Review: Ultimate Ears Boom 4

Ultimate Ears has been steadily expanding its Bluetooth speaker lineup over the past few years, but the fixtures that have kept the brand in business—the popular Boom and Megaboom speakers—have remained virtually unchanged.

Now in its fourth iteration, the Boom 4 finally gets a USB-C charging port along with a few other tweaks, including updated drivers. The speaker could still use a bit more bass, but Ultimate Ears will happily point to the larger (and pricier) Megaboom for anyone wanting some extra bump.

In most respects, this is the same Boom speaker UE fans know and love, and that’s mostly a good thing. Offering refined portable sound and easy usability in a near-indestructible package, the Boom 4 is one of the best Bluetooth speakers of its kind.

Big Ole Buttons

The Boom 4 wouldn’t be an Ultimate Ears speaker without gigantic volume buttons—that’s kind of the brand's thing. It’s an iconic look that makes controlling the speaker easy, not just for you but for anyone who might wander by your picnic table. Up top you’ll find the rest of the controls, including a centralized multifunction button for options like play/pause and song skipping, a Bluetooth pairing button, and the power key.

The Boom’s biggest asset may be its build quality. The 7-inch-tall frame is layered in an ultra-tough fabric that makes it quite possibly the most durable speaker of its kind. Like most competitors, the Boom 4 is sealed to resist dust and water; its IP67 weatherproof rating means it can easily shrug off a dunk in the pool or a roll in the sand. It’s drop tested at up to 1.5 meters, and I can tell you from experience that dropping it off a short ledge, down a small flight of stairs, or off your bike onto the pavement may scuff it but likely won’t stop the fun.

Photograph: Ryan Waniata

Neither will walking away from the speaker with your phone, a classic party foul in the Bluetooth era. With its up to 150 feet in line-of-sight range and plenty of distance even with obstructions like walls or windows, you’ll have to wander pretty far to cause annoying hiccups.

The UE app adds more options, including a multiband EQ, the ability to pair the speaker with up to 150 other Ultimate Ears speakers (if you’re running some sort of outdoor rave), and an Alarm that lets you wake up to the last song played. There's also a new megaphone feature that lets you speak through the speaker from your phone, which could come in handy for calling the kids in for dinner a la intercoms from the ’80s.

My favorite feature has to be the ability to wake the speaker from standby mode without the need to get up from your lawn chair as you sip a cool drink. It’s the kind of convenience usually reserved for Wi-Fi speakers of the Sonos variety, without the need for a nearby network. One caveat is that keeping this feature on drains the battery more quickly with the speaker at rest, so you’ll want to save it for times when you’re using the speaker regularly.

As for the battery life, UE claims a whopping 15 hours per charge, though I think that’s ambitious. I’ve never got more than around 12 hours in testing, but your experience will vary depending on where you keep the volume.

Midrange Bliss

You’ve got to adjust sound expectations for any speaker as packable as the Boom 4, but within those constraints, the speaker provides a remarkably pleasant audio experience. Its dual drivers are designed for 360-degree sound, meaning you’ll get a good experience no matter which way the speaker faces, including whether it’s rolled onto the ground or set on its end caps.

The basic sound signature dives surprisingly deep into instrumental textures, especially talented from the midrange up. There’s a warm and pulpy punch to instruments like snares and percussion, solid presence in vocals and acoustic instruments, and some sweet clarity rising into the treble, especially noticeable with foundational synths and effects.

Photograph: Ryan Waniata

I like to watch TV on my laptop from our little Costco hot tub on a crisp fall evening, and decent sound makes all the difference. The Boom 4 is a great companion for such adventures. I often found myself zeroing in on little nuances like the rasp of Martin Short’s voice in Only Murders in the Building, which really brought the character to life.

The Boom 4’s main downside is a relative lack of oomph in the lower bass when compared to rivals like the JBL Flip. The Flip’s exposed passive radiators at each end drill down deeper and with more authority in the lower bass, which adds some extra gravitas that works particularly well outdoors. On the flip side (pun intended), JBL’s speaker has more shout and less finesse in the upper mids, sounding more aggressive overall. If the Flip is a rocker, the Boom 4 is more of a jazz cat.

Either speaker outperforms the Tribit Stormbox 2 (9/10, WIRED Recommends), especially if you punch up the volume; the cheaper speaker resorts to distortion more readily and often. That’s to be expected for something that costs as little as half the price. At $150, the Boom 4 is a little pricey for what you get if you don't always blast the speaker. Many may be fine with the cheaper Flip or ultra-affordable Stormbox 2.

Otherwise, it’s hard to go wrong with the Boom 4. It’s a killer choice in multiple scenarios, with expansive sound that provides more touch and fidelity than the vast majority of cylindrical copycats, especially from no-name brands. If you’re after a life-proof sonic companion to accompany you everywhere from the backyard to the great outdoors, the stalwart UE Boom speaker remains a top choice.