I thought the screens on the earbud cases were a bit meh, but JBL just proved me wrong
One thing we never included in the reviews that are part of our best earbuds or best noise canceling earbuds guides is a marking that is case specific. Usually we like the charging nest to fit in a pocket as the magnets in the lid keep their precious music-giving charge safe and if there’s a nice powerful battery on board for extra staying power, all the better. But when JBL put a smartwatch-style screen on an earbud case in December 2022, it initially felt like the game was about to change. This was something we never thought possible!
While that inaugural screen was nice, it made the case it was attached to quite large – and our JBL Tour 2 Pro review was a bit of a mixed bag as it made the earbuds a pricey proposition in a crowded market. Also, the promised message notifications, call history and any social media access via the Tour Pro 2 case never arrived.
Well, those extra things are still not here, but JBL’s screen-adorned chassis is now a lot smaller, sleeker and cheaper – the JBL Live Beam 3 costs just $200 / £150 (about AU$296), which equates to at $50 or a whopping £70 cheaper than the 2022 Tour Pro 2.
For me, everything is relative and that price drop alone makes this little case much more viable and enjoyable. This isn’t a reader review (no, that’s coming, I promise), it’s just a short experience article on how I’m enjoying this little case.
My favorite thing about it? No, it’s not my Ny Breaking screensaver, it’s the way it alerts you when you have an incoming phone call and provides a friendly on-screen button to accept it, meaning you don’t have to a) dig out your phone or b) try to do it by pressing your earbuds – which I usually fail and hang up before I’ve said a word.
What do you tell me, JBL Live Beam 3?
The screen allows you to browse playback (play, pause and skip functions); volume; sound insulation; ambient-aware and talk-thru profiles (although adjusting the levels between ‘on’ and ‘off’ still requires your phone and the JBL Headphones app); spatial sound (music, movies and game profiles); EQ presets; a cute timer; screen brightness adjustments; changes to the lock screen wallpaper; voiceaware (to boost or lower your own voice during conversations); auto play and pause; Find my peaks; a ‘Notification’ and ‘Message Preview’ screen (I’m still figuring out what these do – there remains a tempting envelope icon in the top left corner of this little screen, but I’m not sure if you can access anything else than this); a flashlight function (perhaps a bright screen to help you locate an errant button) and language adjustments.
These screens can also be divided and edited in the companion app, so that when you scroll you only see what you’re using – and for me this scrolling is a lot smoother and faster than in the Tour Pro 2.
Again, this isn’t a full star review, but for the money I still really like it.
As we said when reporting the January 2024 release of the JBL Live Beam 3, Live Flex 3 and Live Buds 3, the 10mm dynamic driver, up to 48 hours of battery life and the Best Fit test make for a compelling proposition , but a nice extra feature in the app is something called Personal Sound Enhancement. This (not to be confused with Ambient Aware) has a Gain slider to amplify situational sound around you and can be adjusted to favor one ear more, if you wish.
I haven’t tested it extensively yet (again, it’s not a review yet), but initially I like it as an extra. There’s actually a lot to like here, in a much smaller, more affordable JBL package. Watch this space for more…