The JBL Pulse 6 wants to be your speaker, party light, and bedside lamp

The JBL Pulse series has always been as much about the light show as the music. JBL’s glowing Bluetooth speakers have been combining music with a 360-degree light display for more than a decade, and the newly launched JBL Pulse 6 turns the brightness up again while adding a few more practical tricks.

JBL announced the Pulse 6 today, with the speaker available to order now for $329.95, ahead of its September 6 shipping date. The headline feature is still the customizable light show, but the new model adds an illuminated carrying handle and 16 lighting themes split between more energetic party effects and softer ambient options.

There’s also a new Bedside Lamp mode that activates on double-tap when music isn’t playing. You can adjust the brightness with the volume buttons or tweak the brightness and color temperature in the JBL One app. Sunset Mode goes a little further, letting you set a countdown of up to 60 minutes while the lights gradually dim, with the music stopping at the end.

JBL says the audio side has also received some attention. The Pulse 6 gets an upgraded acoustic design that the company claims delivers deeper bass and a more balanced sound, along with AI Sound Boost processing that analyzes music in real time and reduces distortion. There’s also Bluetooth 6.0 and lossless playback over USB-C, while Auracast lets you connect compatible JBL speakers or pair two Pulse 6 units for stereo sound.

Our experience with the Pulse 5 puts some of those upgrades into perspective. We enjoyed its 360-degree light show and found the bass response perfectly capable for smaller gatherings, but ultimately felt that you were paying a premium for the lighting rather than getting the best audio value for your money. We also found it heavy for a portable speaker.

The Pulse 6 isn’t particularly lightweight at 1.49kg, but the integrated handle should at least make it easier to move around. JBL has also upgraded the protection from IP67 to IP68, while advertised battery life remains at up to 12 hours. But it’s also $80 more than the Pulse 5 was at launch, so unless the audio upgrades live up to JBL’s hype, you might still be paying handsomely for all that glow.