The JBL Charge 4 is a Bluetooth speaker that is portable and available in multiple colors. It boasts a well-balanced midrange that faithfully reproduces vocalists and lead instruments, albeit they may sound a bit dull due to the lack of emphasis in its treble range. It is also rated IPX7 for water resistance, meaning it may be submerged for 30 minutes in up to 1 liter of water. Additionally, unlike the JBL Charge 5, it lacks an EQ, so you cannot customize its sound profile. The JBL Charge 4 resembles the Charge 3 in appearance.
It is a mid-sized portable speaker with a design similar to Ultimate Ears’ Boom series. In contrast to the UE Boom 3, this speaker is positioned on its side. Unlike Ultimate Ears, which has streamlined its designs, JBL has maintained the Charge 4’s bulky passive radiators at each end. JBL has imprinted an exclamation point onto the rubber surface to satisfy the need to press these. The good news is that it is irrelevant. These are not fragile speaker cones, but rather considerably more robust resonating structures that can endure a little of rough handling in the hands of mischievous children or clumsy adults.
[content-egg-block template=offers_logo hide=price]In fact, the JBL Charge 4 is rugged in every way. The bottom features a thick rubber foot, while the front and back are coated with a durable, water-resistant fabric. Similar to the previous Charge 3, this model will sound better in larger rooms and open settings, mostly because bass tends to lose power over distance more quickly than higher-pitched sounds. If you use the Charge 4 in a barn, yard, or garage, the bass emphasis will be reduced and the sound will be more appealing.
Despite the fact that the JBL Charge 4 has a battery with a significantly bigger capacity than the Charge 3, all models are advertised as having 20 hours of continuous listening. During our testing, we were able to get the Charge 4 to play music continuously for 13 hours and 46 minutes. It wasn’t exactly the 20 hours advertised, but it wasn’t terrible either.
This will be compromised if you elect to charge your devices via the USB-A output on the back. On the back, you’ll also discover a 3.5mm input and a USB Type-C port, but the Type-C input is exclusively for charging. Therefore, if you had a Type-C to Type-C cable and hoped to charge your new Android phone or iPad Pro over that connector, you are out of luck. You must utilise the USB-A port for any charging-related activities.