Why You Can Trust CNET Best 2022 Holiday Bluetooth Speaker Deals
We've rounded up some of the best bargains on top-rated portable Bluetooth speakers for this holiday shopping season.
- Maggie Award for Best Regularly Featured Web Column/Consumer
Looking for a deal on a portable Bluetooth speaker? While Black Friday and Cyber Monday have come and gone, there are still quite a few great deals on wireless Bluetooth speakers you can take advantage of. You'll find discounts on speakers of all shapes and sizes, and, thanks to their rechargeable batteries, they've become as indispensable as wireless headphones or earbuds -- and they make great gifts. So grab one while their prices are low.
Best Bluetooth speaker holiday deals
Like
- Plays loud and delivers very good sound for its size
- Strong battery life (up to 20 hours)
- Charges via USB-C, can charge other devices via USB-A
- IP67 waterproof and dust-resistant
Don't like
- More expensive than its predecessor
Anker's original Soundcore Motion Boom speaker (see below) is still a good value at $75. But the new-for-2022 Motion Boom Plus is significantly improved, particularly in terms of sound quality. It's easily one of the best new Bluetooth speakers of 2022.
Weighing 5.29 pounds -- almost a pound more than the Motion Boom -- it's equipped with upgraded dual 3.5-inch woofers and newly added dual 1-inch tweeters, delivering up to 80 watts of audio output (60 for the woofers and 20 for the tweeters). Battery life is rated for 20 hours at moderate volume levels. It's also IP67 water- and dust-proof, and floats if you drop it in water. It uses Bluetooth 5.3.
I was impressed with the sound quality, which measures up well against a few more expensive -- and some larger -- speakers on this list. You can tweak the sound profile (with EQ settings) and upgrade the speaker's firmware in Anker's Soundcore companion app for iOS and Android. I tended to go with the bass boost engaged -- there's a button on the speaker to activate it -- and found that the speaker delivers full sound with good clarity in the mids and highs and good bass definition. For its size, the speaker is able to put out a lot of sound and mostly manages to avoid distorting at higher volumes. (I tended to keep the volume in the 50%-to-75% range.)
If you're sitting within a few feet of the speaker, there's a bit of stereo separation. But if you really want to up the sound quality, you can wirelessly pair two Soundcore Motion Boom Plus speakers to create a real stereo pair. Be sure to apply the $50 instant coupon on Amazon to get the $130 price.
If you don't want to spend the extra dough on the newer Soundcore Motion Boom Plus (see above), the original Soundcore Motion Boom remains a good option for less money. It's a little lighter than the Motion Boom Plus and its sound isn't as detailed or the speaker doesn't play as loud, but for its price, it delivers very good sound, particularly compared to more compact speakers like the JBL Charge 5 that cost more.
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- Impressive sound for its compact size
- Prop it up horizontally, lay it down flat or hang it vertically by its integrated loop
- Fully waterproof and dust-proof (and also floats)
- Speakerphone
Don't like
- No audio input
- Silicone finish on back attracts some dust and lint
When the SoundLink Flex speaker launched, Bose made some bold claims about its new Bluetooth speaker, particularly its bass performance. But it mostly lives up to the hype and is arguably the best-sounding wireless speaker for its compact size.
Available in three colors -- black, white smoke and stone blue (pictured) -- it's equipped with Bose's PositionIQ technology to automatically detect the speaker's orientation and deliver optimized sound based on whether it's upright, hanging or flat on its back.
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- Very compact
- Decent sound for its tiny size
- Fully waterproof and dust-proof with an IP67 rating
- Attractive design
Don't like
- Can only deliver so much bass and volume
The JBL Go 3's durable design, coupled with surprisingly decent sound for its tiny size, make it one of the top micro Bluetooth speakers out there.
Available in multiple color options, it has an IP67 water-resistance rating, meaning it can be dunked in water and is dust-proof. Battery life is rated at up to five hours.
For its first three generations, JBL's Clip micro Bluetooth speaker had a circular design. But for the fourth-gen Clip 4, JBL has moved to a more oval shape, bulked up the speaker slightly and added USB-C charging. It does seem more durable, with a sturdier integrated carabiner "clip." Also, it sounds a little better, with more volume, clearer sound and more bass. With an IP67 water-resistance rating, it's fully waterproof, and it's dust-proof, too. It's one of the best wireless Bluetooth speakers for its tiny speaker size.
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- Well-priced
- Big sound
- Built-in light show
- Very god battery life
- Fully waterproof
Don't like
- A little generic looking
Tribit is known for its affordable smaller Bluetooth speakers that deliver very good sound quality and features for the price. Its new Stormbox Blast speaker is its first Bluetooth boombox speaker, and it delivers mostly impressive sound for its size and also has a built-in light show and USB-out charging.
Weighing in at 12 pounds (5.45 kg) with two 30-watt midwoofers and two 15-watt tweeters, it's basically twice as heavy as Anker's Motion Boom Plus (see above) and pumps out more volume and bass compared to that speaker, but lacks a bit of clarity. Also, the midrange -- where vocals live -- is a bit recessed at its XBass default setting. I preferred the Music EQ setting in the companion app, which is a bit more balanced. The speaker's firmware is upgradeable, and you can pair two Stormbox Blasts to create a stereo pair, which would improve the sound considerably.
Battery life is very good. It's rated at up to 30 hours at moderate volume levels. And the speaker has an IPX7 rating, which means it's fully waterproof. Again, like the Soundcore by Anker Motion Boom Plus, the Tribit Stormbox Blast is a good value that measures up well from a sound standpoint against more expensive JBL boombox speakers that arguably offer superior styling. While the list price is $260, the speaker normally sells for $180 to $200. But $152 is the lowest price we've seen to date -- just be sure to activate the instant coupon on the product page to get the full discount.
While Anker's Soundcore Motion Plus came out in 2019 it remains one of best-sounding speakers for around $100. It's larger than many mini Bluetooth speakers, but it's still compact. It manages to sound quite a bit fuller than much of the competition in its price range, with bigger bass, more volume and better clarity. It's also fully waterproof (IPX7-rated) and has support for the aptX streaming codec for devices like Samsung's Galaxy phones that support it.
Tribit now makes an upgraded version of 2020's StormBox Micro called the StormBox Micro 2 that offers improved sound with more bass and overall volume. But the original is still a good mini Bluetooth speaker and is on sale for a good price -- just be sure to activate the instant coupon on the product page to get the full discount.
Like
- One of the best-sounding speaker for its size
- Good design
- Listen to it horizontally or vertically
- IP67 waterproof and dustproof
Don't like
- A liittle overpriced
With each new version of the Flip, JBL makes small improvements, and while the latest model, the Flip 6, doesn't look much different from the Flip 5 on the outside, it does feature improved sound. It has two-way drivers with a woofer and tweeter and dual passive radiators that help the Flip 6 deliver much deeper bass than you think it could.
It's fully waterproof and dust-proof with an IPX67 rating. Like the Flip 5, it's rated for up to 12 hours of audio playback at moderate volume levels and charges via USB-C. Available in multiple color options, it's one of the best-sounding speakers for its compact size.