New updates are being added at the bottom of this story…….
Original story (published on March 03, 2021) follows:
The growing popularity of smart speakers has seen the influx of some top notch options that aim to present users with both worlds of functionality and flexibility.
JBL is one of the companies at the heart of this ongoing influx of smart speakers, with Google the other player owing to the reliance on Google Assistant to power these smart speakers.
With the JBL Link series, the company became one of the first to offer third-party smart speakers with built-in Google Assistant support. As you’d expect, the Google Home app is used to set up the Assistant.
However, users of various JBL Link smart speakers have been dealing with an annoying issue for some months now.
Without any warning, users started noticing the equalizer (EQ) settings had been removed from the Google Home app. This happened sometime in mid-2020, as seen from the reports we gathered on social media.
As you can see from some of the reports above, users of multiple JBL Link models are unable to tweak audio output to their liking thanks to the missing equalizer settings in the Google Home app.
Interestingly, the equalizer setting had been available in the Google Home app for JBL Link users prior to its disappearance. And when asked about it, both JBL and Google seem to be pointing fingers at each other.
One affected user apparently asked the guys over at JBL what was happening to the EQ settings in the Home app back then and below is a screenshot of an alleged statement on this matter:
Clearly, JBL said the issue was at Google’s end, adding that the EQ settings wasn’t a JBL feature but an add-on to the Home app, which Google had removed.
Responding to a thread in the forums soon after the above statement popped up, a Google Assistant community specialist confirmed that Google was aware of the missing JBL Link equalizer settings issue and was looking into it.
In other alleged statements from a JBL representative, it appears as though the decision to remove the equalizer settings from the Google Home app was, in fact, made by JBL.
The statements above go on to contradict the initial claim that Google called the shots. This is further evidenced by the tweet below, which again points fingers at Google.
Even more frustrating is that Google, on the other hand, apparently claims that they removed the equalizer settings from the Home app with the blessings of JBL.
At this point, it’s hard to tell who between Google and JBL is responsible for the removal of EQ settings in the Home app. Our hope is that whoever is responsible acknowledges and fixes the issue.
We will be looking for further developments on the matter and let you know as and when we have news. Stay tuned to PiunikaWeb.
A Google community specialist in the Nest forum now says Google is looking into this issue, with an update on the matter to be published when available.
Update (March 23)
Does this mean someone is finally taking the blame for this awkward move? Probably. And rightfully, all fingers point to Google, perhaps an attempt to cripple the competition.
Of course, nothing official yet on why this actually happened, but we hope to find out soon.
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