JBL Go 5 now available to pre-order on Amazon ahead of release

The JBL Go 5 was announced in early March in China, and has been available to buy since then. Surprisingly, JBL didn't reveal any plans for a global release, and while it still hasn't done so, the speaker has been spotted on Amazon's US website along with a release date.

According to the Amazon listing, the JBL Go 5 will be released on April 26, which is about two weeks away. The listing also reveals the speaker will be available in seven colors. There's Black, Blue, Purple, Red, Teal, White, and Squad (camouflage). The speaker is shipped and sold by Amazon and can be pre-ordered now for $54.95. However, there's a third-party seller that has the Squad color for $49.95.

With respect to its specs and features, the JBL Go 5 retains the rugged design associated with JBL speakers, but now has customizable ambient light bars at the top and bottom. The light bars serve as visual cues for battery level, pairing mode, and when the speaker is in Auracast mode. JBL has also bumped the IP rating for dust and water resistance from IP67 on the Go 4 to IP68.

In addition to having Bluetooth 6.0 and Auracast mode (linking multiple speakers together), the JBl Go 5 has a feature called AirTouch, which lets users pair two Go 5 speakers together for true stereo sound by bumping them against each. The Go 5 also has support for lossless audio via its USB-C port and also supports AAC, LC3, and SBC. It is also compatible with the JBL EasySing Mic Mini that is scheduled for release in May.

The JBL Go 5 boasts slightly better battery life than its predecessor, as it can now last up to 10 hours on a single charge, thanks to a feature called Playtime Boost mode. When this mode isn't activated, the battery life is 8 hours. There's support for the JBL Portable App which can be used to adjust the 7-band equalizer, customize the light bars, and update the firmware.