Whether you’re hanging out by the pool or just looking to take a long shower while listening to your favorite tunes, a waterproof Bluetooth speaker can remove a lot of the stress involved with jamming out near a body of water. For a truly pool-friendly Bluetooth speaker, you’ll want to look for IPX5 for solid resistance and at least IPX7 if you’re worried about submersion at all.
JBL Clip 3
This little speaker from JBL is part of their long-running Clip line of speakers, which burst onto the Bluetooth speaker scene some years ago. It features a full IPX7 waterproof rating, meaning it's protected against full submersion in up to three feet of water for up to 30 minutes. So short of fully dropping it into the deep end of the pool and forgetting about it, you'll likely not damage it with water. The built-in carabiner is full metal, and it's fitted with small grooves on the inside to keep it from swinging too wildly. It charges via Micro USB and boasts a 10-hour runtime. It can also function as a speakerphone in case you're interrupted while jamming out and features noise and echo cancellation.
Bose SoundLink Flex
Bose has long held a reputation as the premier prosumer brand that sits between the luxury-priced higher-end speakers and the low-end dregs clogging up your Amazon search results. The SoundLink Flex is positioned by Bose and their marketing as a constant travel companion, and a robust IP67 rating backs up that claim. Once charged via its USB Type-C port, it should run for around 12 hours, and it uses Bose’s usual mixture of high-end engineering and black magic to pack a ton of sound into a small amount of space. The only downside here is the rather flimsy nylon loop, which works as a finger loop but likely isn’t trustworthy clipped to a backpack.
JBL Flip 4
If you’ve been around Bluetooth speakers before then, you’ve likely either seen the JBL Flip or one of the many, many similar-looking speakers that all sport the same tower design. It’s fitted with a 12-hour battery (charged via Micro USB), an IPX7 waterproof rating, and passive radiators on the sides for extra bass. It’s a solid sounding speaker that will easily fill a room (or a poolside) without breaking a sweat.
Anker Soundcore Wireless
Anker has built a great reputation as a budget cable and charger company over the years, and their Soundcore speaker lineup follows suit. The Soundcore Wireless features a 24-hour battery, Bluetooth 5.0, and built-in bass boost. It has clearly labeled top-mounted controls, a rare sight in the Bluetooth speaker world, and an IPX5 waterproof rating. That IPX5 rating means that it’s protected from waters jets but not total submersion, so it’s more suited to being a shower companion than a lake party machine. But at around $30, it’s a solid speaker with a good feature set for not a lot of money.
Anker Soundcore Motion Boom
Anker doesn’t just make budget devices these days as their Soundcore Motion Boom speaker shows. This is a larger boombox style speaker with a full IPX7 waterproof rating, a 24-hour battery, and Bluetooth 5.0. It also has a customizable EQ within the Soundcore app, so you can tune it to the exact profile you want if you’re not the type to go in for those bass heavy factory presets. It’s also ready to rumble on land or in up to three feet of water with its titanium diaphragms and ability to float. If you want a room-filling Bluetooth speaker with all the bells and whistles but without the eye-popping price tag, then it’s a great option whether you’re poolside or not.
Bluetooth speakers have evolved over the years from fragile, expensive devices that would easily lose connection with your phone to robust party machines ready for your next trip to the water park.
For more hardware guides check out Best AV to HDMI Adapters and Best Bluetooth Mouse for Gaming on Pro Game Guides.
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Justin is a retro and PC gaming enthusiast with a passion for emulation, benchmarks, and comparing controllers. You can usually find him installing Linux for the umpteenth time or exploring old DOS games.