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Review of JBL Reflect Flow Truly Wireless Earbuds.
Product Name: JBL Reflect Flow
Product Description: The JBL Reflect Flow boasts 10 hours of uninterrupted playback and another 20 hours from the charging case. It offers a water resistance rating of IPX7, which means it would work even after getting soaked in water.
Brand: JBL
SKU: BWE10
Summary
The JBL Reflect Flow boasts 10 hours of uninterrupted playback and another 20 hours from the charging case. It offers a water resistance rating of IPX7, which means it would work even after getting soaked in water.
Pros
10 Hour battery life + 20 hours more from the charging case
Water Resistance rating of IPX7
Bluetooth 5.0
149$ only
Supports Siri, Bixby, and Google Assistant
Cons
No USB Type-C
No wireless Charging
Not the most secure fit
Fewer controls
Does not support the JBL Connect app
The JBL Reflect Flow comes with some exciting features. The best quality is the battery life. It boasts 10 hours of uninterrupted playback, which is only less than the Samsung Galaxy Buds plus. Its durability is much better with a water resistance rating of IPX7 than the IPX2 rating of the Samsung Galaxy Buds Plus. What else does the JBL Reflect Flow offer? Does it have noise cancelation? Is it a good value for money? Let us go through all these facts and help you make smart decisions when purchasing the ideal truly wireless earbuds.
Positives
More Battery Life
10 Hour battery life + 20 hours more from the charging case
Water Resistance rating of IPX7
The JBL Reflect Flow comes with the highest water resistance rating in the truly wireless earbud market.
Bluetooth 5.0
The JBL Reflect Flow uses Bluetooth 5.0 for connectivity.
Only 149$!!
Supports Siri, Bixby, and Google Assistant
This is a significant bonus for the consumer who purchases the JBL Reflect Flow. It works perfectly with Google Assistant. Siri and Bixby.
Nagative
No USB Type-C
No wireless Charging
No USB Type-C and no Wireless charging
Not the most secure fit
You would find three sizes of ear tips and ear wings in the box that you can shuffle around to suit your need
Fewer controls
The JBL Reflect Flow truly wireless earbuds come with push buttons on either earbud
Does not support the JBL Connect app
The JBL Reflect Flow sits right up amongst the truly wireless earbuds with regards to its battery life. It is only second to the Samsung Galaxy Buds Plus, which guarantees 11 hours of playback. However, 10 hours is still exceptional power management when it comes to truly wireless earbuds. Both Earbuds come with lithium-Ion batteries with a capacity of 110mAh.
The charging case adds another 20 hours extra, which increases the playback time up to 30 hours. The charging case comes with a micro USB charging port. It supports fast charging, and a quick 10-minute charge would give 1 hour of uninterrupted playback. It would take less than two hours to charge the earbuds fully from empty.
The JBL Reflect Flow comes with the highest water resistance rating in the truly wireless earbud market. It is on par with the Jabra Elite Active 75t, which also comes with an IPX7 rating. With this rating, you have completely nothing to worry about. It gives the user freedom to wear these earbuds in the rain, and it could even be submerged in water up to one meter for 30 minutes.
The water resistance rating makes it durable and user-friendly, especially for people who prefer an active lifestyle, unlike the Samsung Galaxy Plus, which only has an IPX2 rating.
The JBL Reflect Flow uses Bluetooth 5.0 for connectivity. It guarantees clear connections around 1000sq—meter radius. There are no visible lags when it comes to video streaming on Youtube or Netflix. These are primary attributes that a customer looks for when making the purchase.
Pricing is one of the most crucial aspects when it comes to products. If you get the pricing right, the product would be a hit. The JBL Reflect Flow truly wireless earbuds are one of those products released for an excellent price. Its audio quality, durability, and battery life make these truly wireless earbuds worth every penny you spent.
This is a significant bonus for the consumer who purchases the JBL Reflect Flow. It works perfectly with Google Assistant. Siri and Bixby. Compare the Airpod Pro or the Samsung Galaxy Buds Plus, and these earbuds are convenient and user friendly.
