Our top 5 favorite outdoor Bluetooth speakers to elevate any summer party (2024)

Summer is upon us, and with summer comes all those outdoor hangouts. Music makes any outdoor gathering better, so you want to use a portable speaker that can project sound far enough and sound good enough while being durable. Thankfully, lots of Bluetooth speakers fit the bill for this, ranging from more affordable ones to premium ones.

Whatever your price range, there's a speaker there to take with you all summer to the beach, the park, the pool, or wherever else you want to take it. Read on to see some of the best Bluetooth speakers for your summer hangouts and to see which fits your needs the best.

Best outdoor Bluetooth speaker overall

Ultimate Ears Wonderboom 3

Durable and loud enough to take anywhere

An ideal combination of size, style, sound and waterproof design makes this speaker very hard to beat.

Pros

• IP67 dust- and water-resistant
• Great sound
• Stereo pairing

Cons

• MicroUSB charging

$100 at Amazon$100 at ultimate ears

As far as Bluetooth speakers go, the UE Wonderboom 3 makes for an incredible outdoor companion. This speaker has a long 14-hour battery life, so it'll last the whole day outside with you and your friends, and it's durable with IP67 water- and dust-resistance.

The UE Wonderboom 3 can get really loud, with great sounding bass too, making it great for the outdoors, since sound disperses outdoors a lot differently than indoors. You need that extra little bit of bass to make music sound better outdoors, and this speaker has certainly got that. You can also pair the UE Wonderboom 3 with other UE speakers for stereo pairing, increasing your listening options.

Best ultra-portable Bluetooth speaker for outdoors

JBL Go 3

An ultra-portable powerhouse

The JBL Go 6 is JBL's most portable and most affordable option.

Pros

• Very portable
• Gets very loud
• IP67 dust- and water-resistant

Cons

• Shorter battery life than the others

$50 at Amazon$40 at Best Buy

The JBL Go 3 is a really solid Bluetooth speaker to carry around, especially with the handy carrying strap on the side. It's IP67, making it fully dust-tight and able to withstand full immersion in water one metre deep for up to 30 minutes. So if you're looking for an ultra-durable speaker, the JBL Go 3 is a winner.

The speaker gets really loud, especially for how compact it is, making it perfect for outdoor summer hangouts. Sound has a lot more room to travel outdoors, so you want something that can really project.

The JBL Go 3 is also equipped with a really great battery life. JBL claims 5 hours, but in my experience, it far exceeds that, lasting closer to 10 hours. This speaker will easily take you through a day outside with friends, and it charges really fast via USB-C if you need a top-up.

Best budget Bluetooth speaker for outdoors

Anker Soundcore Bluetooth Speaker

Save some money with Soundcore

The Anker Soundcore Bluetooth speaker is a great affordable option for anyone looking for a speaker to take outdoors. It has a very long 24-hour battery life, so you can use it all you want without worrying about the battery dying.

Pros

• Affordable
• IPX5 water-resistance
• Lightweight

Cons

• No dust resistance
• Plain looking

$30 at Amazon

If you're looking for a very affordable and compact speaker to take with you for an outing, the Anker Soundcore Bluetooth speaker is a reliable choice. It has a long 24-hour battery life, so you can take it out multiple times before you even have to charge it. And while it's a Bluetooth speaker, you can also use it wired with a 3.5mm connection, if you want to save some battery life on your phone.

The Anker Soundcore Bluetooth speaker isn't quite as durable as some of the other speakers on this list, being only IPX5. This means it can withstand low pressure water streams from any angle, but it doesn't have any dust-resistance. While a little bit of dust certainly won't hurt it, this isn't a speaker I'd place directly in the sand at the beach.

This speaker is really lightweight, weighing about 380 grams, and it can easily fit inside your bag on your way to the park or the beach. The design is a bit plain, but that's a worthy sacrifice for a speaker this cheap.

