It’s been almost a year since they started accepting pre-orders for this, but now finally, the JBL Link Bar is available to purchase from their website. The unexplained delays in both serving those who pre-ordered and actually making it available have frustrated a lot of customers who were initially excited about this different version of a smart speaker. The device is meant for those who were looking for both a smart speaker and an Android TV for their living room or entertainment room.
Having both Android TV and Google Assistant built-in into a device is always a welcome feature, especially for those who don’t want to use any manual remote controls when watching their favorite movie or TV series. The soundbar is actually like a Google Home speaker where you can do whatever it is that the Google Assistant can do. It, of course, has the bonus of having quick access to your favorite video streaming services that Android TV supports like Netflix, Hulu, Prime Video, etc.
Pre-orders for the Link Bar started in August 2018 but later on, JBL admitted that they will not be able to start shipping within that year due to some issues with the manufacturer. They couldn’t really give a proper estimated shipping date and so customers were left in the lurch. And whatever momentum they had going when they first announced the product eventually died down and became one of those Marketing 101 anecdotes.
Then in January of this year, JBL once again made a big announcement that their Link Bar will finally be released in Spring 2019. Well, Spring has come and gone and we didn’t see any shadow of the soundbar. The shipment date was then quietly updated to July 1 but we didn’t get our hopes up. But now it looks like it’s finally happening and if you’ve pre-ordered or you’ve dreamt about this device, now is the time to actually believe.
If you’ve got $399.95 to spare, you can now purchase the 100W JBL Link Bar from their website where it is “in stock and ready to ship” as of this writing. Hopefully, they’ll be able to reawaken the interest of those who were interested in the first place.