This comes as a big surprise from JBL. Many other low-end brands have gotten rid of the micro USB port while JBL still hangs on to it. It is surprising as to why they stuck to it. You will be getting a micro USB cable in the box, which you will have to carry around if you are using a phone with a USB Type-C port.
The charging does have a rich look to it, but it does not support wireless charging. No USB Type-C and no Wireless charging, these two factors could prove costly when the product is compared with other brands such as the Apple Airpod Pro or the Samsung Galaxy Buds Plus.
You would find three sizes of ear tips and ear wings in the box that you can shuffle around to suit your need. However, the ear wings could be a problem for some users. Since the ear tips do not cover the whole ear canal, the earbuds would be a bit loose compared to the Jabra Elite Active 75t or the Samsung Galaxy Buds Plus. While clenching your teeth during your workout or having a jog outside, you will have to be mindful of the buds.
The JBL Reflect Flow truly wireless earbuds come with push buttons on either earbud. Both buttons come with fixed controls, and those are not interchangeable. Unfortunately, the earbuds do not come with the option of going back to the previous track or changing the volume level. These are basic control options you find in most truly wireless earbuds. This could create a negative impact on the product.
Another big surprise from JBL. They already have a mobile application that provides specific information and changes the audio output from the audio device. However, they have not included the JBL Reflect Flow truly wireless earbuds into the list devices which support the app. When you compare with the Jabra Elite Active 75t or the Sennheiser Momentum 2, which can use the app to change things around, these JBL Reflect Flow earbuds would be disappointing.
The JBL Reflect Flow design is in hardened plastic with a rubber coating for a better grip. There are four color variations in Sky Blue, Dark Blue, Yellow, and Black. The earbud is bigger when you compare it with the Samsung Galaxy Buds Plus or the Jabra Elite Active 75t. The bigger design could be a problem since it sticks out from the ear. An earbud’s weight is roughly around 85 grams, which is on the higher side, given the bigger battery.
You get three sizes of silicone ear tips and three measures of Freebit ear wings. You can use what suits you best. However, it does not provide a sealed fit since the ear tips do not cover the ear canal. This makes it comfortable for the user to wear these earbuds through the day. Both earbuds have physical buttons that have commands that cannot be changed.
These earbuds have the highest water resistance ratings amongst all other truly wireless earbuds in the market. An IPX7 rating is on par with the Jabra Elite Active 75t. It means the earbuds can survive even in water, but with restrictions. It can go deep as one meter for not more than thirty minutes.
The JBL Reflect Flow has physical buttons on both earbuds. The buttons allow you to control specific actions set and not customizable in any way.
Left Earbud
One Press
Talk Through/ambient aware/off
Two Presses
Skip track
Common commands on both earbuds
Hold 3 Seconds
Connect
Hold 2 Seconds
Switch Off
Right Earbud
One Press
Play/Pause & Answer/Decline
Press & Hold for 2 second
Mute Call
Two Presses
Activate digital assistant
Hold 5 Seconds
Power on
Apart from the commands mentioned above, there is nothing else you can do with the physical buttons. This is one of the let off’s in these JBL Reflect Flow earbuds. When you compare with other truly wireless earbuds such as the Sennheiser Momentum 2, which has fully customizable controls, the JBL Reflect Flow would fall way short of people’s expectations.
It also does not provide the option of going back to the previous track. There is no way of controlling the volume as well. All these points could make the consumer think twice before making the decision.
However, the JBL Reflect Flow support Siri, Google Assistant, and Bixby. This could attract many users since it is hard to find truly wireless earbuds which support all these operating systems.
JBL has its mobile application, which is the JBL Connect App. Surprisingly, JBL has not added the JBL Reflect Flow for the list devices that works with the JBL Connect App. This is another let off from JBL. Most major audio manufacturing brands give the user the privilege of a designated mobile application. Unfortunately, with these JBL Reflect Flow truly wireless earbuds, you cannot customize controls. You cannot know the earbuds’ battery levels, and you cannot balance the audio output according to your preference. These are essential features that are included in most truly wireless earbuds.
