The JBL Grip is JBL’s compact portable speaker, and it’s roughly the size and shape of a soda can. Battery life comes to 12 hours on a single charge, and turning on Playtime Boost adds two more for a total of 14. The IP68 rating covers water and dust, and JBL also built it to survive a one-meter drop onto concrete. An ambient light on the back panel lets you set different colors and themes, and Auracast lets you link this speaker to other JBL speakers.
Head over to Amazon to get the JBL Grip Portable Bluetooth Speaker for just $65, down from its usual price of $100. That’s a $35 discount and 35% off.
A modest yet powerful portable speaker you’ll love taking along with you
Speakers this small usually give up on bass entirely, since there isn’t enough cabinet volume behind the driver to move much air. JBL’s solution is called AI Sound Boost. It analyzes the audio as it comes in and pushes the signal further out of the speaker without distorting it. In practice, these speakers are very compact but still produce a lot of volume for their size. That said, they’re designed to be portable speakers, not to fill a large area like a backyard.
The IP68 rating is worth understanding because it’s stronger than what most portable speakers offer. IPX4 speakers can handle some water, like rain. IP68 means you can submerge it in water, and it still keeps dust out. The Grip is good for a day at the beach, a day working outside, or anywhere else. In addition to being waterproof, the JBL has been dropped onto solid ground from one meter above and survived, which is pretty much what happens when you accidentally knock it off a picnic table.
Auracast lets you connect multiple speakers. You can stereo-pair two Grips, with one handling the left channel and the other the right, or link a larger group of JBL Auracast speakers so they all play the same thing at the same time. That works across JBL’s other Auracast models, not just this one.
The light on the back panel shifts through color themes and brightness levels, and you adjust both in the JBL Portable app. That same app has a seven-band EQ if the default tuning isn’t where you want it, and firmware updates come through there as well. Bluetooth 5.4 handles the connection to your phone.
The speaker comes with a carrying bag and a soft cloth for cleaning. It’s charged using a USB-C cable, and when the battery is completely drained, it’ll take around three hours to fully charge. The JBL Grip Portable Bluetooth Speaker is available for $65 as opposed to its usual price of $100, and it comes in several colors including black, blue, and squad camo.