The Anker Soundcore Select 4 Go is a small, portable speaker that can accompany you almost anywhere. While it might not fit inside every coat pocket, its handy carrying loop means it can be attached to your bag with ease. As a mono speaker on its own, you can pair it with another unit for stereo playback and tweak its sound using its companion app. That all sounds very nice on paper, but is this speaker worth picking up? Read on to find out.
Our Verdict
The Soundcore Select 4 Go is acceptable for listening to music. However, the main issue for music fans will be its lack of bass, but that's to be expected given its small size. Tiny drivers simply can't reproduce low-bass thump, so your favorite EDM tracks will sound thin. On the plus side, the mid-range is extremely well-balanced, reproducing instruments and vocals accurately and without any honk. The treble range is virtually flat, too, so drums and sibilants sound well-balanced and not piercing. Happily, its companion app has a 9-band EQ that lets you tweak the speaker's sound to your liking, and you can use the dedicated Bluetooth button to pair it with another unit for stereo playback.
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10 hours of continuous battery life.
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Companion app has a graphic EQ.
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Directivity isn't very good.
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Needs a second unit to produce stereo audio.
The Soundcore Select 4 Go is only middling for watching videos, but it's not really meant for this use. This small, portable speaker is designed to be easy to use on the go or outdoors. Its single driver isn't large enough to produce cinematic low-end thump, and it also can't reproduce stereo soundscapes unless you pair it with another unit. That said, this speaker has very well-balanced mid and treble ranges, so dialogue will be reproduced accurately. However, you might run into lip-sync issues between your audio and video.
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Companion app has a graphic EQ.
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Directivity isn't very good.
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Small size means it can't get very loud.
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Needs a second unit to produce stereo audio.
The Anker Select 4 Go is very good for podcasts. Its mid-range is very well-balanced, so voices sound natural, clear, and detailed. Its tiny size also makes it super easy to take with you from room to room, and you can even attach its built-in loop to your bag. You'll want to make sure the speaker is facing you most of the time, as its single driver only faces forward, and its tiny size means it doesn't get loud enough to fill more than an average-sized room. That said, for most podcast-listening situations, it will work well.
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Extremely portable design.
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10 hours of continuous battery life.
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Small size means it can't get very loud.
The Soundcore Select 4 Go has no microphone, so you can't directly access your voice assistant through the speaker.
The Anker Select 4 Go is good for outdoor use. It's remarkably portable and has a built-in hook, making it easy to take with you on the go or attach to your bag. Although it doesn't have an impact protection rating, it has an excellent build quality, so it should withstand the rough and tumble of a camping trip. Its IP67 rating means it can be dropped in a puddle without damage and dust won't get inside it. Unfortunately, its forward-facing mono speaker doesn't produce very immersive audio, and you need to be sitting in front of it to hear its sound properly. However, its 10-hour battery life should see you through a long park hang or evening at a campsite.
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IP67 rating for dust and water resistance.
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Extremely portable design.
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10 hours of continuous battery life.
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Directivity isn't very good.
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Small size means it can't get very loud.
- 6.2 Music
- 5.5 Videos/Movies
- 7.8 Podcasts
- 3.0 Voice Assistant
- 7.6 Outdoors
- Updated Nov 15, 2024: Review published.
- Updated Nov 12, 2024: Early access published.
- Updated Nov 07, 2024: Our testers have started testing this product.
- Updated Oct 23, 2024: The product has arrived in our lab, and our testers will start evaluating it soon.
- Updated Oct 15, 2024: We've purchased the product and are waiting for it to arrive in our lab.
Differences Between Sizes And Variants
The Anker Select 4 Go comes in six different color variants: 'Black,' 'White,' 'Blue,' 'Green,' 'Electric Purple,' and 'Red.' We expect all these to perform the same as the 'Blue' variant we tested. Here is our unit's label.
If you come across another variant, please let us know in the comments, and we'll update our review.
