Review: JBL SoundBoost Speaker Moto Mod

By Gadjo Cardenas Sevilla

There's no shortage of affordable and multifunctional Bluetooth speakers that can overcome the weakness of most laptops, smartphones and tablets which is tiny, tinny and bad sounding speakers. Lenovo's Moto Z line of smartphones come with decent built-in speakers but they aren't stereo speakers like the ones that came with the Moto X Pure edition.

The JBL SoundBoost Speaker aims to make up for this. This Moto Mod, snaps magnetically on the the back of the Moto Z and Moto Z Play where it automatically routes any audio. This works so seamlessly that when you're listening to music on your phone and you pop in the JBL SoundBoost Speaker, it suddenly comes to life on the SoundBoost Speaker.

The JBL SoundBoost has a net kickstand that allows you to position and secure the Moto Z or Moto Z Play for listening to music or playing back videos. The JBL SoundBoost has 10 hours of its own battery which means it does not deplete your Moto Z's battery. I also like that it has a built-in speakerphone and capability for conferencing.

In terms of sound quality and loudness, the JBL SoundBoost does okay. It can fill up a small room with sound that's nicely separated, punchy and defined thanks to two speakers. The build and design is a marriage of JBL's design and Lenovo's Moto Z design, it is austere yet functional.

I would have wished the ability to plug in devices directly into the JBL SoundBoost, if you have an iPod or another source of music that you don't want to route to the phone, the thing is the SoundBoost seems to be exclusive to the Moto Z and Moto Z Play which limits its appeal as a general use Bluetooth speaker.

Hits:

-Convenient, high quality sound in seconds

-Compact and easy to carry

-Ability to be used as a speakerphone appeals to people who conference a lot

-10 hour battery life 

Misses:

-No aux input for use with other devices

-Sound is not as loud as some standalone Bluetooth speakers

The Verdict:

If you lvoe music or podcasts and don't want to fuss around with an exgernal speaker the JBL SoundBoost offers a unique solution and really turn the Moto Z devices into mini boomboxes. This is an ideal complement to streaming services like Spotify, Apple Music and others and makes it possible to appreciate music better than on the built-in speakers of the Moto Z devices.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5