Gadgetory

just like Ultimate Ears was released there Alexa compatible smart speakers the blasted megablast JBL released their own smart speakers under their link series lineup but the major difference here is these JBL speakers work with Google assistant instead but although the JBL link 10 and link 20 sound much better than you easy new speakers JBO still didn't quite stick a landing don't forget to Like comment and subscribe and you can watch some of my other videos here after know what's in this video right now there are three jpo link speakers to choose from and they all either come in black or white the smallest speaker is called the JBL link 10 and a retails for 149 95 then there's a slightly larger JBL link 20 which retails for 199 95 and then the largest speaker in JBL's link Series line-up is the JBL link 300 which retails for 249 95 but it doesn't have a built in battery and for comparison your standard Google home typically Rito's for 130 dollars but usually goes on sale if you want to pick either of these speakers up I'll have links in the description below and I'll keep them updated so you can get the best deal possible and it also helps with the channel the JBL link 10 and link 20 are pretty typical JBL speakers you get the same bright orange USB charging cable and the same wall adapter well except with the JBL link 10 you don't get a wall adapter with that one and I'll go into detail on why that's a huge mistake on JBL sparked in a few but both the link 10 and link 20 are ipx7 certified just like most other JBL speakers which means they can get wet without any issues they also have the same fabric outer shells on the front of the speaker there's some LEDs that light up when Google starts listening to you when you say hey Google or ok Google on the top you've got your control buttons to adjust your musics volume you can toggle Bluetooth on or off you have a dedicated button to summon your Google assistant and you've got a play/pause button as well obviously if you press it it'll play or pause your music and if you double press it'll skip a track but unfortunately triple pressing won't go back a track and having these manual controls are a very welcome addition over the Google home with the Google home you can only adjust the volume or play or pause your music by using the trackpad controls but you can't skip or go back a track you can only do that by voice if your phone isn't around and I just find it weird because I feel Google just add a swipe left or swipe right gesture on the back you've got your power button with the fuel gauge on top and below that you also have a mic mute button which will shine orange on both the front and back of the speaker and on the bottom you've got a rubber grommet that houses the microUSB port for charging but unfortunately these speakers don't have an ox jack you can only stream music with them over Wi-Fi or Bluetooth but at least switching between the two sources is pretty seamless unlike the UE blast and mega blast well makes the link 10 and link 20 stand out is their Google assistant integration and it's super easy to set up all you have to do is open the Google home app on your phone and setup takes a few minutes and using Google assistant on the JBL link speakers is identical to using it on an actual Google home response and processing times are the same and for those who are new to Google assistant you can ask it questions give it commands or control your smart home just by asking just to name a few and Google assistant is constantly gaining new abilities ok Google what's the current price of Bitcoin 1 BTC is approximately nine thousand four hundred thirty-one United States dollars and thirty nine cents okay Google Play that new gez solar sure summer in December by gez here it is on google play music hey Google set the volume to 75% hey Google stop hey Google turn on Bluetooth alright looking for parent devices bluetooth is connected to I phone ok Google what's the current price of Tesla stock Tesla stock is trading at three hundred seven dollars and eighty four cents per share on NASDAQ as of 12:30 1:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time today of 0.1 percent from yesterday and the range of these speakers is just as good as it is on the Google home you never really have to shout or enunciate your words so Google assistant can hear you hey bull can you hear it loud and clear hey loud and clear loud and clear but although JBL classifies these speakers as voice-activated portable speakers I wouldn't use them in the same way I would that I use either the flip for JBL extreme jb upholstery or so on first off battery life on these speakers is super weak the link 20 advertises a battery life of 10 hours while the link 10 advertises about a life of 5 hours and I routinely got less on both speakers whereas the flip 4 is good for about 14 hours the JBL extreme is good for about 16 hours and the post 3 is good for about 12 hours depending on how you use it also the link 10 and link 20 don't have JBL connect plus so they can't be paired to other JBL speakers and keep in mind if the JBL link speakers aren't connected to Wi-Fi then google assistant won't work without Wi-Fi or access to google assistant they instantly become overpriced flip phones that have a very bad battery life and don't have JBL connect plus I like to look at the JBL link Siri speakers as an alternative to a Google home that have much better sound quality and happen to have a built-in battery that will last you or short listening session cuz the Google home doesn't have a built in battery and not to mention these speakers do take a good amount of to beat up and as smart speakers are starting to get more and more popular manufacturers are really sorting to focus on sound quality something Google