Compared To Other Speakers
The Anker Soundcore Select 4 Go is a portable, outdoors-friendly speaker. It's IP67 rated and comes with a built-in carrying hook, like both the JBL Go 4 and JBL Clip 5. That said, the Go 4 is a little smaller than the Anker but can't get quite as loud and doesn't have as long a battery life. By contrast, the Clip 5 is a little bigger than the Select 4 Go and puts out more high-bass warmth, but its battery also doesn't last as long as the Anker. The Sony SRS-XB100 is another small speaker that packs more of a bassy punch than the Anker, and its 360-degree design means you don't have to sit in front of it to hear your audio perfectly. Unfortunately, you can't customize its sound via a companion app like you can with the Anker.
If you're planning some outdoor adventures, check out our recommendations for the best portable Bluetooth speakers and the best waterproof Bluetooth speakers. If you just want to keep costs down, our best Bluetooth speakers under $100 article should have you covered.
The Anker Soundcore Select 4 Go is slightly larger than the JBL Go 4. If tiny is what you need, the JBL is the way to go. On the other hand, if you're looking for better sound quality in a still very portable package, the Anker is the better pick. The Anker has a longer battery life than the JBL, gets louder with less compression at high volumes, and has a more balanced treble range that renders sounds like cymbals accurately and with detail.
The JBL Clip 5 is a little bigger than the Anker Souncore Select 4 Go, so it's perhaps not surprising that it produces more bass than the Anker. What might surprise you is that the Anker gets a little louder, and also compresses less at high volumes. The Anker also lasts four hours longer than the JBL off a single charge. We think the Anker is a better speaker for most people, but if you need the extra bass or want to use Party Mode to pair more than two speakers together, the JBL is the one to pick. The JBL's giant built-in carabiner can also be clipped on to bags and lines without the need for an external clip. The Anker's loop is handy, but you'll need to clip or tie it to a bag using something else.
The Anker Soundcore Select 4 Go is a better speaker for most use cases than the Anker Soundcore Select 2S. The Select 4 Go has a more balanced mid-range and a flatter treble, so cymbals aren't dulled slightly like they are when listening via the Select 2S. The Select 4 Go is also rated against dust ingress and is more portable than the Select 2S, so it's a better choice for taking on a hike with you. On the other hand, the Select 2S has a longer battery life and can reproduce stereo audio, although since the two drivers are positioned so close together, you don't get much of a sense of width.
The Sony SRS-XB100 and the Anker Soundcore Select 4 Go are small speakers with different strengths. The Anker gets a little louder and has a more balanced sound through the mid-range, so voices don't sound too boomy. It also has multi-device pairing. On the other hand, the Sony produces more bass, which fans of EDM might enjoy, and has a 360-degree design, so you don't have to be positioned in front of the speaker to get the best sound like you do with the Anker.
Test Results
The Anker Select 4 Go is a small, highly portable speaker that can be placed either horizontally or flat on its back. The speaker comes in six colorways, with a large Soundcore logo emblazoned on the front. The logo's color matches that of the control strip and the thick built-in cord. The cord makes it easy to attach the speaker to your bag, and it's small enough to fit inside most storage compartments — although it's just a touch large for most pockets.
The Soundcore Select 4 Go is remarkably portable. It's small and lightweight, making it easy to carry with one hand or toss in a bag. However, it's too large for most pockets — unless you happen to be a fan of larger winter coats with deep pockets. Its built-in cord lets you attach it to a bag or line easily.
The Soundcore Select 4 Go has excellent build quality. It's rated IP67, meaning it can be submerged in a meter of water for up to 30 minutes and dust won't get inside it. It'll even float on water but make sure you've sealed the USB-C port cover first. This speaker is a good choice for taking on a camping trip or to a park hang, as it'll withstand exposure to the elements while being easy to move if you get caught in a thunderstorm. It doesn't have an impact resistance rating, though.
