Deal | JBL Flip 6 rugged Bluetooth speaker gets massive 38% discount in all colourways on Amazon

As part of the Black Friday sale, JBL has discounted the Flip 6 portable bluetooth speaker by 38%, taking it to its lowest ever price of $80, down from its previous $130 price. The Flip series has been immensely popular, as confirmed by both professional reviewers and its 4.7-star rating from 17,400 Amazon customers. The success of the model has not waned by the sixth iteration.

Key specs and features

At roughly 7 x 2.7 inches (17.8 x 7 cm) and 550 g (1.2 lb), the cylindrical Flip 6 is just the right size and weight for carrying in a backpack while travelling. It’s also IP67 rated against dust and water ingress. The 12 hour battery life is pretty much standard for its class, if not the very highest available.

Like others in its family, the Flip 6 has the classic JBL sound signature which emphasises loudness and punchy bass. This is thanks to a front-facing racetrack-shaped driver and a tweeter, as well as two side-firing passive radiators for bass. The USB-C charging port detects water or salt that could damage the speaker when plugged in.

The JBL Portable App also allows adjusting sound profiles, as well as pairing more than one speaker in either Stereo Mode or JBL PartyBoost (i.e. multiple speakers playing synchronously). Finally, it can also pair with two source devices at once.

Should you wait for the Flip 7?

In case you’re wondering if you should wait for the Flip 7 (which, going by JBL’s launch cycle, could arrive in a couple of months) here’s what you should know. Many have listed an AUX input, high-res Bluetooth codecs and improved IP-rating as some of the wishlist items for the Flip 7, but these are either unlikely or impractical. 

The Flip 6 already totally resists dust ingress and can be immersed in 15 cm to 1 m of water for up to 30 minutes, which is more than enough for any pool-side mishaps/adventures, so anything more would be overkill. As for Bluetooth codecs, with a speaker this size, a higher audio bit-rate is unlikely to make a perceptible difference in sound quality. An AUX input can be handy in some situations, but it’s unlikely that JBL would bring it back after removing it on the Flip 5. It also makes waterproofing a bigger challenge.

Options and alternatives

The discount applies to nine solid colourways available on Amazon, including one ‘camo’ look, but if you’re looking to personalise it further, the JBL website allows extensive customisation options with the same discount. Those looking for louder and deeper sound with longer battery life would be better off with the larger JBL Charge 5 (currently discounted to $140 on Amazon), or the even larger JBL Xtreme 3 (currently $249 on Amazon).