SoundLink Flex Bluetooth Speaker, Portable Speaker with Microphone, Wireless Waterproof Speaker for Travel, Outdoor and Pool Use, Black

I bought this speaker because I wanted a way to listen to music while grilling in my backyard. I had no expectations of it being a “party” speaker or anything of the like. But my goodness. This speaker punched above the weight I expected and what reviewers claim. They say it’s good for less than 10 people. Probably true if in an enclosed space. Outside, standing in the corner of my backyard about 40+ feet away, the speaker volume is at about 60-70% and with the air conditioner droning on I can still hear this speaker, and the vocals are clear, the instruments are clear, and there’s even some punch of the bass. It’s so much more potent than I expected. I actually bought a second one (the one pictured) so I could utilize Party Mode and Stereo Mode, and then these are far better than they have any right to be. The bass shook through the house at about 40% volume, to the extent that my wife actually asked me to return one and get some noise cancelling headphones if I wanted to be blaring music all day. 😂 So (for now), I’m obliging and returning one, but honestly, I don’t want to. One of these speakers are great. Two make a great portable stereo system. Now for the feature set. Key selling points for me were: 1. Durability. It’s made of steel and silicone, is rated to withstand a dunk in water and dust. You can enjoy this in the yard, on your workbench, swimming, shower, etc. I live in high desert, and the wind blew over these speakers from a table to the ground and they didn’t have a single dent or scratch. Which leads me to… 2. The device has sensors built in that detect its positioning, so the sound quality was maintained even if it’s on its back, side, or face down. None of the other products that compete in this segment offer that function to my knowledge. 3. Unlike other products that I considered, this sounded good right out of the box. Anker (Soundcore) offers some great competition in this segment, but needs the EQ tweaked to shine. They’re not bad by any means, but I wanted things to just be simple. Power on and go without fuss. Bose delivered that. There are similar products for sure. Ultimate Ears will also let you pair two portables to create a stereo, but it lacked the intelligence that this speaker did. We already covered Soundcore. Tweak with the EQ, save some money, you’ll likely be happy. These speakers do often go on sale, and I purchased mine used (like new) and refurbished respectively. The “Used” unit was actually brand new from Amazon, broke the seals on the box and everything. Far as I could tell, the speaker just rolled around in someone’s trunk unopened before returning. The box had some cosmetic damage but no dents, broken seals, and all accessories were obviously also unopened. Refurbished unit came straight from Bose. Also came with all accessories and literature, just a box that was labeled “Refurbished”. Warranty on refurbished or new are 1 year regardless. I bring this up to encourage you to save some money, reduce some e-waste, and buy secondhand like I did. No judgments if you want to go new of course! But I got 2 speakers, one that was new in reality, essentially $100 off the set, and I didn’t miss out on anything in terms of product or warranty. $150 is pricey for a speaker, but $103 for a Bose speaker is not. Especially one that can literally go for a swim. Four criticisms I’d like y’all to know. First, compression above about 75% volume. Your bass will flatline above this point to maintain clarity of the track as a whole. In reality, that just means you go from a slightly warm tone to a very neutral tone of sound profile. No big deal unless you’re blasting EDM, Hip-Hop, the like. As I said, this little 20W speaker carries enough punch that 70% was more than enough to fill my backyard. Second criticism is no biggie for me, but worth bringing up for those shopping the competition. I didn’t want to fuss with an EQ, but competitors do have them to fine tune your sound. Consequentially, the app is basically useless beyond seeing your battery life and an option on how to do party mode (not required). Third criticism is truly a nitpick, but why do I have two apps for my Bose products? Why do I need one for headphones and one for speakers? Wish Bose would put all their portable speakers and headphones into one app. You could easily knock out criticisms 3-4 by just putting this speaker into the Bose Music app, like my QuietComfort Headphones, and this VERY speaker's big brother, the Soundlink Flex Max, is already there. Why the heck is the Soundlink Flex not in Bose Music, with a basic EQ like the others? Fourth, this uses outdated Bluetooth. No big deal. Pairs easily. But don’t expect to watch movies or game off of this. Latency is too high. Anyhow, enough of that. Go buy one. Or better yet, two. You won’t be disappointed.

