of customization options are available Plenty of customization options are available Great for illumination (1,000 lumens) Cons Pricey for a smart lamp Pricey for a smart lamp Can't use regular light and ripple light at the same time Can't use regular light and ripple light at the same time While it feels stable, the pipe swings easily Price, availability, and are they worth it? Edgar Cervantes / Android Authority A product is only as good as the value its price offers, and these aren't the cheapest lights around: Govee Table Lamp 2 Pro: $179.99 $179.99 Govee Uplighter Floor Lamp: $179.99 At $179 each, they aren't exactly cheap, but I can definitely see the value in them — especially if you're looking into getting the Govee Table Lamp 2 Pro. Plenty of good speakers cost about this much, and you get the added functionality of being able to use it as both a lamp and a colorful ambiance light. It looks great, is nicely built, and the audio is pretty nice. On the other hand, the Govee Uplighter Floor Lamp is more of a luxury. If you're looking to get a lamp and want it to be really special with multiple lighting modes, it is certainly a nice acquisition. It certainly beats getting a regular lamp with a smart light bulb, but its benefits will also come with a much steeper price point.
Phone Arena
7 hours ago
- Business
- Phone Arena
It's not too late to score the loud JBL Boombox 3 at a hefty discount at Walmart
The JBL Boombox 3 is one of the best Bluetooth speakers on the market, and guess what? It's currently going for a pretty tempting price at Walmart. The retailer is offering a massive $143 discount on it, letting you upgrade your gatherings for just $356.99. Not too shabby, considering this big fella usually goes for around $500. That said, the deal has been around for a few weeks now, which means it could expire soon. So, we suggest acting fast and taking advantage of it while you still can, as this speaker is an absolute gem at its current price. $356 99 $499 95 $143 off (29%) Don't miss your chance to grab the powerful JBL Boombox 3 while it's $143 off at Walmart. With booming sound and tough build quality, this speaker is ready to elevate any gathering. Save with this deal now! Buy at Walmart $100 off (20%) You can also grab the JBL Boombox 3 on Amazon, where it's currently discounted by $100. Buy at Amazon Sure, it's not exactly a small device that you can put in your backpack. But thanks to its larger dimensions, it offers an extremely loud sound with a solid bass, making it perfect for parties and gatherings. And if that's not enough, you can pair it with other JBL speakers via its PartyBoost feature for a truly mesmerising listening can also fine-tune the audio to your liking using the built-in EQ in the JBL Portable app. And thanks to its high IP67 dust and water resistance rating, you can take the speaker anywhere with peace of mind, knowing your investment is protected. It's fully dust-tight and can even withstand submersion in up to three feet of water for up to 30 minutes. Plus, it offers up to 24 hours of battery life on a single charge. So, yeah! The JBL Boombox 3 may not exactly fall into the budget-friendly category even with its current discount at Walmart, but it brings a lot to the table. So if it checks all the right boxes for you, act fast and save with this deal while you still can.
Android Authority
8 hours ago
- Android Authority
I continue to use Google Home and its speakers, but I hate everything about it
I've been in the Google Home camp since the first speaker launched in November of 2016, though you might even say that I started earlier, with the first Chromecast in 2013. Since then, I've had a couple of Lenovo Smart Displays, some JBL Link speakers, the JBL Link View, the Google Home Mini, Nest Audio, Nest Hub, and many others that are too esoteric to remember. Today, my home houses two Nest Audios, a Pixel Tablet, and a Nest Hub, scattered across three floors, and even though I'm at the end of my patience rope with all of them, I still use them every day. I don't think I'm alone in this contradictory state. Every week I run across a Reddit thread of frustrated users reporting new bugs and issues, or voicing their impatience at the state of Google's smart home. And I nod in agreement, again and again, because I am them. They are me. We're all in this unhealthy relationship with Google's smart home platform together. And we can't escape. Why are you still using Google Home in 2025? 0 votes I've invested too much time/money into it. NaN % The bugs and glitches don't bother me that much. NaN % My experience has been seamless and bug-free. NaN % Other (let us know in the comments). NaN % What annoys me about my Google smart speakers, every day C. Scott Brown / Android Authority If I had a penny for every time my Google speakers and hubs… plain out refused to hear me, misunderstood what I said, decided this is not my own voice, forgot that they can control a specific device, forgot that they can execute a certain command on a device, forgot my entire routine and the keyword that triggers it, decided to tell me a long story instead of giving a short answer, told me they're executing a command and then failed to do it, took forever to do something, or answered on the furthest speaker away despite me being literally in front of another one, … well, then I'd be a millionnaire. Not a day goes by without my Nest speaker, hub, or Pixel tablet failing at some point. It's so frequent that I'm desensitized to it now; I try again and insist as if it's normal for tech to fail this frequently before getting it right. Or, if I'm in a hurry, I grab my phone to tap a button, manually, bypassing the entire raison d'être of a smart speaker. My Google smart speakers are useless, on average, about half the time I try to use them. 