JBL is a well-known audio and speaker company and they've always made some of the most popular Bluetooth speakers and accessories for smartphones and mobile devices. So when Google Assistant became available for portable speakers, JBL crafted up a brand new line of devices called Link to take advantage of the digital assistant and smart integration.
We got our hands on the JBL Link 20 to test out that signature JBL sound in a portable smart speaker, but is it worth the price over some competing speakers? Let's find out.
Design
If you've used any other JBL speakers, you'll probably almost immediately recognize the Link 20. It sticks with JBL's design language that they also use on their Flip and Charge speakers, with the Link 20 looking more like the Charge. It's cylinder-shaped with squared off edges, so you can easily rest it on any of its four sides without it rolling around. Vertical orientation also works.
The top of the speaker has all of your control buttons, including volume up/down, a play/pause button, a Bluetooth button for pairing your phone directly, and the Google Assistant button for asking questions and controlling other functions. The bottom of the speaker houses a glowing WiFi indicator below a JBL badge, and on the opposite side on the back you'll find a microUSB charging port underneath a plastic flap. Boo for microUSB, but at least that gasket helps keep the speaker IPX7 rated against water.
It's a little chunky, too, so even though it's mostly small enough to stick in a bag, you'll definitely notice if you're carrying this thing around all day. It weighs around 2 pounds, which is definitely heavy for a portable speaker. It's wrapped all around in mesh, which adds to the ruggedness and waterproofing, so despite its weight it never feels fragile or in danger of being damaged.
Sound
The good news is that speakers with some weight to them tend to sound a little better, and JBL does not disappoint. The Link 20 features two 50mm drivers and 2 x 10 watts of power, so despite its small size you're going to get a ton of thump and plenty of volume.
Next to some other speakers in this class, the Link 20 sounds like one of the loudest, and the bass is controlled fairly well without sounding muddy. Compared to speakers like the Google Home, Polk Assist, or Anker Model Zero, you're getting a speaker that holds its own at high volumes while still delivering big, room filling sound. Even at high volumes there's very little sound distortion, either, which is a plus for party situations.
With all of that being said, the low-end could stand to be a little punchier, especially next to the regular Google Home's bass heavy sound, and some nuanced, quieter music showed some weaknesses in the speaker at higher volumes, including some low rattling. Granted, you most likely won't be blaring soft acoustic tunes at ear-splitting volumes, and when playing anything harder hitting it's not so pronounced. For the size and portability of the Link 20, there's really not much to complain about.
Features
The smart functionality meets expectations, with Google answering clearly and quickly to your questions. It doesn't struggle to hear commands even at high volumes, so unless you're maxing out the volume and standing across the room, you won't have a problem. Google Assistant sounds excellent on the speakers, too.
Oddly, though, the Link 20 does take forever to start up. A cold boot seriously takes up to 20 seconds or so for the speaker to turn on and get connected to your WiFi network to begin playing music and accepting voice commands or using its Cast functions. It's a weird quirk that's probably due to a cheaper wireless chip, and it shouldn't really affect anything besides just turning the speaker on. I never had any drops or connection issues otherwise.
If you're really angling for the portable aspect of the speaker, you'll be very happy to know that JBL's claims of 10 hours of music playback are pretty accurate, so you'll be able to get all of a workday of music playback out of this speaker before needing to find an outlet. That holds up even at higher volumes and with some voice assistant action thrown in. It's also double the battery life of the cheaper Link 10, so if you're thinking about either option, you may want to spend a little extra to get the 20 just so you can use it all day without a charger, especially since it's not USB C.
Worth it?
Portable Google Assistant speakers aren't particularly common, so JBL doesn't have a ton of competition here, but it checks pretty much all the boxes you might want out of a smart speaker. It offers a decidedly better sound than the regular Google Home, holds up against non-portable speakers with ease, and even throws in some waterproofing and rugged design for good measure.
As far as Bluetooth speakers go, it's still one of your better options just for its loud, booming sound and clear sound profile, although you're paying a bit of a premium for the smart assistant integration.
$200 gets you a fantastic speaker that can replace your Google Home, control your other gadgets, and sound great thanks to WiFi streaming instead of lossy Bluetooth, and it regularly goes on sale for a little less than that, making it an even better deal. At this price, though, USB C would've been nice, and a carrying case like what JBL puts in the box for their Bluetooth speakers would've helped.
Against other smart home speakers, the JBL Link 20 trades blows with several other options on the market, and that will ultimately come down to preference. But if you want a truly portable speaker with good battery life and Google Assistant? The Link 20 checks all the boxes with flying colors.
