The UE BOOM 3 might not have the best sound, but it makes up for that with a few useful features and a more portable design that makes it much easier to take with you wherever you go. If you want something like the JBL Flip line of speakers, this is a good speaker to get.
The speaker is well made and has a whole new look. The UE BOOM 3 is instantly recognisable as a product from UE, but a few things are different from previous versions. The plus and minus buttons are no longer on the soft plastic bumper that ran down the middle of the speaker. Instead, it has been replaced by a thinner strip of plastic that runs down the back of the speaker.
Specifications
- Channels: Mono
- Bluetooth: yes
- Wi-Fi: no
- Multi-Room: no
- Physical Connections: None
- Portable: yes
- Water-Resistant: yes
Where to get Ultimate Ears BOOM 3?
This might sound strange to say about a cylindrical speaker, but it’s also less rounded. The edges are sharp, and the whole speaker looks a lot more like a big soda can than the last one. This was done on purpose, since the UE BOOM 3 fits easily anywhere a water bottle would, like in your bag, your car’s cup holder, or the water bottle bracket on your bike.
On top of that, you can connect to other UE speakers through the app. You can connect up to 150 other UE speakers, and it’s backward-compatible, so even the older UE BOOM 2 can use it. We couldn’t test this because we only had one UE speaker, but it’s nice to have the option if you and a few friends all have UE speakers. If you’re tired of waking up to your phone every morning, you can also use the app to turn the speaker into a musical alarm clock.
The UE BOOM 2 doesn’t sound like our favourite speaker, and that hasn’t changed. It still focuses more on how loud it is than how good it sounds, but if you’re going to be outside at the beach or park, that might be what you need. We didn’t change the app’s EQ for any of our listening. We just used it as it came out of the box.