Best premium outdoor Bluetooth speaker

Bose SoundLink Flex

A more premium option for your outings

This is a tremendously capable portable speaker that use Bose'sPosition Qtechnology to detect its location in a room and modulate audio output for the crispest, clearest sound. It's also durable, rated to IP67 waterproof speaker standards, so you can take it anywhere with no fear.

Pros

• Great design
• PositionIQ technology makes it sound better
• IP67

Cons

• Heavier than the others

$149 at Amazon$149 at Bose

If you're looking to spend a bit more on a speaker with better audio quality, the Bose SoundLink Flex has you covered. This speaker has PositionIQ Technology that automatically adjusts the speaker balance for whichever orientation it's in, so no matter what, you almost always have a clear sound from this speaker, whether it's sitting up, laying down, or anything else on your picnic blanket.

The SoundLink Flex is IP67, so like the first two speakers on this list, it's fully dust-proof and can be immersed in one metre of water for up to 30 minutes. It also floats, which is very useful if you accidentally kick it into a pool or the ocean.

This speaker has a 12-hour battery life, making it long-lasting enough to get you through one or two hangouts in a week without having to charge it.

Best outdoor Bluetooth speaker with easy EQ control

JBL Flip 6

An adjustable EQ

The JBL Flip 6 offers a great rugged design and a punchy, powerful performance. It's not the most feature-packed speaker you'll find, but it does pretty much everything you would want it to at this price.

Pros

• Very portable
• IP67
• Adjustable EQ

Cons

• Slightly harsh treble at higher volume

$130 at Amazon$130 at Best Buy

The JBL Flip 6 is a lot like some of the other speakers on this list -- but what really sets it apart from the others on the list is that it has adjustable EQ. With the JBL Portable app, you can adjust the EQ to get whichever custom sound you want from the speaker, so if you need a bit of a bass boost or a treble boost or anything in between, you can do that easily from your phone.

Apart from that key feature, this speaker has a lot of other great aspects. Similar to many others on this list, the JBL Flip 6 is IP67 dust- and water-resistant, so you can take it to the beach or on a hike without worrying about it breaking. It also has a long 12-hour battery life, making it great for a day or two of outdoor hangouts.

The speaker is also a great size for fitting in a bag, and it has a wrist strap so you can easily carry it around or clip it to a backpack. It also sounds really good, with passive bass radiators at either end to make sure you can hear all that wonderful bass from your music.

Bottom line: Which is the best outdoor Bluetooth speaker?

The Ultimate Ears Wonderboom 3 is my pick due to its durability, impressive sound quality, and waterproof capabilities, making it tough to beat for outdoor use.

Ultimate Ears Wonderboom 3

$76 $100 Save $24

An ideal combination of size, style, sound and waterproof design makes this speaker very hard to beat.

$76 at Amazon

How did I choose these outdoor Bluetooth speakers?

These selections were based on thorough testing and reviews by Pocket-lint, ensuring that all recommended products are tried and tested for optimal performance in various outdoor settings.

FAQ

Q: What is an outdoor Bluetooth speaker?

An outdoor Bluetooth speaker is a portable audio device designed to be used outside, providing wireless sound playback via Bluetooth connectivity. These speakers are typically built with durable features like water, dust, and impact resistance to withstand outdoor elements and activities, making them ideal for beaches, parks, poolside, and more. They often come with a long battery life to last through extended use without frequent recharging.

Q: How important is water resistance for an outdoor Bluetooth speaker?

Water resistance is crucial for outdoor Bluetooth speakers, as it ensures the speaker can handle splashes, rain, or even submersion, which are common during outdoor activities. Look for ratings like IP67 for the best protection.

Q: How long should the battery last in an outdoor Bluetooth speaker?

For outdoor use, a Bluetooth speaker should have a battery that lasts at least 10 to 12 hours on a single charge so it can provide music throughout an entire day of activities without needing a recharge.