Channel News has been tracking the speaker wars at IFA Berlin all week, reporting yesterday on Samsung’s bold move into the ‘party speaker’ market with the launch of its new range of Sound Towers.
As we noted, Samsung is clearly targeting JBL, which currently holds over 75% of the party speaker market.
However, if Samsung wants to capture some of that market share, it should be prepared for a bruising battle.
At IFA, JBL has stepped up with two heavyweight launches aimed at backyard entertainers and party hosts.
The first is the JBL Boombox 4, a lighter, louder update on one of the brand’s most popular portable speakers.
Weighing nearly a kilo less than its predecessor, it boasts an IP68 waterproof and dustproof rating, a 28-hour battery life (34 hours with Playtime Boost), and JBL’s new AI Sound Boost for clearer output.
It’s also Auracast-enabled, meaning owners can link it with other JBL speakers to fill a bigger space.
Reportedly, it delivers 210 W output when connected to mains (AC) and approximately 180 W when running on battery.
It uses Bluetooth 5.4.
The Boombox 4 is available for preorder now with shipping slated for September 28.
For those after maximum firepower, the IPX4 splash-resistant JBL PartyBox 720 brings 800 watts of sound, dual nine-inch woofers, and LED accent lighting controllable via the PartyBox app.
Designed with entertainers in mind, it includes two XLR inputs for plugging in microphones, guitars or DJ gear.
The unit carries dual replaceable batteries delivering up to 15 hours of playback, plus an extra two hours with just ten minutes of fast charging.
Packing in all those features isn’t easy, so the PartyBox 720 is three kilograms heavier than its predecessor, the 710.
The PartyBox 720 is also available for pre-sale, with release scheduled for September 21.
With Samsung and JBL both dropping major audio hardware this week, IFA is proving once again to be ground zero for – among many other categories – speakers.
