The future of audio is fast turning wireless, and with products like Apple’s Airpods and other competitors entering the mainstream, you have endless remarkable options to choose from.
However, buying the right product isn’t always as easy as purchasing the most expensive one you can afford. Plus, if you want the most bang for your buck, our guide is a quick and easy way to make sure you get your money’s worth on a reliable product that will serve its useful life satisfactorily.
What Should You Look for When Buying Portable Speakers?
Battery Life
While most wireless speakers nowadays last around 8-20 hours on a single charge, it is important to check the battery timings and how accurately they are advertised. We believe that this factor is what could make or break the deal for you.
Anything with battery timing longer than 10 hours will certainly be enough, while there are products in the market that could last for even 15 hours.
Sound Quality and Range
This one honestly comes down to the user themselves as sound quality is a subjective assessment, which has to do with whether you’re into crisp treble or deep and punchy bass. However, as a general rule of thumb, going for the latest Bluetooth technology, which is v5.2 as of now, will ensure maximum efficiency and bitrate, and minimum data loss.
Choosing a speaker with a higher range of connectivity means it will disconnect on you less often. Bluetooth disconnection when moving from one room to another can be very frustrating! Anything beyond 30 feet is ideal for most situations.
Water/Dust Resistance
The dust resistance feature is a no-brainer if you plan on being outdoors a lot and you don’t want to worry about your speaker. It’s also a good idea to look for the water-resistance feature if you go to the beach often or plan on listening to music in the swimming pool.
Alexa/Google Home Compatibility
Your primary concern right now probably has a lot to do with the points mentioned above, however, this small and convenient addition can be a pretty huge plus point. Not only that, but the Internet of Things technology is on the rise, and everyday items are becoming rapidly compatible with AI software such as Siri and Google. So, having this neat feature will definitely go a long way to making sure you are satisfied with your purchase—even long after newer products are available.
How Much Do Portable Speakers Cost?
Price ranges from $70 for smaller, easy to carry portable speakers to upwards of $400 for weighty and premium products. In between, there is a spectrum of seemingly endless products and brands, and which one suits you primarily comes down to the budget you can allocate, and how much you expect from your speakers.
How We Choose Our Top Picks for Portable Speakers?
Brand
Buying branded products is a sure-fire way to assure the quality of your product. It is hard to go wrong with the industry leaders like JBL, Bose, Anker, Sony, UE, and Sonos.
However, it can also be easy to get carried away with unnecessary spending, or if you’re uninformed, overpaying for a product simply because of the brand value. Accordingly, we try to select recognizable brands while keeping the negatives on the down-low.
Price
Price is also quite a significant factor when it comes to picking the best portable speakers out there.
Budget Entry-level purchases can start from as little as $40 but will probably be far less worth in terms of per dollar returns in usability. We recommend setting aside at least $60-80 for a reasonable product from the lower ends of brands such as JBL or UE.
Midrange$100 - $300 gets us into the midrange, with the most recognizable and most sold products lying within this price range. This is where you can get the best of both worlds, with a compromise that can benefit you the most.
PremiumWhile upwards of $300 may seem overkill for a portable speaker, the perks and sheer quality on some of the high-end speakers are pretty mind-blowing. If you have the budget and the appetite for it, there are options in this range that can simply not disappoint.
Quality
No matter what brand a portable speaker is or how much it costs, it is not especially useful if it doesn’t sound good or doesn’t last long. While sound quality depends on the listener as previously mentioned, some objective standards do make a difference, such as high bit rate, and minimal disconnections, and hardware glitches.
Well-renowned brands do not fall prey to substandard audio technicalities, however having something that is constantly being moved and carried around be fragile to being dropped is a bit of a downer, to be light. Our selected products are also ones that can guarantee to take some hard hits without breaking apart.
FAQs
Is battery life as good as advertised?
More than 24 hours of battery life seems like a bit of a stretch, right? I mean, a full day’s worth of constant use on a single charge? Well, as it turns out, these products are actually well-tested to stand up to the mark of their advertising. Ever-increasing playback time is the most marketable feature for companies when comparing with their competitors. Rest assured, the timing advertised is the time it takes a fully charged portable speaker to discharge on medium volume.
Will my device be compatible?
If you’re wondering about different brands and their compatibility, yes, all laptops and phones are very quick and easy to pair. Any reputable branded wireless speaker will not face any problems as they all use the same Bluetooth technology that is present in all our devices. They may be marketed specifically for their own brands, such as the AirPods only being for Apple products, but they are just as easy to use with any other device. The same logic applies to all the portable speakers mentioned above.
Can I pair more than one device?
Any devices that can connect with Wi-Fi will surely have this feature, but direct Bluetooth multi-pairing is still a rarity with most products, however not unheard of. Most portable speakers of the same brand will usually allow for this but it’s something you have to look out for.