This speaker was the second replacement I purchased, and I am glad I did. In stark contrast to the first one I bought, this unit is solidly built and well constructed. It feels and looks very sturdy and doesn't give me the impression that it will be easily broken or damaged. The design is better than that of other speakers I've owned in the past. It has a good, broad surface area, so the sound isn't at all tinny, and due to its shape, it does not fall over, even if put onto a softer surface. Getting it paired to my device was fairly easy. I like the layout of the buttons. I really did not expect a speaker this size to sound great. I wasn't in the market for something that could dominate an outdoor party, so this would have been tolerable. However, I am very pleased with the sound quality. It's neither too tinny nor too heavy, and I find it works just as well for music as it does for other audio. Mainly, I use it in my room to read audio books, and it does a good job; I'm sure it would be quite a nice choice for those of you who actually are looking for something to use outdoors. To get that good sound from it, you don't have to blare the volume or turn it too far down, and the sound quality is superior to that of some larger speakers. There are a couple of other nice features I sincerely appreciate. First, I frankly find it obnoxious that when you turn on many speakers, or turn them back off again, for that matter, they play an annoying, little bit of music that is far too loud and impossible to disable. I'd rather have them simply beep, if that much, or do as this one does and give you the percent of battery power left. I like that this takes a USB-C cable--no more irritating, fragile micro USB for me. Its battery life is quite good, which helps me because I sometimes tend to forget to charge my things. Last but not least, this speaker is the only one I've had that beeps to acknowledge that it is charging when you plug it in. The sound is unobtrusive and quiet, which I prefer. Overall, you'll find this to be a very wise buy. You can get cheaper units, certainly, but spend a bit for this, and you won't regret it.

I have thoroughly enjoyed my entire ownership of this speaker. Time of writing this review is roughly 8 months after purchase, having used this speaker practically every single day since. This was a replacement for a very well-loved but somewhat lacking B&O (P3?) oval-shaped speaker that inspired of few of my must-have features. My key requirements in purchasing a speaker at this price point were: - Punchy, solid bass, with high accuracy, clear playback throughout most of the volume range - Relatively attractive, understated, simple design with ergonomic and intuitive controls - Easily oriented for high quality playback in a variety of different situations (facing sideways, upwards, at angles) - Long-lasting battery without any obnoxious constant playback interruptions informing you of battery life remaining This speaker delivers on all of these. The bass is incredibly clear, with no horrible warbling and distortion that’s very common with dozens of other similar speakers. The audio playback is very crisp and clear, with no noticeable quality losses. I’m sure it’s not perfect, but it’s more than adequate for 95%+ of people. Even at low volumes, the quality is still extremely high. There is a usable, enjoyable sound at every volume level. The design is simple, but handsome. It does not look obnoxious or out of place anywhere. It is just the right size, not too large to pop into a bag, and not too small as to have low-power drivers with poor sound. Very easy to transport. The squared design makes it very stable on most surfaces, but is still rounded enough not to get caught on things. The controls are very easy to understand, even the multi-device Bluetooth cycling and syncing. I have no complaints. The speaker works well for playback in nearly any position, especially when placed on a table or other nice playback surface. It can be placed facing upward, and the speaker enhances playback for all-around sound. When placed horizontally, the same happens for directional playback. Very impressive stability in a wide variety of situations. Some would consider the lack of a lanyard or string to be a downside for this point, but there is massive benefits to keeping this speaker on a surface. The battery life is incredible. Vastly longer than I had really expected for this speaker. With my personal usage (middle volume range, 2-3 uses a day for 30 to 60 minutes at a time), I usually recharge every 1-2 weeks. Not sure what exactly that equates to in real playback time, but I still find it impressive. The speaker will notify you at 20% and 10% battery level, which is exactly what I wanted. Many other speakers will interrupt playback at 75%, 50%, etc. I’ve not experienced any noticeable battery decay during my ownership, but I have only fully depleted and nearly fully recharged the entire time, with no “filling up” in between. Downsides do exist, but most are inconsequential for me. - The audible indicators that inform you of which device you are connected to can sometimes feel a bit sluggish, especially with long device names. - I feel the price point is still a bit on the high side for the value, but I feel I’ve more than gotten my money’s worth. I just like a good deal. - Volume occasionally spikes very high in certain scenarios when switching between devices, but is fairly easily turned down after a quick scare. I would highly recommend this speaker to anyone in the market for a speaker at this price point. This is an especially good deal on sale. If you’re still reading at this point, just get the damn thing on the way.

