Finding a good speaker at a good price isn't super hard these days. There are a lot of well priced options on the market now but it still feels very accomplishing to find one that I really can recommend. This is the Anker Soundcore Flare Mini, which just might be my best recommendation for a portable speaker.
Before I get started I will say that the Flare Mini I used was provided to me by Anker for my options on it, but all options here are my own and are not influenced by how I received the product.
In the box you receive the speaker and a short Micro USB cable. The length is ok because you'll mostly be using this speaker with it built in battery which should give you 12 hours of playtime, but I do wish the speaker could have taken advantage of the new USB C and it's faster charging abilities.
The lack of USB C definitely does not effect the speaker's quality though. This speaker definitely delivers in terms of sound quality. The speaker has 360 sound, so no matter where you are around it you should hear the sound crisply and clearly! The sound quality to me seems great! It is nice and punchy and it definitely gets an approval from me on sound. You can even pair multiple Mini Flare units in order to achieve a stereo sound set up!
The construction of the Mini Flare features a fabric covering around the speaker sides with a rubber top that contains 6 buttons to control functions on the speaker. On the bottom we see a plastic ring which houses the RGB lights as well a rubber bottom to keep the speaker from sliding across a smooth surface. The build quality of the speaker seems to me that it will hold to the test of time. I certainly would not worry about everyday use affecting this speaker.
The addition of the RGB lighting on the bottom gives the speaker a nice overall look. It fits in on your desktop during the day or a table top at a party. These RGB lights can move to the beat of the audio playing though the speakers which is a nice touch for the speaker. They can also be turned off if you don't want the RGB look all the time. But who doesn't right!
So overall I do like the speaker. There are not many things I do not like about it but the waterproof claim does have me a bid mad. Now I have seen this a lot recently and it really annoys me…. This would be the words waterproof next to an iP rating. In this case an iPX7 rating. This is not waterproof, this is water resistant. Like I say about phones with iP67 and 68 ratings, this should never be purposely placed in water. The occasional light rain or accidental spill should be fine but throwing it in your pool could mean having to buy another speaker. I also did not notice any type of warranty that would cover water damage on the box or in the instruction manual.
The claim on the box doesn't ruin how good this speaker is but I feel it might mislead people to use this speaker in situations in which they probably should not be. I would still give this speaker a high recommendation though because its physical quality and sound quality is definitely of high standard and its bottom RGB lights add a nice touch. Also at the price of $49 you can not go wrong with this speaker. I just wish Anker would not use misleading words like waterproof.
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I want to start off with why this is a written article on my Unfiltered Tech site and not a video on my Youtube channel. It includes and list of events including issues with Final Cut, air conditioner break downs and broken hard drives. It really sucks and hopefully I can get back to videos real soon! But until then I don't want to keep all my wonderful viewers or the great companies who have sent me some products to check out waiting. So here I am despite having a list of recorded videos. All the articles written here will get their own detected videos very soon so keep watch!