Building upon some of its most popular prior Bluetooth audio products, JBL has debuted the fully waterproof Charge 3 ($150) and Clip 2 ($60) speakers, as well as three in-ear headphones: the advanced active noise-cancelling Everest Elite 100 ($199), and two versions of the Under Armour UA Headphones Wireless ($180-$250), one with an integrated heart rate monitor…
Sequel to last year’s splashproof Charge 2+, the IPX7 waterproof Charge 3 speaker can now be submerged in water, and features a new design with a fabric grille and rubberized housing. Still built with stereo speakers and a bass radiator, Charge 3 now promises 15 hours of play time (up from 12) from the 6,000mAh battery, which can alternately be used to recharge a device over USB.
Smaller and redesigned with an integrated triangular carabiner, Clip 3 is the sequel to last year’s Clip+. Like Charge 3, it has been IPX7-waterproofed with a fabric and rubber housing, offering 8 hours of play time. Both speakers can be wirelessly paired with other JBL speakers for amplified sound, or paired with multiple audio sources at once.
Everest Elite 100 is JBL’s latest fully wireless in-ear headphone, and is billed as the “industry’s first in-ear wireless headphones with NXTGen noise cancelling capabilities.” Built with Bluetooth 4.0, Everest Elite 100 allows you to dynamically control the amount of outside noise the earphones let in, using a free downloadable app that can adjust NXTGen noise cancellation independently for each ear. JBL is promising 6 hours of play time for this model.
Co-developed with Under Armour, JBL’s UA Headphones Wireless ($180) and UA Headphones Wireless Heart Rate ($250) have been designed as athlete-friendly Bluetooth headphones. Both versions are IPX5 sweat-proof and have a Twistlock design that’s “guaranteed never to fall out” of your ears, with Flexsoft tips. The basic model uses Bluetooth 4.0 and is solely for audio and calls, with up to 8 hours of playback time; the Heart Rate version has a heart rate monitor that measures from the ear, constantly streaming data during fitness activities. It uses Bluetooth 4.1, and offers up to 5 hours of playback time.
All five products are expected to be available by Spring. Prior-generation versions of JBL’s Clip and Charge are being discounted to clear inventory ahead of the new models’ release.
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