JBL Go 4 Review: Mighty Small, Surprisingly Capable
Rating: 4 / 5
The JBL Go 4 is the kind of product that makes you smile the moment you pick it up. It fits in the palm of your hand, weighs almost nothing, costs around $50, and yet somehow manages to produce real, listenable sound. It’s not trying to compete with the big boys — but within its lane, it’s hard to beat.
Design & Build
The Go 4 measures a mere 3.7 x 3.0 x 1.7 inches and weighs just 0.7 pounds. It feels amazingly light in your hand, but also extremely solid. Yahoo! JBL has noticeably improved the build over the Go 3 — additional silicone protection is wrapped around the edges of the unit, meaning there is less fabric material to wear and fray, and newly designed feet on the bottom and two thick silicone strips on the backside provide stability if you want to use the Go 4 as an upward-firing speaker. SoundGuys
It comes in up to nine color options — from understated black and white to vibrant red, blue, pink, and even a camouflage pattern — and JBL even lets you customize the design directly from their website for an extra $10, choosing your own colors, patterns, text, and stickers. A small fabric loop in the corner lets you hang it from a hook or bag strap, though it’s less versatile than the clip system found on the JBL Clip series.
Controls are laid out intuitively: volume down, play/pause, and volume up sit along the top, while power, Bluetooth, and multi-speaker connection buttons are on the side. Yahoo! The only minor design gripe is that the side buttons can be hard to spot in darker color variants and in low lighting.
Durability
The JBL Go 4’s IP67 waterproof and dustproof rating ensures this portable speaker can handle almost any environment, from a poolside party to a seaside picnic. Amazon IP67 means it can be submerged in up to one meter of water for 30 minutes — so rain, splashes, and beach trips are no concern at all. The build is solid and rubber-coated, giving it a reassuring feel in hand Techmilkyway, and the expanded rubberized edging all around the unit adds meaningful drop protection compared to its predecessor.
Sound Quality
Here’s where expectations need to be managed — and then slightly exceeded. The 40mm transducer paired with a passive radiator at the bottom produces a surprisingly wide soundstage with clear mids and highs. JBL has worked hard to push bass response down to around 90Hz, which is remarkable for a housing this small. Techmilkyway
Music sounds clean and balanced, with a larger helping of bass than you might expect. Despite packing only 4.2 watts, the Go 4 can get pretty loud Yahoo! — easily filling a small room or providing a personal soundtrack on the go. It performs best for podcasts, vocal-heavy music, and casual background listening. Where it stumbles is at high volumes with bass-heavy music: the protection circuit in the DSP chip intervenes and cuts the already modest bass to protect the driver and avoid clipping. STEREO GUIDE Bass lovers will want to look at the larger JBL Clip 5 or Flip 7.
The companion JBL Portable app adds a useful 5-band EQ with custom tuning options, which is a genuine upgrade over the Go 3 and gives you meaningful control over the sound profile.
Connectivity & Features
The Go 4 connects via Bluetooth 5.3 and offers multipoint connection, allowing you to connect to two different devices simultaneously and seamlessly switch back and forth between them. SoundGuys The headline new feature is Auracast compatibility — replacing the older PartyBoost functionality, Auracast lets you pair two Go 4 speakers together in stereo, or hook up multiple compatible JBL units via an on-unit button or through the app. It also gives the Go 4 a degree of future-proofing, as newer JBLs with Auracast will likely remain compatible. What Hi-Fi? Notably, there is no built-in microphone, so hands-free calls are not possible.
Battery Life
The Go 4 offers up to 7 hours of playtime on a single charge — an improvement over the Go 3’s 5 hours Amazon, and real-world testing from some reviewers found it lasting even closer to 10 hours at moderate volume. The Playtime Boost mode in the app promises to extend battery life further, but does so by cutting low-end frequencies entirely — the result is a very treble-heavy sound, similar to a voice-enhancer EQ setting, which is not great for music. SoundGuys Best to skip that mode and simply carry a small power bank if you need extended runtime.
The Bottom Line
There aren’t many portable speakers that are this tough and sound this good for under $50. Yahoo! The JBL Go 4 is the perfect companion for day trips, beach outings, commutes, and anywhere you want music without lugging something heavy. It’s not a speaker for audiophiles or anyone who needs room-filling bass at loud volumes — but for everything else, it’s a near-perfect little package at a price that’s hard to argue with.
