Portable Bluetooth Speaker, Soundcore Flare Wireless Speaker by Anker, Waterproof Party Speaker with 360° Sound, Enhanced Bass & Ambient LED Light, IP67 Dustproof & Waterproof and 12-hour Battery Life

This speaker sounds really nice and makes my music sound fun when I listen to it ("sound quality" - here you go mr algorithm). It gets very loud which is good. The lights are definitely cute and the app that comes with it is actually very useful - it has light settings as well as sounds equaliser presets (and a fully controllable equaliser).Cons:1. The buttons are quite difficult to press - I have grown used to it but if you have any difficulties in that regard I would be cautious.2. Having the lights on significantly reduces the battery life - I usually have them off. Also worth mentioning that the lights aren't really bright enough to be the only light source in a room, although that's not a problem.3. Even the quietest volume on the speaker is not that quiet - I find with music or podcasts it's too loud for me to sleep to when on my bedside table. But maybe this can be rectified by placing it further away from me.Overall I am quite happy with this speaker, I use it all the time at home! I got it on a black Friday deal so it was about £40 and I thought that was really good value for money for what it is. That said I've never had another Bluetooth speaker so I have no basis for comparison.

I bought this speaker (Soundcore Flare) to improve the sound quality I was experiencing from my mobile phone and I'm delighted. I liked it so much I now have 2 of them which I use in Stereo mode.The sound quality and volume is excellent for the price and portability. You're not going to get the super premium audio fidelity for an audophile quality system, but you do get a truly excellent sound quality for 12W portable speakers. Two speakers work together well for stereo sound with decent bass. I find 30% volume for 1 speaker is usually enough to fill an average sized room in a UK home, 50% is loud. I haven't even tried 100% volume - reviews say the sound can be quite harsh at that end but for domestic uses I can't see the point.The two speakers link together automatically and then to my device, and they can be modified using the Soundcore App to change equalisers, set between stereo or "boost" (mimic) modes, and customise the base lights (I turn them off). My only niggle is that they default to 50% volume whenever I turn them on and link them to my Android phone; I have to turn them downAny good bluetooth speaker unleashes the audio potential of your phone and lap top, and this has transformed my habits in just a few months. Things I now regularly use these to listen to so far:- BBC Sounds (for live radio and on-demand content; most DAB radios are Mono but phone + two Bluetooth speakers gives you stereo radio)- Music via Spotify- Podcasts- Audiobooks- Economist audio version- Massively improved the audio on my laptop (films, games, music)I have no regrets buying these speakers, although I do wonder given how loud they can get as 12W speakers whether I should have saved a little money and bought the Soundcore Flare Minis (10W speakers, £40 each compared to £60 at time of review for the Soundcore Flare). It will depend on your uses.

Soundcore is a subsidiary of Anker, and I've had a few Anker Bluetooth speakers in the past, all of which surpassed my expectations, so I had really high hopes for the Soundcore Flare.Now let me start by saying that, as always with Anker, the sound quality is superb, and the clarity is stupendous, I have no idea how they managed to achieve this whilst making the speaker IP67 dust & water proof (which usually compromises on sound quality).The 360° is almost perfect, there are a few auditory "blindspots" but these can only really be noticed if you're right next to it, otherwise it really does feel like 360° sound.A few details that brought down the overall experience was the finicky process of swapping connected devices, lack of Type-C charging, and the "much smaller than advertised" battery life. Getting this speaker to connect to a different device on startup is a frustrating process, usually involving power cycling and mashing the Bluetooth button until it finally allows me to pair, because of this, I'm decentivised to use the speaker with a different device, a big negative point for a portable speaker.The lack of Type-C charging really bothers me because of how recessed the charging port is (due to the IP67 rating), it would have been a lot nicer to have Type-C and not have to worry about charger orientation.The battery life really disappointed me because all of my past Anker speakers have had extremely impressive battery lives that kept up it's performance for years after. For some reason this thing just dies so much faster than the advertised battery life, I've turned off the fancy lighting to improve batter life, but this hasn't made much of a difference. This feels like a bit of a backwards step on Anker's end.Overall, I do quite like this speaker, it's not perfect, but it's really had to argue that considering you do get quite a lot of "bank for your buck" with this.

I've had this for years now and very happy with it.I use it with lap or desktop computers for classes, entertainment, etc. It might take a little longer to pair with some devices than I'd like, and I used to have to fuss with settings, but otherwise it's a strong and fast connection. Of course you can also pause what's going on on the computer with the pause setting on the speaker which can be handy for video classes.Since it's light and has bluetooth I can carry it around even if I have to leave the desk-top computer behind a room away. I love the 360 sound when I walk around the kitchen too and can still hear everything clearly.I use it for hours every day and it's running fine after 3 (I think) years now, and charges sufficiently within an hour or 2 which I do about every 2nd or 3rd day.Sound quality is quite decent, like most speakers this size. It's clear and not tinny. I use the "bass boost" much of the time.I haven't had to use it's floating ability but have been glad that it is water proof when I spilled a drink.It has very sturdy and pleasant surfaces. The volume symbols (part of the control package on the top of the device) are not visually clear because they are raised plus and minus marks but it's not hard to find them by feelingNot a fan of the available flashing lights but I just don't use them.