'Hey Google, I'm cooking,' is a routine I use every day to trigger all three air purifiers in my home and set them to the highest fan speed. Google understands me one time out of three when I say those simple words. My husband is luckier; Google gets him about four out of five times. So I've resorted to asking my husband to tell Google to start the routine because I'm tired of hearing nothing but silence. On the other hand, 'Set a chicken timer' sets a normal timer for my husband, but does the whole chicken animation when I ask for it, which irritates my husband. He wants the animation and sounds, too. For several weeks, 'Set a 20-minute timer' would open the French 20minutes news website. Anytime my husband says, 'Nothing,' the speakers answer him with the Wikipedia page of the Nothing phone company. When I play music on the ground floor, which is supposed to include both my Nest Hub and my Samsung Soundbar, the music is out of sync half the time; the other half, Google says it'll play music on my speaker group and then tells me 'Something went wrong, try again later.' Talking to this so-called smart speaker feels dumber than chatting with the snail chilling on my wet porch now. The one thing it excels at is telling me and my husband the weather, and even then, it switches to Fahrenheit every few weeks even though we've repeatedly set it and told it and insisted to get it in Celsius. 'Something went wrong, try again later,' is the soundtrack of my life. When a timer goes off in one room and I'm in another, I have to shout and hope the other speaker hears me: 'Stop' doesn't do anything on the speaker near me; it might even confuse Google because 'Nothing is playing right now.' How can it not understand that I'm stopping the timer in the other room baffles me. Plus, because I use Gemini on my phone, multiple calendar support has been kaput for me for several months now. I can have the busiest day with work and family engagements, but my Nest Audio will tell me my calendar is free because none of these are on my personal account. And don't get me started on how atrociously limited the Pixel Tablet is in a multi-user house. It only supports one voice — mine — so my husband can never ask it for his events, his shopping list, his music, or his reminders. We've relegated it to my office so he doesn't throw it out the window after the millionth, 'I'm sorry, I can't do that yet.' I've tried enrolling in Google Home previews and leaving them, updating my speakers and resetting them, improving my router and home connection, as well as every other trick in the book to no avail. My Google smart speakers are useless, on average, about half the time I try to use them. The Google Home app got better, but is still very frustrating Rita El Khoury / Android Authority It's been 18 months since I wrote an article praising the Google Home app, saying it's on the right path. Sadly, not much has changed since, and even though I love the ubiquitous smart home panel, there's so much that annoys me every day about this app. The biggest example for me is how the Google Home app becomes less useful the more devices you have. Scrolling endlessly through large similar icons becomes a waste of time, and I'm tired of having my rooms sorted alphabetically without any custom sorting. I don't want to see the bathroom lights before the bedroom or living room. I don't want to see my motion sensors take up a large tile like every other light or thermostat either, so why can't I hide them? I've set up my Favorites to create a semblance of a custom panel, but even then, why can't I make smaller tiles for the devices I use less often? Support for third-party cameras is still abysmal, too. I have two TP-Link cameras that are compatible with Google Home, but they don't show their live feed in the app or on the home panel of my Google TV Streamer. Why? Because Google still chooses a few partner companies to elevate to a status similar to the Nest Cams, while the others are left in nowhere land. And then, there are the routines. In an ideal world, I'd be able to set those up so I rarely, if ever, speak to Google Assistant, letting my home react to certain conditions and situations by itself without any voice commands. In reality, I've been able to create a few routines, but not nearly as many as I would've liked. For instance, Home and Away routines are restricted to light controls only. Why can't I turn off my TV or change the thermostat's mode when I leave home? Why can I not turn on the A/C when I get back home? I don't know. My air purifier supports all these modes But not in custom routines So I work around that by writing voice commands Custom routines are a bit more powerful, but still lack so many options. For example, I can control my air purifier's mode and fan speed in the Google Home app, but when I build a routine, I can only turn it on or off. Additionally, I