Bluetooth speakers have become pretty popular in the past few years. This is largely due to the fact that you can play music on them without using any wires, and they have gotten some pretty great battery life recently. With some lasting up to 20 hours or more. But with so many options available, which ones are worth picking up?
Amazon Tap
We’re starting out this list with a pretty interesting entry. Many don’t think of the Amazon Tap as a portable Bluetooth speaker, but it is. Unlike the Echo, it doesn’t need to stay plugged in, but like the Echo it does have Alexa built-in. So you can just tap on the speaker and tell Alexa to play your favorite playlist from Spotify, or order you some pizza from Dominos. There’s so much that Alexa can do, outside of just playing music.
Buy the Amazon TapJBL Charge 3
This speaker from JBL is rated IPX7 waterproof, meaning that you can take it with you out to the pool and not worry about it getting damaged by the water. It also produces 360-degree sound, which makes for some pretty epic audio from a speaker that is actually somewhat small. This is a pretty rugged portable speaker and boasts around 20 hours of continuous playback. Which isn’t bad at all for its price.
Buy the JBL Charge 3Harman Kardon One
Harman Kardon has plenty of Bluetooth speakers, although many of them are not meant to be portable. The Harman Kardon One is one of the few that are portable in their lineup, and it’s somewhat cheap as well. The Harman Kardon One will bring you that superior sound that you’ve come to expect from Harman Kardon. But it also is fairly lightweight, allowing you to take it anywhere.
Buy the Harman Kardon OneBose SoundLink Mini Bluetooth Speaker II
Bose is another popular name among audiophiles. And the SoundLink Mini is also a pretty popular portable Bluetooth speaker. With the SoundLink Mini II, you’ll get that Bose quality that you’ve come to expect both in hardware and audio quality. It does also sport a 3.5mm jack so you can play music over the aux cable as opposed to Bluetooth (which will give you better quality music, on any speaker). We’re looking at about 10 hours of usage here too.
Buy the Bose SoundLink Mini II
Anker SoundCore Bluetooth Speaker
Anker has their hands in a bit of everything these days, and they also have a pretty amazing Bluetooth speaker here. This is the SoundCore, which is a fairly small Bluetooth speaker – which makes it portable – but it also boasts an incredible 24 hour battery life. Meaning that you could literally use this all day before it runs out of juice. Not bad for a Bluetooth speaker that is under $50.
Buy the Anker SoundCore Bluetooth Speaker
Beats By Dr. Dre Beats Pill+
This is the latest Bluetooth speaker from Beats. It’s a great looking speaker, that is available in black, or white, and produces some amazing sound. As is normally the case with Beats products, they sound even better for those that listen to music with a lot of bass included. Beats quotes the Pill+ as sporting around 12 hours of continuous playback.
UE BOOM 2
The UE BOOM has been a fan favorite, and recently the company introduced the UE BOOM 2 which is an even better speaker than the original. Not only is it a great looking speaker, but it does also sport 360-degree audio, which will fill up most rooms. Additionally, it has some amazing battery life, lasting around 10-12 hours on average, before needing to be recharged. You can also connect UE BOOM 2’s with other UE BOOM speakers in the home and fill the entire home with music.
Anker SoundCore Sport XL
Here’s another great offering from Anker. This is the SoundCore Sport XL. And as you can likely determine from the name, it’s made to be rugged and waterproof. Meaning that you can take it to the pool, to a construction site, really anywhere and it’ll perform pretty well. It doesn’t quite have the same battery life as the SoundCore, but it does have a very respectable 15 hour range.
Buy the Anker SoundCore Sport XL
Bose SoundLink Color
This is an even smaller speaker than the SoundLink Mini II that we already listed (well it’s taller than the SoundLink Mini II). This one allows you to really show your creative side, as it is available in a slew of colors, like blue, red, black, gray and many more. It does offer the same great battery life, of around 12 hours on a charge.
UE ROLL
If you’re looking for the ultimate waterproof Bluetooth speaker, then look no further than the UE ROLL. This Bluetooth Speaker is shock proof, waterproof and it floats. So you can toss it into the pool and it’ll float while playing music. It also has bungee cord on the back that allows you to attach it to virtually anywhere. It’s a pretty small speaker, but definitely packs a punch.