A Tiny Speaker You Could Actually Love

I don’t know about you, but for me, there’s something infinitely appealing about compact gadgets. I loved the iPhone Mini (RIP) and love (present-tense) the very much still-existent Samsung Galaxy Z Flip (not RIP). And don’t even get me started on tiny gaming handhelds like Panic’s Playdate. Seriously, take one look at that thing and tell me it’s not the cutest goddamn handheld you’ve ever seen. If I could, I’d pinch its Simpons-yellow cheeks.

But as much as I love compact gadgets, there’s something that loses me once portable Bluetooth speakers come into play. Maybe I’m just too much of an audio snob to fully enjoy a portability-focused speaker, but sometimes bigger is better in the audio space, and with speakers, that’s partly just a matter of physics. Bigger speakers move more air, which in turn equates to more bass, higher volume, and often, less distortion. Nevertheless, you’re not going to catch me walking around with a car-sized boombox any time soon, which means some level of compromise in the audio department is always inevitable.

But how much s appropriate at $129? Bose’s latest tiny Bluetooth speaker may have just answered my question.

SoundLink Micr-oh, damn, this thing sounds pretty good

Bose’s $129 SoundLink Micro (2nd gen) is maybe the first ultra-portable Bluetooth speaker that I’ve felt like I could use on a regular basis, and it’s thanks in large part (no pun intended) to its big emphasis on sound quality. Like the recent SoundLink Plus, which I reviewed this year, the SoundLink Micro sounds great, but does so in a form factor that’s about a third of the size, if not less.

Don’t get me wrong, you’re not going to get anywhere near as much bass or volume from the SoundLink Micro (2nd Gen) as you will out of the SoundLink Plus, but you’ll still get a lot more than you might expect. I carried the SoundLink Micro (2nd Gen) around Washington Square Park in Manhattan and was pleasantly surprised by not only the volume, but also the quality of the sound it was putting out.

It’s not as loud as competitors like the recently released JBL Grip, the unofficial tall boy of Bluetooth speakers, but that’s more than okay in my book, because it sounds a heck of a lot nicer. I played a few different genres on the SoundLink Micro (2nd Gen), including jazz/funk, ambient, and rock, and all three had the nuance you’d expect from Bose. Bass was punchy and natural, but not overpowering, which means you can still hear mid and high frequencies where vocals and guitars live.

This isn’t going to contend with bigger speakers in terms of sound quality, nor should you ever expect a speaker of this size to do so, but if you’re looking for audio that doesn’t suck, the SoundLink Micro (2nd gen) has it. There are inevitably moments where its limitations come into focus, particularly at higher volumes, or in the speaker’s handling of treble sometimes (in some songs I listened to, higher frequencies sounded almost a little too sharp and snappy), but its faults weren’t enough to change my overall impressions. This speaker sounds pretty good and even better next to competitors from JBL.

I’m not often in a position where I need to emphasize portability above all else (usually an average-sized speaker like Soundcore’s Boom 3i or one of JBL’s Charge line is small enough to fit into a bag), but if I were at a premium for space, the SoundLink Micro (2nd Gen) would easily be among my first picks for which speaker I grab before I go backpacking in the Carpathian Mountains or whatever; and believe or not, there’s more than one reason for that.

In the second-gen SoundLink Micro, Bose ups the durability, giving it an IP67 rating. That means it’s able to deal with dust but also withstand pretty much any water that you may encounter in a normal, non-biblical flood setting. To test that out, I have the SoundLink Micro, a little rinse in the sink after getting some dirt on it, and sure enough, it worked just fine afterwards. Bose says the SoundLink Micro (2nd Gen) is also more durable, though I don’t do any intensive drop testing, so on that front, you’ll have to take Bose’s word. Anecdotally, the speaker feels solid and sturdy enough to withstand some drops.

Mico improvements make for a macro upgrade

Another area in which Bose’s second-gen SoundLink Micro improves is battery life. I’ve not tested the first-gen version of this Bluetooth speaker, but from what I can tell, the battery life was, well… bad. Even by Bose’s official estimate, it’s only rated for 6 hours of audio playback, which is more than enough in the context of one sitting, but annoying when you consider that almost no one remembers to charge their Bluetooth speaker every day. Those 6 hours are going to be all used up before you know it.

This time around, Bose doubled the battery life, and based on my testing, its estimates are pretty accurate. After over an hour of listening at about 50% volume, the SoundLink Micro (2nd Gen), which was at 60% when I started, didn’t budge. Obviously, battery life is contingent on lots of things, particularly the volume you’re playing music at, so your exact mileage may vary, but in my experience, Bose’s speakers seemed to hold up well. To be clear, 12 hours isn’t the longest battery life in the world, but it feels like a good amount for a speaker this size, especially when considering competitors like JBL’s Grip, which is also rated for 12 hours on a full charge.

Another notable tweak from the last generation is the velcro strap, which, this time around, is both removable and replaceable. There’s not much to say here, really. I strapped the SounLink Micro (2nd Gen) to the belt loop on my pants and walked around, which made me feel like a dork, but it didn’t fall off. Being able to remove and replace the band feels like a welcome change, given the fact that it’s just a piece of fabric. If it should get torn or tarnished in any way, you may want to swap it out.

One thing you will not get this time around is a microphone. Bose’s SoundLink Micro (2nd Gen) does away with an integrated mic that could be used for talking via speakerphone, as well as activating a voice assistant. I guess it’s a bummer to lose a feature, but I’m not sure that will be a major drag for most people, since the vast majority of us aren’t itching to yell into a tiny Bluetooth speaker for calls (or, really, for any other reason.)

One other nice-to-have this time around is the switch from microUSB to USB-C, which is more a matter of timing than anything else, since the first-gen SoundLink Micro was released all the way back in 2017. There’s also more functionality with the Bose app that lets you do more granular stuff, like three-band EQ. That upgrade is augmented further by a new “shortcut” button on the speaker that can be programmed to do various things. By default, the button is used to link two Bose speakers so they can play at the same time, but it can also be programmed to play Spotify on your device with a single press. There’s also your typical array of buttons that let you skip tracks, play/pause, power off/on, and connect to Bluetooth.

If there’s one gripe I have with the SoundLink Micro (2nd Gen), it’s the same one I have with most speakers of this size, which is that the ability to hitch it to things just doesn’t make a ton of sense for a front-firing device. Sure, you could strap the product to your bike or belt, but then your music is blaring rather than at you. That can feel a little silly, or obnoxious at worst, but it’s just a fact of any speaker meant to be used in this way. One thing I can nudge Bose for, though, is not having a way to stand the SoundLink Micro up. The JBL Grip, which I recently tested, can stand upright, making positioning the speaker so that it actually plays toward you much easier. I would’ve loved to see a kickstand or something similar here, but I guess precariously perching the speaker upright works well enough of the time.

Should you make a microtransaction?

Tiny Bluetooth speakers aren’t for everyone. They serve a specific type of person in a specific type of scenario. But if you’re looking for something very portable, Bose is holding that category down well. The latest SoundLink Micro costs $30 more than JBL’s Grip, but given the difference in sound quality and the parity on battery life, I think the Bose premium is worth it here. If you want something on the louder side, JBL still has the SoundLink beat, but Bose will be the better pick for most people.

You should never expect the world out of a Bluetooth speaker this size, but Bose has also proven that you can expect a solid package. Coupled with other quality of life improvements over the last generation, this is firmly the only SoundLink Micro speaker worth buying at this point, and one of the most appealing I’ve used so far.