The speaker is entirely covered in a sturdy-feeling fabric weave apart from the control strip and USB-C port cover, which are made from thick, non-woven silicone, and a thin plastic strip along the bottom that acts as a support when placing the speaker horizontally. If there's an obvious weak point, it's the small feet on this strip: they don't feel very tough and could wear down with use.
This speaker has an alright control scheme. Located on the top panel, the controls are easy to access. That said, it's not very easy to use the controls without looking, as the buttons don't have any physical characteristics to distinguish them from one another apart from their location on the control strip. The controls make a satisfying click when pressed, although you might not hear the click while audio is playing. There's also no additional audio feedback such as a chime when they are pressed. A small LED flashes when the speaker's in Bluetooth pairing mode, and the dedicated Bluetooth pairing button can also be used to pair the unit with another Select 4 Go for stereo playback.
- Anker Soundcore Select 4 Go
- USB-A to USB-C charging cable (60 cm/23.6")
- Quick start guide
The Anker Select 4 Go has a middling frequency response accuracy. However, that's to be expected as its small size means it can't output much bass at all, so you won't feel any low-end thump while playing back your favorite techno tunes. By contrast, its mid-range is extremely well-balanced, so instruments are reproduced accurately, and voices in podcasts sound clear and life-like. The treble response is also virtually flat, with just a touch of extra high-end bringing sparkle to cymbals. We tested the speaker standing up on its feet and using the Soundcore Signature EQ preset. We also tested three other EQ presets.
The Anker Select 4 Go has a passable soundstage performance. Its single driver is forward-facing, so you'll only hear a full, detailed sound if you're in front of it, unlike the 360-degree audio you get from speakers like the Ultimate Ears WONDERBOOM 4. Since the Anker is a mono speaker, it also can't reproduce wide, enveloping soundscapes. Details like hard-panned guitars in a rock track or ethereal reverb tails in an ambient piece will be quieter than they would be on a stereo system. That said, you can pair this speaker with a second unit using its Bluetooth pairing button to get stereo playback.
The dynamics performance is satisfactory. It gets about as loud as comparable speakers, such as the Anker Soundcore Select 2S, and there's not a lot of compression as you turn up the volume. Any compression you do hear will be in the bass range, which this small speaker doesn't reproduce well, anyway.
This speaker has great battery life performance. The manufacturer advertises around 20 hours of battery life, but in our tests, we got just over 10 hours of continuous playback. The difference is largely due to the playback level. The manufacturer's results come from playing audio at around 40 percent of the speaker's maximum SPL, but our battery drain test runs at a calibrated SPL level which, in this case, requires us to turn the speaker up to 90 percent of its maximum SPL. That said, battery life varies with usage. It took just under four hours to fully charge the unit. You can also activate an auto-off feature to conserve battery power by turning the speaker off after 5, 10, 20, or 60 minutes of inactivity. While plugged in, the speaker will not automatically power off.
Affordable speakers such as this don't always come with app support, so it's handy that Anker have included one with the Soundcore Select 4 Go. The app lets you adjust the playback volume, play and pause audio, power the speaker off, and customize the auto-off timer setting. You can also update the device's firmware and turn speaker prompts on or off. Unlike the Sony SRS-XB100's app, the Soundcore app lets you choose between four EQ presets to change the speaker's sound, or build and save your own using the 9-band EQ. If you want to pair the speaker with another unit for stereo playback, you'll have to use the dedicated Bluetooth button as the app doesn't offer this functionality. Here's a video of the app to explore it for yourself.
This speaker has a USB-C port, but it is only used for charging the unit.
This speaker has great Bluetooth connectivity. It supports multi-device pairing, so you can connect the speaker to two devices at the same time. If you do connect two devices, the first has priority. That means you'll need to pause audio playing from the first device before playing audio from the second. However, if the second device is playing audio and you start playing audio from the first, the first device will cut off the second's audio stream. The speaker has pretty good latency when connected to iOS machines, though it's a little worse when connected to Android devices. Regardless, you could still run into lip-sync issues, but different apps and devices compensate for latency in different ways.