So I've had three no four Bose Bluetooth speakers, SoundLink mini 2 the OG SoundLink the round single speaker sound link and then this one. The round one had surprising base but it's a single speaker so it's not so dynamic and the older ones were older and a little bit smaller and not quite as good but the SoundLink was larger and yet this new one has better bass than the bigger old one. It's button layout is a little different and it has like a quick Bluetooth connect switch between Bluetooth connected previously devices which also doubles as like a play pause and answer phone and hang up feature depending on what you're trying to do at that moment but the sound is really good the size is smaller so it's more transportable battery life seems to be pretty fair and range is perfectly fine but you can also pair multiple bows speakers of varying types together and this one plays well with those I suppose. I haven't paired this bows with other bows but they say they all work together so have fun with that experiment but this is a good decently Basie not going to vibrate anything but you can definitely here bass notes and I don't remember missing out on any mids or treble. Maybe a little bit of pinchy ear piercing treble is gone but who really likes that, you get the gist of the symbols but it doesn't hurt and it's not super Sharp, you appreciate the base more than the symbols and chimes and triangles anyway... Very impressed with this Bose product like I've been impressed with all of them even though they have a software cheat to help get better base by canceling out mids that the human error can't really hear, but since you can't hear the meds or won't be able to detect them and you get more bass out of it who cares, your overall experience is better. 4.5 thumbs up because no replacement for displacement in subwoofer size but this thing does pretty good with the turbo boosted software.😝 You do need to download the Bose connect app but it's really quick and you do not, I repeat do not have to subscribe to anything, you can just Skip and pair and delete.

Recently I visited family in Phoenix. While there I visited my brother-in-law and his family who were staying at a B&B. While sitting on the patio with fans and misters overhead cooling us down in the 107 degree temperature I noticed that my brother-in-law was playing music from his cellphone through his portable Bose Bluetooth speaker. I was amazed at the sound and since then I have been looking for a portable speaker to use on the run. When I was given a chance to review a case for a portable Bose speaker, I noticed that this product is often purchased with the case. After reading the reviews, I purchased this product and am so glad that I did. I have reviewed many portable Bluetooth speakers over the years, but the sound from this one is the best I have ever heard and it is by far the easiest to set up. The day that I received this product and was charging it, our internet company was working on their lines and prevented our whole neighborhood from using our computers, televisions, landline telephones and any other items connected to the WiFi. Realizing that I did not need WiFi to listen to music on my iPhone, I paired my iPhone with this Bose Speaker easily and my wife and I spent the evening to beautiful music from both purchased albums I previously purchased and from Pandora. After charging the speaker, I pushed the power button and it announced that the Bose was 100 percent charged. I then went to my iPhone setting and tapped the Blue Tooth button turning it on. I set the iPhone and speaker near each other and and pushed the BlueTooth icon on the side of the Bose speaker. Soon the My Devices line on my iPhone showed Bose Fex Sound Link was connected. I then tapped the music icon on my iPhone and just like that the music began. Using the Bose “+” and “-“ symbols on the Bose to adjust the volume pleasing to both my wife and I we enjoyed the incredible tone of this fantastic speaker. When we were finished listening to music, I simply pressed the icon for power off on the side of the speaker and closed my music iPhone app. The next day I check my Bluetooth under my setting on my iPhone and noticed that I was not connected, but after pressing the power on button on the Bose Speaker I notice the settings on my iPhone immediately showed connect again. Folks, if you love music and the rich sound of via premier speakers, I don’t believe that you will find a better sounding portable, rugged, waterproof one for $150 that sounds this great and is this easy to use. I recommend this speaker to family, friends, and other people I care about. I am thinking about buying one of these for my adult son as a Christmas present. Enjoy!