The unique feature in these JBL Reflect Flow Earbuds is the Ambient Aware mode and the Talk Through method. The aware ambient way will help you listen to what is happening around you. The mics pick up ambient sound and feed it to the drivers so that you would know if a car is going by you while you walk on the road. The Talk through mode lets you have a conversation without having to remove the earbuds from your ear.
JBL Reflect Flow comes with JBL Signature audio, which is well balanced. It is a tough job to have a similar output of over earphones on these truly wireless earbuds. However, JBL managed to keep the same audio signature with these truly wireless earbuds, which is fantastic. It has a punchy bass, and it does not distort or overpower the aspects of the audio output.
The mids are perfectly balanced, and it is identical to the JBL audio signature. The vocals come through nicely, and the audio is clean. It has a bright treble, which is excellent. All in all, when it comes to audio output, there is nothing to complain about. There is good audio separation as well, to give you a great experience while listening to your favorite tracks.
The JBL Reflect Flow does not have active noise cancelation. It does have passive noise isolation through the fit, but since the ear tip does not seal the ear canal, it is not as prominent as most other truly wireless earbuds. The Jabra Elite Active 75t or the Samsung Galaxy buds plus have better passive noise isolation than what you get from these JBL Reflect Flow truly wireless earbuds.
The best feature in these JBL Reflect Flow truly wireless earbuds. A whopping ten hours of continuous battery life. This is well above average when you compare with other brands in the truly wireless earbuds market. When we put it to test at 70% volume, it lasted a little over 9 hours, which is still higher than most other truly wireless earbuds.
These JBL Reflect Flow earbuds are only second to the Samsung Galaxy Buds Plus, which guarantees 11 hours of uninterrupted playback. Both earbuds have a similar Lithium-ion Battery of 110mAh. It roughly takes less than two hours to charge these earbuds from zero to full. Another plus is that these support Fast charging as well. A quick ten-minute charge gives one hour of nonstop playback.
The charging case is stylish and elegant. It has an aluminum top and rubber outer cover not to be scratched or damaged easily. Charging case comes with the micro USB charging port, which is outdated these days. Most mobile phone brands and truly wireless earbuds have made the transition from micro USB to USB Type-C, but JBL decided to stick to the good old micro USB charging port. If your mobile device has USB Type-C, you might have to carry the micro USB charging cable and capture the case of the earbuds.
Unfortunately, JBL Reflect Flow charging case does not support wireless charging. This, too, could be another reason for users to go for another brand. Apart from all the negative, the charging case adds another 20 hours of playback, which is excellent, and it takes the total playback time for 30 hours. You can see the charging case’s remaining battery level from the LED bar in front of the case.
The JBL Reflect Flow does an excellent job when it comes to Calls. It isolates the voice and projects it clearly to the recipient. There are mics on both earbuds, which gives more of a chance of picking up your voice in crowded, noisy areas. However, it is not as high quality as the high-end Earbuds such as the Apple Airpod Pro. For connectivity, the JBL Reflect Flow uses Bluetooth 5.0. It guarantees clear signals within a radius of 1000sq. Ft. There are no syncing delays when it comes to streaming HD videos on Youtube or Netflix. Unfortunately, it does not support multi pairing. If you wish to pair a new device, you should first unpair the initial device.
The price, the features, the battery life, and the audio quality are few aspects that make these JBL Reflect Flow truly wireless earbuds, worth a try. For 149$, it truly gives so much value for money. Unbelievable battery life, water-resistance, and similar audio experience to an over-ear headphone. All in all, there are many positives in these truly wireless earbuds.
However, JBL has failed to include a few essential features, such as customizable controls or the USB Type-C charging port. These could go against this product when you compare it with other brands in the similar price range.
