Sound: Now, I know half of you out there who did research on this speaker probably had in mind of the The Bose mini link 2, its competitor. Although the sound is a little better quality and all of that, but for $200 it starts to get a little messy with the price. For overall price and sound, go with the JBL. It still has awesome sound, especially with the bass radiators on the side.
Durability: It maybe a little heavy for its size, but you can palm it easily. I take it wherever I go and the weight is not bad. So for those of you who care about weight, and always need a speaker on hand you may want to stick with the smaller version, the JBL flip 4. But as I said I think its perfectly fine.
Features: JBL claims up to 20 hours of playtime. I didn't try this feature out, but lets face it- thats a very long time if you ask me. I took mine out of the box and I haven't charged it since.
About the waterproof situation it is fully waterproof with the back latch on. It isn't really meant to be just thrown in the pool its meant that if you dropped it in a lake or pool and you need to grab it your safe. JBL says themselves that it should not be Submerged for more than 30 minutes or else it may cause damage to the speaker
Overall, its great. It will satisfy you for the price. My suggestion is if your looking for a portable Bluetooth speaker under $150, go with the charge 3. It is an awesome speaker. Worth it all of the way!
UPDATE: Flash to 4 1/2 years later and my charge 3 is still pumping bass and the same quality. This thing is a legend of a speaker and there’s no question why it’s one of the top speakers now (even 5 years later!). It has gotten a small scratch on the side of the speaker, due to me dropping it on concrete while riding my bike. But didn’t affect it at all and the battery life does indeed last for what feels like forever! My whole family uses it and it’s a no brained we bring it to wherever we go!
In my video I tried to show the bass and loudness of the speaker itself and play some piano to show a different angle of music. Anyhow, it can be heard crisp and loudly with the bass mixed in perfectly. It takes the cake for the best speaker!
Overall, I simply cannot find a flaw in it. It performs to perfection. Never had trouble with Bluetooth, and for the price, there’s really no better option. Anyone would ask me what type of speaker to get, JBL Charge 3 without a doubt. Highly recommended for anyone in any case!