The JBL Go 4 is the latest version of JBL’s smallest portable Bluetooth speaker, sized to fit in a pocket or clip onto a backpack strap. It’s rated IP67 for full dust and water protection, so it keeps working at the beach, the pool, the shower, or anywhere else where the average portable speaker would short out. Battery life is about 7 hours per charge, with USB-C charging and Bluetooth 5.3 handling the wireless side.
A waterproof speaker perfect for all your escapades and then some
The IP67 rating is the biggest reason to pick the Go 4 over a non-waterproof Bluetooth speaker. That handles shower steam, getting splashed at a pool, or dropping it into a kayak taking on water, all of which would kill most non-rated Bluetooth speakers. Even after a session at the beach, you can rinse the Go 4 under a tap to get sand and saltwater off without damaging anything inside.
The Go 4 sounds about as good as a speaker this size can. JBL tuned it to push the mid-bass and treble forward, keeping vocals and percussion clear rather than drowning them out the way they would on a cheaper speaker. The volume is enough to fill a bathroom or a porch, but not really a backyard party, which fits with what a single-driver portable speaker should do. JBL’s Portable app lets you tweak the EQ if the default tuning isn’t your taste, and it also pushes firmware updates.
About the size of a deck of cards and weighing roughly 7 ounces, the Go 4 has a built-in loop for clipping to a backpack strap or bike handlebar. JBL added Playtime Boost mode this time around, which trades a small drop in volume for extending the 7-hour battery to about 9 hours. USB-C handles charging, and Bluetooth 5.3 pairs to a phone, tablet, or laptop with a stable connection across a typical room. JBL also offers the Go 4 in a half-dozen colors, so you can match it to a phone case or just pick what looks good.
The Go 4 auto-reconnects to the last paired device when you power it on, so you can grab the speaker and start playing music without going through the pairing menu again. Auracast support also adds compatibility with Bluetooth LE Audio, which is the newer Bluetooth standard with cleaner audio quality at lower bitrates.
Waterproof Bluetooth speakers get used in places you wouldn’t bring an expensive one, like the pool, the shower, the bike trail, or a campsite. A budget-priced speaker is the right tool for those scenarios, and the Go 4’s $38 sale price knocks $10 off its $50 list price.