La calidad de los sonidos es muy buena. Calidad y precio vale la pena, la batería dura bastante tiempo, sin las luces.

Mijn echtgenote luistert vrij regelmatig naar een zender op haar mobiel. Het geluid van die veelal zang en orgel klonk zo erbarmelijk dat ik gezocht heb naar een goede Bluetooth luidspreker. Hoog of vrij hoog in reviews eindigde de Sound flare van Anker. Mijn echtgenote vond het niet nodig maar luistert nu met genoegen naar het zoveel mooiere geluid uit deze compacte luidspreker. Die ook nog eens heel lang functioneert voordat ie weer opgeladen moet worden. En de prijs? Die was geen €69 zoals overal elders maar €39! De kwaliteit prijsverhouding kon niet beter!!

Me ha encantado, lo compre de oferta pero aunque no puedo comparar he de decir que me ha sorprendido la calidad, lo uso como altavo del PC con cable, y la batería me dura una semana con uso normal. Lo recomiendo por su calidad y volumen para lo pequeño que es, si necesitas algo menos un Alexa te podría ir mejor pues cuesta más barato y se puede usar de altavoz con calidad similar a este.

I love Anker products (they're one of my very few 'go-to' tech. brands - have wireless earbuds, other bluetooth speakers, bluetooth keyboards, battey pack, etc.); so I was excited to pick one of these up when they came out. I'll try to keep this quick: I compared this to two other products, a Sonos One All-new Sonos One - Smart Speaker with Alexa voice control built-In. Compact size with incredible sound for any room. (black) , and a Anker Soundcore 2 (not the Soundcore 2+)  Anker Soundcore 2 Portable Bluetooth Speaker with Superior Stereo Sound, Exclusive BassUp, 12-Watts, IPX5 Water-Resistant, 24-Hour Playtime, Perfect Wireless Speaker for Home, Outdoors, Travel . Here's what the consumer needs to know:BUILD QUALITY AND USER EXPERIENCE: if you've ever owned an Anker product, this won't surprise you - build quality and user experience are both exceptional - bluetooth connected to my pixel 2 as soon as I turned it on, and has ever since (no issues); the fabric is the same quality you'd find on any of the other popular speakers right now (amazon's or google's); the light on the base is cool without being tacky (I was a little worried about this), and it can be turned off if you like - primary color settings are: oranges/yellows (chill), greens/blues (spring), and mixed (party) - using the soundcore flare app allows you to sync the light to the music (which is pretty cool - more on the app later). The Flare isn't quite as durable (I'm guessing) as the Soundcore 2 - if I was focused strictly on durability (not necessarily 'build quality') and portability, not as much on volume and sound quality, the Soundcore 2 would be a better option (and that's not to knock the Soundcore 2's volume or clarity, it's just not where the Flare's is - more on that later).PORTABILITY and BATTERY: I've attached pics to highlight how portable this is (imagine a slightly tall/fat soda can), this is slightly less portable than the Anker Soundcore 2, and obviously far more portable than the Sonos One (not portable). For this speaker's size, it's pretty darn impressive - easily something you could carry around with you in a messenger bag or backpack if you were doing a day-trip somewhere, or wanted a great speaker to take on vacation with you (granted, much bigger than earbuds, but it does fill a room with sound). I haven't stretched the battery yet, but this is an area that Anker has always excelled in (I'm assuming that having the light on, and bass-boost on will impact it, but I'm sure it'll still be as good - or better than - as advertised) I do not anticipate that this will get the kind of battery life the Soundcore 2 gets, due to the elements already mentioned which the Soundcore 2 doesn't have to manage.VOLUME: very impressive for its size - I tested it in a room that is about 375 square feet, with vaulted ceilings, and it got LOUD when I turned it up - at 50% volume it was solid from a volume standpoint for that same room. The Bass-Boost button DOES make a difference in the bass put out by this thing, and the bass is pretty impressive for a speaker this size. Testing the Soundcore 2 in the same room as this device (the flare), you can notice a difference in both the volume and the base, which isn't enormous but it is significant enough to be noticeable (this was playing them at 50% volume, and became more noticeable at full volume). Again, this isn't a knock on the Soundcore 2, which also filled the room easily and got LOUD when at full volume - the Flare was just noticeably louder. Anker said it was bringing a new Bass technology to these speakers, and they clearly delivered (that's where the biggest difference between this and the Soundcore 2 can be heard). If I'm being fair, the volume and the bass on this is a ways off of the SONOS one - but again, you have to keep in mind that this is a portable bluetooth speaker with long battery-life and a much smaller footprint than the SONOS one (and at less than half the price of the older model, and about 1/4 the price of the newest SONOS one). At 100% volume, there is almost no distortion out of this speaker (even when it's managing multiple components