My apartment is littered with speakers. They’re everywhere. I even have one in the shower. Some are connected to intricate multi-room setups, others are small battery-operated Bluetooth speakers, and a growing number of them will talk back to me with a voice assistant like Alexa, Google, or Cortana. I even have a robot that will soon play music.
Out of all these speakers, I’ve begun using JBL's new Link speakers the most. It's not because they sound the best—these JBLs are just so convenient. JBL didn't pull the multi-sized Link 10, Link 20, and Link 300 out of the oven with undercooked Google support and toss them up for sale. It went to great lengths to bake Google Assistant to deeply into them, and the attention to detail shows.
Like many JBL Bluetooth speakers, these look plain. If their design could talk, it would just loudly shout "Yeah, I'm a Bluetooth speaker" over and over. The Link 10 and 20 are shaped like soda cans (one 12 ounce, the other 24 ounce), and are covered in fabric with rubbery plastic caps on the top and bottom. The Link 300 is the same, just fatter than it is tall, with a somewhat ovular shape to it. It’s meant to look more like a speaker that ain't going anywhere, because, well, it isn't. Unlike its soda can-shaped siblings, the Link 300 has no battery so it's not meant to travel.
Boot any of them up for the first time and you'll begin to notice how much care went into the design. Saying “Hey Google,” or pressing the Google Assistant button on the top of a Link speakers triggers a voice prompt asking you to download the Google Home app, which helps you connect them to your Google account and to your home Wi-Fi. (Like all voice assistants, Google Assistant requires Wi-Fi to work.) Once you hook up a Link, you can always see how strong its connection is by looking at a light-up Wi-Fi meter on the bottom of the speaker. It's helpful, too! When I first set mine up, I didn’t realize just how bad my home Wi-Fi was in my main bathroom, but the indicator let me know exactly why my increasingly loud demands to “play more Macy Gray!” were going woefully unanswered.
Four dots also light up on the front, right up top. Like a Google Home speaker, they let you know that Google has heard your request and is listening. (You can also have it make a tone when Google is listening in Settings, which I recommend.) The four lights also indicate volume. The volume buttons are right up top, as are the play/pause and Bluetooth buttons. Bluetooth is especially useful. It’s shaped like a B and blinks when it’s in pairing mode. It's amazing how difficult the pairing process is on some speakers.
On the back there is a very clear power button and mute button, as well as five tiny light up dots that indicate battery. A Micro USB charging port is at the bottom, letting you easily keep the speakers plugged in and standing up without any additional accessories.