It’s a great speaker for taking with you or using in the kitchen while you cook, or visit out on the patio, camping, etc. The battery charge gives a fair amount of long play but also can quick charge about two hours of play off of about fifteen minutes of charge! It does have great Bose sound, as you would expect. Tho I was after a much bigger sound this time. I really wanted the JBL Boombox, as I have heard them play! But I didn't want to indulge and spend the $400 plus dollars. I’ve had Bose sound before and this was down to a reasonable price for a change. It’s a great lil speaker. But if you want bigger sound you’re gonna have to spend the money and go for a bigger version of Bose. This is plenty loud for a great number of people who are just wanting the premium sound :) All in all was a good buy and worth the money for its size and output. Easy to no set up, outta the box charge and play! Also, there is a number of inexpensive covers, cases, frames that make it a “boombox” with handles for easy take along. It came with its own charge cord and a quality clip for the heavy duty loop that’s built in, so you can clip/hang the speaker wherever you like. Plenty of colors to choose from as well, for both the speaker and accessories. Match or mix it up!

I love this Bose Bluetooth speaker. It is used everyday and the sound seems great. Have had it since 2023 and it is still working well. Even though I have full size Bose speakers, this works well in areas the big ones don't quite reach.

I have a JBL Flip 4 that I’ve had for 5 years; a very handy speaker with decent sound and long battery life. I was wondering about getting a different Bluetooth speaker and I heard one of these at work that a coworker brought in. It had really good sound in a small package with extra bass but not to boomy; just a nice overall sound field. When I got the speaker delivered from Amazon, I tested it out with a variety of different music. Whether the speaker is facing forward or straight up, It has nice clarity and dynamic range, good bass response and it also allows you to talk or respond to messages because it has a built-in microphone. It sounds very good with music as well as podcasts. It paired very fast and easily , I also like how it shows the battery life on your iPhone widget screen whereas the JBL does not. I also bought a JBL Flip 6 to try out but the sound difference between this and that is striking. This has much better sound than the Flip 6. The cabinet feels smooth and rubbery and soft and it still is a small enough size for portability. The sound is even better when it’s near a wall or corner as it amplifies the bass response. Such as on the kitchen counter. Overall I am extremely pleased with the speaker and I believe it has fantastic sound for the size - much better than anything of similar size. Battery life is stated as 12 hrs. Yesterday I was playing it for 2-3 hrs. at 1/2 volume and it decreased only 10%. One gripe is that the USB-C charge cable is super short, only 20” long. So I ordered a 3-ft. Cable. The build quality appears excellent, and wow I am still amazed by how good it sounds. It is more expensive than the Flip 6, but if I enjoy it more, and plan to use it for the next 3-4 years, that price difference is small. What can I say? I love it. Additional information: have noticed now listening to it a few days that when your head is higher than the speaker and it is aiming forward, there seems to be less audio clarity and more bass but when I lay it flat where it aims up, there’s better audio clarity for speaking, Podcasts or music. So it appears that whatever your head level is and where the speaker is can affect the sound characteristics. I have also noticed that placing it near a wall, or in a corner, or on a counter under the cupboards significantly adds to the bass response. Overall, it has excellent sound, good battery life, and seems like a great speaker. In fact, I dictated all this additional info text from the speaker microphone to my phone.