Bluetooth speakers to buy

The best Bluetooth speakers to buy right now

Water resistance and lengthy battery life are now standard

By Chris Welch , a reviewer specializing in personal audio and home theater. Since 2011, he has published nearly 6,000 articles, from breaking news and reviews to useful how-tos.

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Wireless Bluetooth speakers have become ubiquitous, indispensable gadgets. Everyone’s got one somewhere, and the use cases vary from person to person. Maybe you use your speaker around the house or as a shower soundtrack. Maybe you bring it along to the park or beach. And then there are those people who take a portable speaker practically everywhere they go — sharing their music from a bike or backpack with everyone nearby.

I know a lot of people who have old Bluetooth speakers kicking around, and if the one you’ve got is still working for you, there’s no immediate need to upgrade to something newer. But Bluetooth speakers have gotten very good in recent years. Sound quality continues to improve, battery life is stretching to new records, and they’re more robust and durable than ever before.

I’m The Verge’s resident audio gear reviewer, and I’ve spent dozens of hours testing our picks below in various scenarios. I’ve listened to them at home, outdoors, in hotels — and yes, in the bathroom. Each product is easy to recommend for different reasons.

If you’re shopping around for a new speaker, start off by considering what size you want. For this guide, I’m mostly sticking to portable Bluetooth speakers and excluding anything that’s impractical to take on the go. From there, you need to weigh other criteria like audio quality, ease of use, durability, and bonus features like speakerphone functionality. Some speakers let you stereo pair two of them together, and several companies include “party mode” capabilities that let you link many speakers together. If you don’t really care about any of that, you can get a tiny Bluetooth speaker for as little as $25. But all of the picks here go a little further in terms of features and style.

The best portable Bluetooth speakers of 2023

Best Bluetooth speaker under $200

Bose SoundLink Flex

Weight: 1.3 pounds / Battery life: 12 hours / Water resistance: IP67 / Can you stereo pair two?: Yes / Speakerphone: Yes / Charging port: USB-C

Bose SoundLink Flex

Bose’s newest Bluetooth speaker, the SoundLink Flex, offers pristine, detailed sound quality with a surprising amount of bass for its size — all in a rugged design that you can take anywhere.

I don’t know what kind of engineering sorcery goes into Bose’s Bluetooth speakers; I just know that going back to the SoundLink Mini II, they’ve simply sounded clearer and better — to my ears, at least — than any competitors in the same size range. The $149 SoundLink Flex is Bose’s latest portable speaker, and it continues to make good on that reputation.

Despite only having a mono driver (which isn’t uncommon for Bluetooth speakers), the SoundLink Flex delivers expansive sound with a genuinely surprising amount of bass. And crucially, that low end isn’t muddy or boomy. Everything about this speaker is rich and clear. That’s even more surprising when you consider that it only supports the baseline SBC Bluetooth codec instead of AAC or the more advanced LDAC. And yet, this speaker sounds excellent.

You can expect around 12 hours of battery life, and like many other speakers in this guide, the SoundLink Flex is rated IP67 for dust and water resistance. Bose is very confident it can withstand tumbles and swims. Whether you lay the speaker flat or stand it upright, the Flex will automatically optimize the EQ for either orientation. And it also works better than most as a speakerphone with the help of built-in mics. Not everything about the SoundLink Flex is ideal: its buttons aren’t easy to use by feel alone, and it’s strange that Bose opted to go with Bluetooth 4.2 instead of a newer version of the spec. But if those are my biggest gripes, it’s fair to say that the SoundLink Flex is a winner.

The UE Boom 3 remains a popular Bluetooth speaker several years after release. Photo by Vjeran Pavic / The Verge

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The 7 Best Bluetooth Speakers — Summer 2023 Reviews

If you like to wirelessly stream music, podcasts, and audiobooks from mobile devices, you’ll want a speaker that supports Bluetooth connectivity. Unlike speakers with Wi-Fi, Bluetooth-compatible speakers don’t rely on an Internet connection to stream audio. As a result, they tend to be more portable, and many also have an outdoor-oriented design with carrying straps or water-resistant bodies. However, finding the best speaker comes down to what matters most to you. With so many Bluetooth speakers on the market, you have many options for finding a device that meets your unique needs.

We’ve tested over 110 speakers, and below, you’ll find our recommendations for the best wireless Bluetooth speakers. If you want more options, check out our picks for the best Alexa speakers, the best-sounding Bluetooth speakers, and the loudest Bluetooth speakers.

Best Bluetooth Speaker

Sonos Move

The best Bluetooth speaker that we’ve tested is the Sonos Move. Thanks to its portable design, this speaker is a great choice for listening to your favorite tunes while on the go, and it comes with lots of extra features to make the most of your listening experience. Connect your phone or other mobile devices to the speaker via Bluetooth, and you can stream everything from music, podcasts, and audiobooks to the device. Its built-in voice assistants offer hands-free control, so you can check the weather, adjust the volume, and more from the comfort of your couch. Plus, if you own other Sonos products, you can integrate this speaker into your ecosystem to amplify audio across the room or to spread sound throughout multiple rooms in your house. This speaker’s sleek design makes it suitable for indoor and outdoor use. At your next backyard party, use the built-in handle to carry it outside, and its IP56 rating for dust and water resistance means that it’s protected against some exposure to the elements. This speaker gets loud, so it can easily fill your backyard with sound. There’s even a room calibration tool built into the speaker to improve its audio reproduction based on the unique acoustics of your listening space. If you prefer to adjust the sound manually, you’ll find bass and treble adjustments in the Sonos S2 app, too. Thanks to its built-in smart features and stellar sound, this Bluetooth speaker is a great fit for lots of different listeners.

Best Upper Mid-Range Bluetooth Speaker

Sony SRS-XG300

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