can see several air quality metrics from my Sensibo Elements in the Google Home app, but I can't create a routine that turns on the air purifier each time the TVOC or CO2 levels are high; that data just doesn't appear in the 'if' part of the routine creation. The only way to bypass these is to use the code editor, and even then, the results have been hit-or-miss for me. And to make my Pixel Tablet play music when I turn on my office light, I had to type the command instead of using the visual picker because, for some unknown reason, you can't create a routine that plays music on the Pixel Tablet (on other speakers, yes). When all of these controls and parameters are available in the Google Home app, why do they not show up in the routine creation menu? I couldn't tell you. Why do I keep torturing myself then? Rita El Khoury / Android Authority Ah, the million-dollar question. To be honest, I don't really know or have an answer. I have a series of theories and thoughts about why I stick with Google's excruciating smart home platform, and I think the reality is somewhere in the middle. There's the sunk cost fallacy where I just can't walk away from something I've invested so much money and time in. There's the evil you know versus the evil you don't; I keep testing the Alexa app on my devices to see if it's any better and realize it has a different and equally frustrating set of issues, too. There's the hope that with Gemini, things will get better. There's the fact that I write on Android Authority, I own Pixel phones and watches and Google TVs, and so does my husband, and Google Home is the only platform that makes sense for us. There's the casting capability and its compatibility with my Samsung soundbar. And there's the simple photo album feature that I cherish more than anything on my Pixel Tablet and Nest Hub and that I wouldn't give up for anything else. Between the sunk cost fallacy, reticence to change, and the evil I know, there are many reasons why I stick with Google Home. There's also the fact that when things work, they work. And I'm an optimist who hopes they'll work the same way next time, too. I've bought and started using a Home Assistant Yellow to try to extricate myself from Google's ecosystem. That has been a long, painful, and frustrating journey, too. I love that I'm in control of my new Home Assistant setup, but I hate having to babysit every aspect of it. What I gained in control over my smart home, I lost in troubleshooting, setup, and ease of use. There's no ideal smart home platform out there, and as I said earlier… the evil I know. I feel that that's where most of us, Google Home survivors, are nowadays. We don't see the grass being greener anywhere else, so we might as well stick with the patchy blot we have here in the hopes that it'll get better. Soon™.
Gizmodo
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Gizmodo
JBL PartyBox 710 Speaker Is Lowest Price of the Year, Even Prime Day Didn't Go This Low
We still have a couple more months of summer. That's like eight weekends ready for you to throw the biggest party of the season. And no party would be complete without music. Prepare yourself with powerful sound and a loud bass that can be felt all throughout the house and backyard. This JBL PartyBox 710 is just the speaker for the job. Normally, you'd find this party speaker listed at $850, but for a limited time, Amazon has the price knocked down by 29%. That amounts to a savings of $250, bringing the price you pay down to just $600. Much like the rest of the JBL lineup, the PartyBox 710 speaker produces rich and power sound that can take any gathering of friends or family to the next level. This JBL speaker's got 800 watts of high performance JBL Original Pro Sound. The pair of 2.75-inch tweets along with the 8-inch woofers combined with a tuned bass reflex port deliver detailed audio like no other. See at Amazon The standout feature of the JBL PartyBox 710 beyond its powerful sound is its dynamic lighting. RGB Lights integrated into the speaker are able to synchronize to the music you play through it, providing your party with a full-on light show that matches the vibes of your playlist. There are also some options of patterns you can have the speaker run though like customizable strobes or a starry night effect. Use the JBL PartyBox app to further customize the colors and patterns and take even more control over the music. With both light and sound, it's almost as if this speaker is some sort of party in a box. Wonder if that's where it gets its name. While this speaker is a behemoth, measuring in at nearly three feet tall, it's more portable than you think. It has a set of smooth-running wheels like a suitcase that are large enough to pull across a rocky driveway with ease. An easy-to-grip handle is built into the top to make pushing and pulling the speaker simple. You can even take this speaker down by the water whether that's poolside, lakeside, or beachside. The JBL PartyBox 710 is IPX4 splashproof so you don't need to worry about it getting a little wet or splashed on. For a limited time, you can pick up the JBL PartyBox 710 speaker with its dynamic lighting for a significant discount. It's 29% off, bringing the price down from $850 to just $600. That's a savings of $250. Put that money toward drinks and snacks. See at Amazon
