For the past few years, JBL has been trying to make the charging case of wireless earphones smarter than they are expected to be. This attempt to gradually unyoke earbuds from the smartphone is for some reason still limited to this company. The new JBL Tour Pro 3 builds on the experience of products like the JBL Live Beam 3 (I used earphones with a smart charging case and I sort of see the point now ) and now comes with a smart charging case that gives a display withcontrols of its own.
Released in time for the new Superman movie, the JBL Tour Pro 3 has a unique design that other companies have still not started experimenting with. The charging case’s 1.57-inch customisable display lets you control various aspects of this truly wireless earphone. So you don’t have to open the JBL app on the phone to switch on Auracast and connect to other devices, change equaliser modes, or go from noise-canceling to talkthrough mode. This is a very useful feature especiallywhen you are not near your phone and gradually you start using this as the primary way to control the earphones.
The display on the charger shows the home screen by default. (Image: Nandagopal Rajan/The Indian Express)
But don’t think this is all you get. Using the JBL app, I could personalise my hearing experience by checking my best fit. I also made a couple of custom equaliser settings to fit my requirements. Also, the app lets you customise the Smart Charging case with your own pictures for the home screen. I also removed some of the screens from this display which I felt I would never use.
Despite all this tech, it is the audio quality you are getting a JBL for. The True ANC 2.0 keeps all sounds out and the comfy fit of the earbuds ensures there is nothing leaking in and killing your audio experience. The Tour Pro 3 has one of the best noise canceling I have checked out this year and takes out most of the ambient noise without creating a vacuum-like feel.
Listening to Sapphire with Spatial 360 Head Tracking, you feel the Ed Sheeran vocal all around you as you move around. I loved the overall high-resolution sound profile of the JBL Tour Pro 3 which is natural and rich at the same time.
You can use this for close to a week with a full charge. (Image: Nandagopal Rajan/The Indian Express)
During my evening walks it immersed me in my regular podcasts, helping me create a thought bubble of new ideas, cutting off the slow hum of Noida’s very own brown noise. At home, listening to the pulsating F1 title track, I was transported back to the most exciting movie I had watched in recent times, with the Dolby Atmos effect really filling the virtual sphere around my head. With Apple’s haptic trailer of the movie, I could feel haptic effects on my ears too as the Run for Podium track sped through the clip. The Tour Pro 3 is all about immersive experiences like this.
With the equaliser in bass mode, the experience changes drastically with a booming effect embalming my head, which if you know me, is not my favourite way to enjoy music. I was soon back to the vocal mode and then discovered that the studio mode was actually better for numbers like this and Azizam.
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I would have liked the display on the charger to show me the name of the song that was playing. Now, it shows the home screen by default. You have to unlock this and move to the volume page to see the song title though it does show the battery available on each earphone as well as the case. But why not replace the home screen with album art?
The charging case has a 1.57-inch customisable display. (Image: Nandagopal Rajan/The Indian Express)
One issue I felt was that when walking with the earphones on, you feel your steps in your ears. I have felt this with some other noise-cancelling earphones too over the years. This takes some getting used to. Also, for some reason the device did not remember my iPhone and I had to go back to Bluetooth and connect all the time.
The battery life is great and you can use this for close to a week with a full charge. I liked that wireless charging works smoothly on the JBL Tour Pro 3 and I could just plonk it on the charger I was using for my AirPods.
At Rs 29,999, the JBL Tour Pro 3 is among the best-sounding truly wireless earphones you can buy and it certainly is the smartest. While you might feel the Smart Charging case is an expensive proposition you will start enjoying this smartscreen as much as you do the sound quality of the Tour Pro 3.
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