The JBL GO 3 is a portable, budget-friendly speaker. It's well-built, and it has an IP67 rating for dust and water resistance, though we don't test for this. You can even use the attached strap to hang it off your backpack when you're on-the-go. While its sound profile is quite balanced, it lacks a lot of low-bass, which can be disappointing for fans of bass-heavy music. Also, it doesn't support voice assistant technology.
The JBL GO 3 is middling for music. Its balanced mid and treble ranges allow for clear and accurate reproduction of vocals and lead instruments. However, it lacks low-bass, which is disappointing for fans of bass-heavy genres like EDM. Unfortunately, you can't customize its sound profile, and it doesn't get very loud.
The JBL GO 3 is disappointing for videos and movies. Its balanced mid-range helps it reproduce voices and dialogue clearly, but it lacks low-bass, so you don't feel the deep thump and rumble in action-packed scenes. It also doesn't get very loud, and its soundstage isn't very wide. However, its latency with iOS and Android devices is low, which is good.
The JBL GO 3 is decent for podcasts. Its balanced mid-range can reproduce voices clearly. However, it doesn't get very loud, and you can't pair it with other speakers to make your audio cover a large area. On the upside, its portable design makes it easy to bring the speaker on-the-go.
The JBL GO 3 doesn't support voice assistant technology.
The JBL GO 3 is acceptable for outdoor use. Since it can be powered by a battery, you don't need to plug it into an outlet to use it. Also, it's rated IP67 for dust and water resistance, though we don't test for this. Unfortunately, it doesn't get very loud, and its sound profile lacks a lot of low-bass.
The JBL GO 3 is outstandingly portable. It's small, lightweight, and you can carry it with one hand. Also, you don't need to plug it into an outlet to get it to work, which makes it easy to bring with you outdoors.
The build quality is impressive. The materials feel solid, and there's a tight netting that wraps around most of the speaker and its carrying strap. The sides and the rear have a rubber finish. It also has an IP67 rating for dust and water resistance, though we don't test for this.
Update 01/18/2020: After reviewing our subjective testing scores, we determined that the Ease of Use for this speaker's controls should be changed to Great. We often re-evaluate our subjective scoring to provide greater consistency and accuracy across our reviews.
The controls are sub-par. You can turn the speaker on/off, pair it with a Bluetooth device, play/pause your music, and adjust the volume. If you press the Play button twice, it skips ahead to the next track, but you can't skip back to the previous track. The buttons are easy to press, and there's audible feedback when you reach max volume and when you enter pairing mode. Also, a small light flashes when the battery is low.
The JBL GO 3 has middling frequency response accuracy. When sitting horizontally on its rubber base, the speaker struggles to reproduce low-bass, which can be disappointing for fans of bass-heavy genres like EDM. However, its balanced mid and treble ranges help reproduce voices in podcasts and audiobooks clearly and accurately.
The soundstage is mediocre. Its directivity is decent, but the soundstage isn't perceived to be as large as some of the other speakers we've tested, like the Ultimate Ears WONDERBOOM 2. Also, it has to downmix stereo content into mono, which doesn't sound as immersive.
The JBL GO 3 has an acceptable battery performance. It only lasts five hours off a single charge, which may not last through long days outside. However, battery life can vary according to usage, so your experience may vary. Also, the speaker shuts off automatically after about 20 minutes without audio, which helps conserve battery life.
This speaker doesn't have voice assistant support.
This speaker doesn't have a companion app.
The JBL GO 3 can't be used wired. It just has a USB-C port for charging.
This speaker has very good Bluetooth connectivity. It has an incredible range, so you don't need to keep your phone or tablet very close to the speaker to play your audio. Also, it has low audio latency on iOS and Android, so it's suitable for watching videos, though some apps compensate for latency so your experience may vary. Unlike the Ultimate Ears WONDERBOOM 2, you can't pair it with more than one device at a time, which can be disappointing for some listeners.
The JBL GO 3 comes in lots of different color variants, including 'Red', 'Black', 'Blue', "Teal', 'White', 'Yellow', 'Squad' (Camo), 'Green', 'Orange', 'Pink', 'Grey', and 'Blue/Pink'. We tested the 'Red' variant, and you can see the label for the model we tested here. We expect the other color variants to perform similarly.
If you come across another version, let us know in the discussions so we can update our review.
The JBL GO 3 is a budget-friendly speaker with a portable design. It's rated IP67 for dust and water resistance, though we don't test for this. Like many small speakers, it struggles to reproduce low-bass. Also, it doesn't support voice assistants. However, its latency with iOS and Android devices is low enough to be suitable for watching videos and movies.
The JBL Clip 4 is a slightly better speaker than the JBL GO 3. While both speakers have a great build quality and are very portable, the Clip 4 can reproduce slightly more bass and has a wider soundstage. It also has lower audio latency on iOS and Android, although some apps compensate for this differently. However, the GO 3 can reach max volume with fewer compression artifacts.
The Ultimate Ears WONDERBOOM 2 is a better speaker than the JBL GO 3. The Ultimate Ears can get louder, has a better soundstage, and has longer battery life. While both speakers struggle to reproduce low-bass, the Ultimate Ears has a more extended low-bass. That said, the JBL has lower latency with Android and iOS devices.
The Bose SoundLink Micro is a better speaker than the JBL GO 3. The Bose has a better soundstage and longer battery life. It also supports voice assistants, though its performance is sub-par. However, while we don't currently test for it, the JBL has an IP6X rating for dust resistance.
The Bose SoundLink Revolve is a better speaker than the JBL GO 3. The Bose is better-built with longer battery life, and it supports voice assistants. Also, it has a more balanced sound profile and a better soundstage. However, the JBL has a lower latency with Android and iOS devices.
The JBL GO 3 is a better speaker than the OontZ Angle 3. The JBL is better-built, and it has lower latency with iOS and Android devices. While both speakers struggle to reproduce low-bass, the JBL has a better-balanced sound profile. However, the OontZ gets louder, and it has longer battery life.
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Black |
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Red |
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Teal |
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Blue |
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Grey |
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Green |
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Orange |
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Pink |
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Squad |
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White |
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Yellow |
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Blue/Pink |
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