Ultimate Ears Wonderboom Freestyle review: This tiny speaker packs a punch | HT Tech

Ultimate Ears Wonderboom Freestyle review: This tiny speaker packs a punch

Ultimate Ears’ Wonderboom Freestyle may look small but it’s really loud. Here’s our review on this Bluetooth speaker.

By: MARCIA SEKHOSE
| Updated on: May 14 2021, 06:55 IST
Ultimate Ears Wonderboom Freestyle Bluetooth speaker is available in India for  <span class='webrupee'>₹</span>7,995
Ultimate Ears Wonderboom Freestyle Bluetooth speaker is available in India for 7,995 (HT Photo)
Ultimate Ears Wonderboom Freestyle Bluetooth speaker is available in India for  <span class='webrupee'>₹</span>7,995
Ultimate Ears Wonderboom Freestyle Bluetooth speaker is available in India for 7,995 (HT Photo)

Brand: Ultimate Ears

Product: Ultimate Ears Wonderboom Freestyle

Price: 7,995

Rating: 4/5

Ultimate Ears has a small collection of portable Bluetooth speakers in India including the 'Boom 2', 'Megaboom' and ' Wonderboom'. The company recently launched a new 'Freestyle' collection of its Wonderboom speakers in India.

Priced at 7,995, the new Wonderboom series comes in five different designs of 'Concrete', 'Avocado', 'Patches', 'Raspberry' and 'Unicorn'.

Design
UE Wonderboom Freestyle is one of the best looking speakers for its price range. Its cylindrical-shaped body is wrapped with mesh design wrapped all around it. There's a small strap on top of the speaker. Considering its size the UE Wonderboom speaker is slightly heavy weighing 425g.

Another striking thing about its design is the simplicity in buttons and controls on the speaker. Even the 'Ultimate Ears' logo on top doubles as a play/pause and skip button. The volume controls will be hard to miss with the big plus and minus buttons entirely taking up one side of the speaker. The micro USB port is placed at the bottom with a flap. Something missing here is the 3.5mm headphone jack.

On top, you have the power button which makes very cute Skype-like sounds when switching it on and off. The Bluetooth switch is this small dot placed above the UE logo. Speaking of which, connecting to devices was pretty smooth. You need to long press the Bluetooth button to connect it to compatible devices. UE Wonderboom Freestyle can connect with up to eight Bluetooth devices.

In terms of connectivity, you can move around the house with your phone in hand without worrying about the music playback. Ultimate Ears says the Wonderboom can accommodate Bluetooth range up to 100 feet.

Performance
Performance wise, this tiny Bluetooth speaker is one powerful device. The sound output is surprisingly really good considering its size. Thanks to its 360-degree speaker with two 40mm active drivers and two passive radiators, the Wonderboom is one loud Bluetooth speaker. We played songs ranging across different genres and the audio quality was impressive. The bass on the Wonderboom is also quite balanced.

One problem we faced with the speakers was the glitches in between songs. We used different platforms like YouTube, Apple Music, and Amazon Music to play music. There were a times when the music playback was interrupted with crackling sounds. While this occurred only sometimes, it could prove to be annoying for some users.

Wonderboom Freestyle comes with a 360-degree speaker with two 40mm active drivers
Wonderboom Freestyle comes with a 360-degree speaker with two 40mm active drivers (HT Photo)
image caption
Wonderboom Freestyle comes with a 360-degree speaker with two 40mm active drivers (HT Photo)

UE Wonderboom Freestyle is water and dust resistant with IP67 resistance. This means that you can immerse the Wonderboom in up 1m of water for up to 30 minutes. While we didn't dip it in a pool, we did test its water resistance. The UE Wonderboom can be safely used by the pool side with constant splashes not affecting the music playback. It's also quite easy to wipe the speaker clean.

Battery life on the UE Wonderboom Freestyle is pretty good. Charging the device for around half an hour can last you up to three hours. The company says that the Wonderboom can last for 10 hours straight on a full charge. ALSO READ: Nokia 3.1 Plus Review

Verdict
UE Wonderboom Freestyle has impressed in many ways for a Bluetooth speaker. Its design, user interface and sound output are top notch. Other than the few hiccups we faced during music playback, the Wonderboom is almost perfect. Even its competing SoundLink Micro speaker from Bose doesn't offer such sound levels as the Wonderboom does. The UE Wonderboom Freestyle is definitely worth considering for a Bluetooth speaker under 10,000.  

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First Published Date: 21 Oct, 12:03 IST
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