JBL has a history of coming to CES fully loaded with announcements, and this year is no exception. Updates are scheduled for many of the earbuds in the Tune and Live families, the Soundgear Sense, and several of the speakers — there are even some new microphones. But the most exciting among these is a major redesign for the third generation Live earbuds, which will come with a smart touchscreen case and available in three different bud designs.
This is JBL’s second true wireless earbud model to incorporate a touchscreen case following the popularity of theJBL Tour Pro 2. The 1.45-inch LED touch display offers several features to control the listening experience rather than pick up your phone to fiddle with different apps, including screens for playback controls, volume adjustment, and switching audio profiles.
The Live 3 will be available in three flavors to choose from, each with different designs and slightly different specs:
Each version comes with ANC powered by six microphones, support for most major high-res codecs including LDAC, JBL Spatial Sound and Personi-Fi 3.0, wireless charging, and multipoint support. Bluetooth 5.3 with LE Audio will also be supported, but JBL expects to roll it out via OTA updates at some point after the launch.
All of the Live 3 models are scheduled to launch Summer 2024 and will be available in either black or silver for $199.95.
JBL also confirmed the Eco line is no longer necessary because all of the company’s upcoming products (including the Live 3) are now made using recycled or renewable materials. Among other announcements, there are numerous model refreshes that add longer battery life and Bluetooth 5.3, including the Tune headphones (520BT, 670NC, 720BT, and 770NC) and several speakers (Clip 5, Xtreme 4, JBL Go 4, and the PartyBox series). The Tune 310c wired earbuds are switching from Lightning to USB-C to support the latest iPhone and Android devices. And JBL is also introducing the new Soundgear Sense open-ear wireless earbuds with “air conduction” technology.
JBL Live 3
JBL Live 3 earbuds feature a smart touchscreen case that offers volume and playback controls, audio profile switching, and many other user-selectable features. The earbuds are available in three designs: Flex, Beam, and Buds; each offering slightly different specs. All of them offer ANC powered by six microphones, support for most major high-res codecs including LDAC and Bluetooth 5.3 with LE Audio, JBL Spatial Sound and Personi-Fi 3.0, wireless charging, and multipoint support.
