Expert’s Rating
Pros
- Excellent audio
- Durable, eco-friendly design
- Good battery life
Cons
- Aged Micro-USB charging
- Can’t pair with the (identical) Wonderboom 2
Our Verdict
Little has changed in the Wonderboom 3, but you get great audio, long battery life, and a durable design – what’s not to love? Well, the Micro-USB port for one, but otherwise this remains a great buy.
Ultimate Ears’ Wonderboom 2 was a wonderful bit of kit, so you can’t blame the company too much for making minimal changes to the third generation.
The portable powerhouse looks the same, sounds the same, and even uses the same old micro-USB port. In fact all that’s new is an extra hour of battery life, slightly better Bluetooth range, and the use of more environmentally friendly materials.
That makes the Wonderboom 3 a little harder to get excited about, especially for anyone who owns the last model. But it can’t change the fact that this is once again an excellent option for a compact, portable, waterproof Bluetooth speaker that can take a kicking and keep on ticking.
Design & build
- Chunky, colourful design
- Waterproof – and even floats
- Eco-friendly materials
The Wonderboom 3 looks identical to the Wonderboom 2. Really, identical – it hasn’t changed in the slightest, except for a slight refresh to the range of bright, punchy colours it comes in.
Dominic Preston / Foundry
That’s not really a complaint though – Ultimate Ears nailed it the first time around, and this rotund little speaker is just as charming as ever. It’s compact enough to throw in a backpack without a second’s thought, light enough to lug around all day, and feels sturdy enough to survive the experience.
The really brave can throw this into a bath or swimming pool.
It’s friendly to use too, with only a few simple buttons on the top for Bluetooth, power, and playback, and two enormous volume buttons on the side that you really can’t miss, meaning anyone at a party can grab it and figure out what to do.
It’s as tough as before too, with an IP67 dust and water-resistance rating that means it can survive splashes and short dips. It’s even designed to float, which means the really brave can throw this into a bath or swimming pool, though I’ll admit I haven’t quite dared.
Dominic Preston / Foundry
The only real change this year is that Ultimate Ears has tweaked the materials under the surface. It now uses a minimum of 31% post-consumer recycled plastic and is wrapped in a sustainable fabric made from 100% recycled polyester. Even the packaging is FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) certified.
Sound quality & features
- Powerful, well-rounded sound
- Optional ‘Outdoor Mode’
- Stereo pairing with another Wonderboom 3 (but not 2)
If the Wonderboom 3 looks similar to the 2, it’s sounds even more alike. Put simply, Ultimate Ears hasn’t changed this speaker’s sonics at all.
Again though, it can get away with that because it pretty much nailed things last time around. The Wonderboom 3 delivers bright, well-rounded sound that’s tuned to suit most genres. There’s enough bass to add depth and warmth without overpowering, rounded mids, and slightly thin high-end – but it does enough to get the job done.
Dominic Preston / Foundry
Outdoor Mode also returns, activated with a single push of a small button that’s for some reason hidden on the speaker’s underside, with a tree icon to mark it out. This pulls back on the bass and ups the treble, helping the sound to carry further in expansive outdoor spaces, and giving you a welcome second sonic option.
Audio is only handled by Bluetooth, now improved with a range of up to 40m, and pairing is quick and simple. When we reviewed the Wonderboom 2 we lamented the lack of any physical wired option to connect, and while that’s still missing it doesn’t feel like such a problem any more – you were going to use Bluetooth anyway, right?
You also have the option of picking up a second Wonderboom 3 and connecting the two to double the volume or create a stereo pair. The big annoyance here is that despite the identical audio you can’t pair this with one of the older models, a needless frustration for existing owners that’s bound to cause confusion as people pick up the otherwise identical speakers and wonder why they won’t work together.
Battery & charging
- Up to 14 hours’ battery
- Micro-USB charging
The good news first: Ultimate Ears has added an extra hour onto the Wonderboom’s already impressive battery life, so it’ll now do 14 hours on a charge.
That means it’ll comfortably last all night at a party, and can run for a few days of occasional use on the trot while travelling. There’s no immediate visual way to identify the current battery level though, so you’ll want to top it up every now and then if you’re not sure how much is left in the tank.
Dominic Preston / Foundry
Now the bad news: it charges via Micro-USB, not the more modern USB-C. That’s another hangover from the Wonderboom 2, but one that at this point is absolutely unwelcome.
This is simply an unnecessary inconvenience.
None of the other tech I use day-to-day charges by Micro-USB any more, so bringing this on holiday now means an extra cable I wouldn’t have to worry about otherwise. Unless you’re using a seriously dated Android device there’s no way your phone uses the same port. This is simply an unnecessary inconvenience.
Price & availability
The Wonderboom 3 will set you back $99.99/£89.99, which is just under the line of what we consider a budget Bluetooth speaker. There are more affordable ones out there, but as always you get what you pay for.
You can pick it up from Amazon of course, along with the usual retailers like Best Buy and Walmart in the US, or Currys and John Lewis in the UK.
Dominic Preston / Foundry
Check out our full ranking of the best cheap Bluetooth speakers we’ve reviewed for more options, including affordable options like the JBL Clip 4 and EarFun Uboom.
Verdict
The Wonderboom 3 is an excellent portable Bluetooth speaker, but don’t let the name tempt you into an upgrade from an older model – this is a Wonderboom 2 in almost all but name.
The move to eco-friendly materials is welcome of course, as is the extra hour of battery, but the decision to stick with Micro-USB is the closest this has to a serious flaw, giving away how dated the design really is.
Existing Wonderboom owners will be frustrated by the news that despite using the same sonics this can’t be paired with older models, but the rest of us can enjoy a banging little Bluetooth speaker.
Specs
- 2x 40mm active drivers
- 2x 46.1 x 65.2mm passive radiators
- Frequency range: 75 Hz – 20 kHz
- Outdoor boost
- Optional stereo pair (with second speaker)
- 40m Bluetooth range
- Micro-USB
- 14-hour battery life
- 95.3x104mm
- 420g
- IP67 dust and waterproof