Three Great Bluetooth Speakers
With the months starting to warm up and encourage more outdoor play, now is a great time to think about getting an extra-portable Bluetooth speaker that you can take on your adventures or show off at parties. The top Bluetooth speakers have great battery life, high-fidelity sound, protection against the elements, and easy controls. But why keep on telling when we can show? Check out our favorite Bluetooth speakers of 2016 and what makes them stand out.
Fugoo Sport Bluetooth Speaker – $200
Let’s talk about battery life: Most Bluetooth speakers are marketed with a focus on how you can take them everywhere, and how great they are for outdoor activities when summer comes around. This makes battery life a primary focus, and the best Bluetooth speakers tend to have longer battery lifespans so they won’t die when you most want them (think camping trips, hikes, all-day trips to the beach, etc.).
What does this have to do with the Fugoo? Well, it has the longest battery life we’ve seen by far, with 40 hours worth of playback. For reference, most of the best Bluetooth speakers today have only 10-15 hours of playback on a full battery charge. That alone would probably bring the Fugoo Sport to the top of our list, but it’s also fully waterproof, comes with Siri and Google capabilities, and is designed for on-the-move life. If you don’t live by the beach, know that the Sport is also mudproof, snowproof, and shockproof, so don’t be afraid to take it…well, anywhere.
Logitech UE Boom 2 – $150
The Boom series has been one of the best Bluetooth speaker families from the very beginning, and the UE Boom 2 expands on the tradition with even more protection and better omnidirectional sound than its predecessors. Controls are easy (use the app or just tap the speaker to control song play), and the speaker can deal with being submerged in water up to 30 minutes with no ill effects. The battery life is at 15 hours for a single charge, which doesn’t look like much next to the Fugoo model but is very good for the average Bluetooth speaker.
Bose SoundLink III – $300
Say you don’t plan on bringing your Bluetooth speaker outside much: You just want a really high-quality speaker that you can use wherever you want indoors – maybe for an office, maybe for a house or apartment. If sound is high on your list, it’s no surprise that the Bose SoundLink series is for you. The speaker doesn’t offer much in the way of “proof” for outdoor activities, but it does have powerful sound and a 14-hour battery life. The biggest downside for this speaker is the price (also not surprising for Bose products), which may be a bit high for your plans.
