Review: JBL Flip 7 Bluetooth Speaker

Over the years, JBL’s Flip has become my favorite Bluetooth speaker, offering the best bargain between sound, size, and durability. My trusty Flip 5 may not be the most hi-fi model in my arsenal, but it offers clear and full audio performance, and its convenient mix of usability and mobility makes it the one I turn to when I need music on the go (or on the patio).

The Flip has gotten a notch better with each iteration, and the new Flip 7 keeps pace. It adds a welcome battery boost, new features like a removable carry strap, sound upgrades in a tweeter tweak, and a new “AI Sound Boost” DSP system for more punch. Sadly, the feature creep comes with a price rise (thanks, inflation). It’s only $20 over the Flip 6, but that thin margin of separation between rivals like the UE Boom 4 (8/10, WIRED Recommends) and Beats Pill (8/10, WIRED Recommends) was part of the Flip’s appeal.

The new speaker also trades JBL’s convenient PartyBoost system that connects multiple older models in tandem for the next big thing, Auracast. That’s frustrating for JBL collectors and could make grabbing the similar Flip 6 on sale a smarter buy. Those points aside, the Flip 7 is an excellent speaker that sounds better than ever. If you’ve been holding out, it’s a worthy upgrade and once again among the best Bluetooth speakers you can buy.

(Slightly) New Digs

The Flip’s basic design hasn't changed much over time, with the same tubular profile wrapped in a flack jacket in six different colorways. That’s actually the sales pitch: “Same size, bigger punch,” though the speaker got a teensy bit taller at 7.19 inches. The matte metallic JBL logo on the front provides a stylish upgrade over the aging Flip 5 but looks nearly identical to the 6.

Photograph: Ryan Waniata

The few noticeable changes include an extra protruding rubber prong around the endcaps, rearranged onboard controls, and a new loop that detaches with a button press. The breakaway design isn’t the most stable—I lost the loop momentarily during my evaluation by presumably pressing the release key accidentally—but you do get a backup with a carabiner.

Most of the new stuff is undetectable, including shockproof testing for one-meter drops to match speakers like the Boom 4 and Megaboom 4. I’ve kicked around my non-shockproof Flip pretty carelessly without issue but I appreciate the added security, especially since one drop of the Pill off a cabin stairway resulted in some nasty scars.

The Flip 7 is also IP68 weather resistant, as opposed to the more standard IP67. The “6” means top-tier dustproofing for beach escapades, while the “8” is nebulously defined by manufacturers; in this case it equates to safe dunking at 1.5 meters of water for 30 minutes rather than IP67’s 1 meter.

JBL says it redesigned the Flip’s half-inch tweeter dome for more refined sound, which pairs with a 1.75- by 3-inch racetrack woofer for a mono soundstage. Beats’ Pill's dual speakers provide a more open sound, while the Boom offers a 360-degree soundstage. Despite that, the Flip 7 excels with some of the best sound you’ll find at its size. JBL says another part of the sound equation is its updated digital signal processing, called AI Sound Boost (JBL loves the word “Boost”).

Photograph: Ryan Waniata

More and Less

The best new boost comes in the battery playtime, which finally moves from 12 hours to 14, depending on volume. That clocked in my testing, monitoring from the JBL Portable app along with a bar on the speaker. You can get a couple more hours with the Party Boost mode, which cuts out bass. That sounded pretty rough in the Clip 5, but it’s not awful here and could come in handy on the move.

The app also now provides a 7-band EQ with presets to customize your sound. As before, you can stereo pair with another Flip 7 but not other models. Auracast, the other big new feature, lets you connect in tandem with new models like the Clip 5 and Charge 6 but leaves out older models.

I get that JBL is stepping into the future—the company’s Tour Pro 3 buds are among the first to add Auracast, letting you stream from plug-in devices lag-free. Auracast has further potential once more devices get onboard (the Pixel 9 just announced support), but it’s early days. It would have been nice if JBL kept PartyBoost and Auracast, so you could connect to all JBL speakers. Of course, it's a moot point if you’re just grabbing the Flip as your lone mobile buddy.

The speaker also leaves out extras like a speakerphone or built-in device charging—for that you’ve got to upgrade to the aptly named (and much larger) Charge. Like the Beats Pill, JBL has added the option to plug the Flip 7 in via USB-C for lossless audio from compatible devices. I’m not sure hi-res tracks will do a lot for you in a mono speaker this size, but plug-in playback is a nice add since the 3.5-mm port went AWOL years ago.

Same Flip Punch, Refined

I rocked the Flip 7 as my primary device at work and play for about a week, and the takeaway is that it sounds damn good. It’s got the same full and smartly balanced sound that’s kept the speaker as my favorite option on the go, with slightly deeper and more accurate bass. Details have only improved in recent iterations, providing sound that stands tall with anything in its class.

Right off the bat, I noticed some extra touch to instruments like horns and acoustic guitar compared with my Flip 5. Flipping between them (sorry) for a few hours further revealed some extra touch and clarity, with less brashness in the upper mids. It’s a small difference, but over time I found myself delighting more in the subtle moments with the 7.

Photograph: Ryan Waniata

I remember telling a similar story about the Flip 6 a few years back, and while I think the 7 may provide more refinement, I wasn’t able to compare them side by side. Regardless, it’s not a massive upgrade, making the cheaper Flip 6 a still-tempting alternative. The Boom 4 also compared well, offering a bit more midrange presence and a wider soundstage in A/B testing, though it lacks the Flip 7's punch in the bass.

I was surprised to find the Flip 7 holding its own down low even against the heftier Beats Pill, which pushes most of its might toward the extremes of the frequency curve. The Pill has some extra thump in the lower bass, but the Flip is fuller in the midrange and matches pretty well in the upper register with less brashness. Its soundstage still gets more cacophonous than the Pill, but it rarely struggles with clarity.

The Flip 7 will struggle if you push it toward full volume, despite the new system designed to reduce distortion, but I was able to clock it at over 75 decibels from a few feet away without major trouble, and the Pill and Boom 4 break up at similar volumes. All three speakers last longer than the budget Tribit Stormbox 2 (9/10, WIRED Recommends), but the Stormbox costs half the price. If you want more power, you’ll need to move up to something like the Charge or UE Megaboom.

The Flip 7 isn’t a massive upgrade over the 6, and those with other older JBL speakers may find more kinship with the previous iteration. Otherwise, the extra battery life could be worth moving up. I’m once again taken with the Flip, matching serious punch with sweet style and usability to make it one of the best new Bluetooth speakers around.