of a track simultaneously...bass, acoustics, and vocals) - at 90% there's no distortion. This is more than loud enough for most contexts in which I'd imagine people using it - you could probably use it to facilitate a tiny dance party if you really wanted (and if you paired it with a second one - which you can do - it'd serve that purpose well). If you were having a gathering of 20 people in a 400 square foot room with vaulted ceilings, this would more than serve admirably as the music outlet.SOUND QUALITY/360 EFFECT: really great for a portable speaker - not as good as the SONOS one, but not miles off either. I wouldn't call myself an audiophile, but I do like listening to music and I do like it when it sounds nice - this speaker sounds nice. The sound quality is slightly better than the Soundcore 2's (the bass is the most pronounced upgrade from the Soundcore 2), and the sound quality is noticeably better at higher volumes (again, not a knock against the Soundcore 2, which also has decent sound quality). I would have no problem with having this is my primary speaker for my home, from a sound quality and volume standpoint. THE 360 EFFECT: this does project music in all directions - I walked around it constantly, attempting to ID a 'blind-spot' from a projection standpoint, and couldn't find one - this makes it uniquely useful for certain purposes, and is a positive differentiator from the SONOS one and the Soundcore 2. If you want a speaker system for your patio, but don't want to invest in a ton of wiring, two of these would fill the largest patio/deck with quality music (they're also IPX7 water resistant - I never test that stuff, but I trust Anker not to market it if it's not legit).APP: clean, minimalist, not too elaborate in what it can an can't do (I can see them building this out with time, but for now it's pretty straightforward/bare bones). You can control the base's light from the app (which I found myself more amused by than I thought I would be); You can pair an additional Soundcore Flare (which I didn't have to do, but trust Anker to make as easy as everything else they do); you can adjust the volume; and you can use their wave equalizer to turn the Bass-Up feature on or off, and select different listening settings (Default, Voice, Flat, and Chill). Overall, the app is limited, simple, still useful, and very user-friendly...I can see them building this out as they grow Soundcore as a product line.SPEAKERPHONE: I didn't test this extensively, when I made a call with it everything went fine - not a great tool for speaker phone use but not worse than most bluetooth speakers. I wouldn't get this for it's speakerphone functionality (or any other bluetooth speaker - smartphones are usually just as capable speakerphones on their own). NOTE: this can become a smart-speaker if you pair it with an echo dot or google's home (I think) - I don't like the idea of smart-speakers in my home, but it should be acknowledged that this has that functionality when paired with the appropriate hardware.CONCLUSION: overall, this is an awesome bluetooth speaker. The volume, bass, and sound quality is superior to the Soundcore 2 (which is already great); this isn't quite as portable as the Soundcore 2, or quite as durable (but it's close), and I don't expect the battery life to be quite as strong. If portability, durability, and battery life are most important to you - saving $20.00 by going with the Soundcore 2 is probably your best bet (again - it is still a really great speaker); if volume, bass, aesthetics (the flare is prettier), and sound quality are most important - this does offer a noticeable upgrade to the Soundcore 2 in all those areas. When compared to the SONOS one, this is truly a different product with a noticeable gap between it and the SONOS when it comes to volume, bass, and sound clarity/quality...but for a fraction of the price, I'd take a hard look at this if you think it'll meet your specific needs (its 360 degree music dispersal, and portability are particularly useful features that the SONOS one doesn't have). I also like that this speaker doesn't 'require' an app to use it (whereas the SONOS does) - the app for the flare is nice, but I could still have a friend connect to it and stream their music without having to have them download the SONOS app to do it. The SONOS one was a gift to me (and I do love it)...if I were spending my own $ on a speaker to listen to music on, 9 times out of 10 the Flare would likely be the one I'd go with (save $100 or more - spend that on a second Flare and still save approx $50.00). The 1/10 scenario in which I'd go with the SONOS: if I was getting it as a dedicated home stereo speaker/system, that was never going to leave wherever I placed it in my home...even then, I don't know how two of these Flares (paired to stereo mode) might compare to one SONOS one serving the same function. All-new Sonos One - Smart Speaker with Alexa voice control built-In. Compact size with incredible sound for any room. (black)Anker Soundcore 2 Portable Bluetooth Speaker with Superior Stereo Sound, Exclusive BassUp, 12-Watts, IPX5 Water-Resistant, 24-Hour Playtime, Perfect Wireless Speaker for Home, Outdoors, Travel