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The bluetooth speaker I bought twice

When I’m working outside, or we’ve got people over for a hang in the backyard, the Anker Soundcore is the speaker I usually reach for. It’s reliable, sounds great, and adds just the right amount of atmosphere, without trying so hard it becomes the center of attention. Which, let’s be honest, is the fatal flaw of most small Bluetooth speakers. They bounce around, rattle, or go shrill trying to impress. This one doesn’t. It’s surprisingly composed.

I’ve had this one for a little over 18 months, and it’s never let me down. It’s compact, plays plenty loud, and has actual bass you can hear and feel. Not window-rattling stuff, but enough to round out music in a way most Bluetooth speakers this size just can’t manage.

Bass Notes

Now, about that ‘BassUp’ button. This isn’t one of those “boost the bass until the treble gives up” buttons. It’s more like turning your electric toothbrush up to the only setting anyone actually uses. I treat it like a baseline setting, not a bonus feature. Once it’s on, you forget about it. It just stays on. Music sounds flat and underfed without it. If you're the sort of person who’s replaced their car’s backseat with a subwoofer and tuned your EQ to “apocalypse,” then sure, it might not go deep enough for you. But if you want your music to sound even remotely like what the artist signed off on in the studio, this thing holds its own beautifully.

The app…

There’s also app connectivity if you want to go down that road, but I’ll be honest - I’ve never once found a good reason to use it. There’s a feature called “Voice Prompt” that I’ve never messed with and still don’t understand the point of. The Custom EQ tools are fun for about five minutes, but mostly they feel like a fast-track to making this speaker sound less good. This thing comes out of the box tuned just fine. Far better than fine if i’m honest. It sounds balanced and all-around great. If you’re the type who wants to tweak EQ curves down to the decimal, you’re probably not in Bluetooth speaker territory to begin with …and you’re definitely not fixing anything meaningful with a slider in a phone app

Battery

Battery life is great. It charges via USB-C and just keeps going. I never really think about whether it’s charged or not because it usually is. If your phone is dying, you can even plug it into the speaker to top up using the built-in charge-out port. Handy, and not something I expected at this price.

Housing

The housing is mostly a tough, rubberized plastic that keeps it from sliding around or getting damaged too easily. The mesh speaker grille is clean and understated, with the ANKER logo stamped in the center. Buttons are well-placed and firm to the touch. A couple of them (the BassUp and Power/Pairing buttons) even light up just enough to see what you’re doing when it’s dark out, or what the status of the bluetooth pairing step is. Battery life is shown via 4 small white LEDs. As you might imagine, fewer lit LEDs equals less remaining battery power.

It’s also IPX7-rated, which means waterproof enough to survive being submerged in water for a bit. I haven’t dropped mine in a pool, but I’ve definitely left it out in the rain more than once. Not a great habit, but also not a fatal one.

Bluetooth

It pairs easily. Bluetooth 5, fast connection, good range. Android users get the bonus of NFC pairing too. If you happen to own two of them, you can pair them for stereo sound. I haven’t tried that yet, but now I kind of want to.

Downsides?

Only real gripe is the speakerphone mic. It technically works, but the audio quality isn’t great for calls. Not a dealbreaker for me, since I use it for music, not meetings.

Conclusion

All in all, it’s a great little workhorse. Sounds better than it should, lasts longer than you’d expect, and looks good doing it. I keep mine around for a reason. If it disappeared tomorrow, I’d buy it again. Same one. Same model.

And I say that with confidence because I did lose my first one on vacation - and I did buy a replacement.

Find it on Amazon

Anker | Soundcore Boost