said that we're focusing on when they announced their soon-to-be released Google home acts and something Apple said was their main priority with the recently delayed Apple home pod and without a doubt either of these two JBL speakers sound way better than the Google home first let's talk about the Google home if you're building out of smart home and you plan on listening through a lot of music then you're better off with any other smart speaker the Google home just isn't good for listening to music it gets overpowered by its own bass and vocalist sound like they're at the bottom of well now when it comes to sound quality between the linked speakers and the JBL set for the next speakers perform much better than the JBL flip floor for sorters they don't have as much trouble as the flip floor and they have a much more even sound signature they also have a wider sales stage and more bass the highs above the floor are also a little brighter than both billing speakers and off before those managed to get louder than both of these linked speakers but at the expense of sound quality now when it comes to comparing the link 10 versus the link 20 the biggest difference is the sound stage the sound stage is just much wider and the link 20 has a little more bass but it doesn't get all that much louder the link 20 just has a slightly better sound quality and deep lows in the link 10 now let's talk about issues found on the JBL link speakers first they're using bluetooth 4.2 which is good they're good for about a range of 70 feet but the problem is if you're going to watch a video using either of these two speakers and streaming over Bluetooth there's a significant delay to the point that it's unwatchable whereas with the Flipboard there's still a delay but it's not as bad as the linked speakers another problem I have with these link speakers are the constant of Wi-Fi indicator lights on the front you can't turn them off and you can't even them them if you plan on placing one of these smart speakers in your bedroom then the light can get pretty annoying for light sleepers like me I personally feel the Wi-Fi indicator lights should only turn on if there's a problem with the Wi-Fi connection because even Google's own Google home doesn't have a constantly on Wi-Fi indicator light but my biggest problem or the included wall adapter and USB charging cable for these speakers like I said I feel these speakers should be looked as Google home smart speaker alternatives if you buy a smart speaker you want it to be listening for a hot word at all time so when you need it it's ready to go right then in there and in order for the JBL link 10 or link 20 to always be listening they have to always be turned on so obviously they will constantly needs to be plugged in because their battery lives won't last too long and also if they're inactive for a while they'll automatically shut off if they're not plugged in but the included USB cables are way shorter than the cable to Google Home has and it's an obnoxiously bright orange it's not going to look good if you place it in a living room and like I mentioned in the beginning of this video the link 10 doesn't come included with a wall adapter and for $150 speaker that's ridiculous personally I feel both of these speakers should come included with wall adapters but more importantly they should come with longer black or white cables because if you want to use either of these speakers to their fullest potential they need to constantly be on and plugged in but something else I've noticed with the JBL link speakers is that there are some features missing there are found on the Google home for starters if you try to place a phone call by using Google assistant the JBL speakers won't work whereas the google home will place a phone call with no problem I also noticed a new broadcast feature doesn't fully work with the JBL speakers if you tell the JBL speakers to broadcast something only the Google home will broadcast a message and if you tell the Google home to broadcast something the JBL speakers won't do anything all I'm saying is that if you decide to get either of these JBL speakers as a replacement for a Google home then it might take a little longer for you to get the latest features sort of like how Google's Pixel phones get the newest OS updates right away we're a third party manufacturer Android phones might get the newest OS a few weeks later so could this mean there might be some fragmentation in the future I don't know you told me like I've said in past videos I think it's great third-party manufacturers are embracing voice assistance and JBL did an okay job with the jpo link series it's a really good option for people who prefer to use Google assistant and were pretty invested into Google ecosystem the link 10 and link 20 performed just as well as a Google home but sounded much better signing them up and using them is a breeze and they have no problem switching from Wi-Fi to bluetooth streaming something to UE blast and mega blasts were really struggled with but they do have to design quirks like needlessly constant on indicator lights and cables that are too short the link 10 in link 20 don't really compete with the JBL foot 4 or JBL charge 3 smart speakers that I feel predominantly should live in your home because they're best winter connected to Wi-Fi and they don't have the longest battery lives the flip for in charge three are the ones I would take on a camping trip to the beach or on a hike I like the jbo link 20 and link 10 but they do have room for improvement hey if you enjoyed the video please like and subscribe it helps out more than you realize for more product reviews and deal alerts check out Jim Carrey that net if you want us to port the channel pick up a shirt and I'll catch you next time