It feels like a new pair of “truly
wireless” headphones is unveiled practically every week of late, but it’s not
every day that you see four different models announced by an audio brand as popular
as JBL.
The Harman-owned manufacturer of speakers,
soundbars, and home theater systems has just taken the wraps off the JBL
Reflect Flow, Endurance Peak, Tune120TWS, and UA Flash earphones at CES 2019 in
Las Vegas, as reported by Engadget.
The main thing that separates these four
is obviously the external appearance, each meant to appeal to a (slightly)
different target audience. But you’ll also want to take note of what makes them
special in terms of specifications.
The UA Flash or UA True Wireless Flash are
the costliest of the bunch, at a recommended retail price of US$ 169.95, a premium
justified in part by JBL’s branding collaboration with Under Armour and in part
by a robust list of features.
Lightweight and “completely” waterproof,
these earbuds boast a total battery life of 25 hours, including 20 hours of
juice delivered by a sturdy aluminum charging case. The UA Flash also stands
out with something called Bionic Hearing, a proprietary technology allowing the
user to choose from TalkThru and Ambient Aware listening modes either
amplifying voices around you or maximizing background noise.
At US$ 149.95, the JBL Reflect Flow look
pretty similar to the UA Flash, also promising an ergonomic design and fit,
IPX7 waterproofing, “signature” sound technology, the same aforementioned
Bionic Hearing capabilities, and a whopping 30-hour combined battery life.
The US$ 119.95 JBL Endurance Peak are
slightly less advanced and, frankly, a little uglier than their “cousins”, with
a TwistLock design that’s meant to be convenient rather than stylish, a more
than decent 28 hours of combined battery life, and yes, IPX7 water resistance
as well.
Finally, the US$ 99.95 JBL Tune120TWS manage
to be “trendy and slim”, naturally downgrading the headphones + charging case
total endurance to 16 hours, and making do without water resistance. On the
bright side, the low-cost wireless earbuds can connect to Google and Apple’s
voice assistants to make hands-free stereo calls.
