The UE Wonderboom might just be the cutest little UE wireless speaker yet, with the plump lines of an anime character or a bulldog puppy. There’s more than just style to this little guy, though, with great water resistance and a flexible cord letting you stash it almost anywhere. Sure, there are speakers for the same money that sound a little better, and it’s those that you should go for if audio quality is all that matters, but the Wonderboom’s flexibility and bassy loudness largely makes up for any slight sonic shortcomings. That’s right; this is another belter of a Bluetooth speaker from UE. Buy the UE Wonderboom here from Amazon

Loud, with decent bass kick for the size; Cute; impressive water resistance;

Mids are a bit thin/cold, which means vocals aren't as good as they might be;

It's difficult to get a lot of power out of a small speaker: You generally need more physical volume to produce more audio volume. Ultimate Ears pushes those limits with the UE Wonderboom, a tiny Bluetooth speaker that delivers a sound loud enough to fill a room. The Wonderboom doesn't produce the cleanest highs or distortion-free deep lows, but it's portable, rugged, and fairly priced at $99.99. The JBL Charge 3 ($95.99 at Amazon) delivers a bit more audio finesse in a larger package, but the Wonderboom is a solid alternative. Design The Wonderboom ($68.00 at Amazon) is a squat, rounded cylinder shaped vaguely like a Japanese lantern. It's available in six different colors, including black, blue, gray, orange, pink, and purple. It measures 3.6 inches around, 4.0 inches high, and weighs 15.2 ounces, making it too large to slip in a jacket pocket, but a fine size for a bag. A small, thick elastic loop on the top lets you easily clip the speaker to your bag or hang it from a hook...

The Ultimate Ears UE Wonderboom is a small, rugged Bluetooth speaker that produces a surprising punch of sound for its size.

Powerful for its size; Waterproof

Can distort on very deep lows at maximum volume; Lacks high frequency crispness

Loud, with decent bass kick for the size; Cute; impressive water resistance;

Mids are a bit thin/cold, which means vocals aren’t as good as they might be;

Update, June 4, 2019: Ultimate Ears has announced a sequel to this product. The UE Wonderboom 2 is slightly larger, adds longer battery life and offers stereo pairing.

For its size, the affordable and durable UE Wonderboom is one of the fullest sounding mini Bluetooth speakers you can buy.

The Wonderboom is compact, fully waterproof, plays very loud for its size with a good amount of bass for its small size; It also floats in water, is shock resistant and has decent battery life; You can pair two Wonderbooms together to augment the sound.

No speakerphone capabilities; It's slightly too bulky for travel use.

It's a repeat performance for the Wonderboom, with this second iteration being every inch as good as the first model. It's an easy speaker to recommend if you're after a compact Bluetooth speaker that will do it all, offer all-round protection and a bassy 360-degree sound.

Great sound quality; Plenty of bass; Stereo pairing; Good battery life; Compact design

Uses older Micro-USB connection; The older model is almost just as good for less cash

UE has taken a great, affordable Bluetooth speaker and made it even better, delivering a weightier sound and some useful new features

Weighty bass; Long battery life; Outdoor sound mode; Stereo pairing feature

No Alexa or Google Assistant

The UE Wonderboom 2 features a slightly tweaked design, better bass response, longer battery life and Outdoor Boost make it an even better companion when you're outdoors. Its ruggedness, sound quality, and features solidify the Wonderboom 2 as one of the best portable waterproof speakers you can...

Great sound for its size; IP67 dustproof/waterproof rating; 30% better battery life; Relatively cheap

Restrictive soundstage; No speakerphone; MicroUSB charging; No 'smart' features

Ultimately, the differences between the new Wonderboom 2 and the original are small. Instead, Ultimate Ears has set out improve things iteratively and, in principle, it has achieved exactly that.

Floats and is dust and water-resistant; Louder than its predecessor in outdoor mode; Fun sound signature

Expensive versus the original Wonderboom; Only supports the Bluetooth SBC codec

Dive into all your summer adventures with UE's cannonball speaker.

IP67 dust- and water-resistant; Connect two devices simultaneously; Pair to another Wonderboom 2 for stereo sound; Two-year warranty; Portable and floats

No microphone; Distortion increases with volume; microUSB charging

Big things, small packages, and all that jazz. The WONDERBOOM 2 is the latest portable speaker from Ultimate Ears (UE) and finds itself as a punched-up successor to an already great device. Launched in June 2019, the unit retails for about $100 and comes in a variety of color options.