The Ultimate Ears WONDERBOOM PLAY is a 2024 speaker that's one of the manufacturer's most portable and affordable offerings, yet also one of its most paired-down. It's seemingly designed as a handheld device, with an elongated, hand-sized carrying strap, and the iconic oversized volume buttons moved to the speaker's top panel. However, unlike other WONDERBOOM-series speakers, this one features only a single speaker and no sound tuning capabilities. This begs the question: have Ultimate Ears stripped away too much from a winning formula?
Our Verdict
The Ultimate Ears WONDERBOOM PLAY is disappointing for music. While its default frequency response doesn't differ too much from other WONDERBOOM speakers, it lacks the kind of low-end that brings genres like EDM and hip-hop to life. The balanced mid and treble ranges make for a detailed reproduction of vocals and lead instruments, though. This model's greatest caveat is its single speaker: resulting in a lackluster soundstage and dynamic performance. Audio doesn't sound consistent from different listening angles, and it compresses audio as it reaches its (quite low) max volume. There's also no way of tweaking the sound via presets or a graphic EQ.
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14 hours of continuous battery life.
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Bluetooth multi-device pairing.
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Poor dynamics performance with low max volume.
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Only mono playback, with poor directivity.
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No sound customization options.
The Ultimate Ears WONDERBOOM PLAY is disappointing for videos and movies. As with other uses, it's hampered by its single-driver design, which limits directivity to certain angles and causes the speaker to compress at lower volumes: both of which can disrupt your movie-watching experience. There's not much in the way of bass on tap, either, though the balanced mid-range ensures that dialogue and speech come through clearly. Latency with both iOS and Android devices is on the higher side, so it's possible you'll encounter sync issues between your audio and video. Different apps and devices compensate for this differently, though.
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14 hours of continuous battery life.
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Poor dynamics performance with low max volume.
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Only mono playback, with poor directivity.
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Latency with iOS and Android devices is on the higher side.
The Ultimate Ears WONDERBOOM PLAY is okay for podcasts. It features a balanced mid-range that ensures your favorite podcast host's voice is detailed and clear. That said, it can't get very loud, and cranking the volume comes at the detriment of audio quality. Its disappointing directivity means you'll need to be careful how you position yourself relative to the speaker, too. On the upside, its fantastic portability means it can easily be taken with you from room to room, and you can connect up to two devices simultaneously.
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Portable design with nifty hand strap.
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14 hours of continuous battery life.
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Bluetooth multi-device pairing.
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Poor dynamics performance with low max volume.
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Only mono playback, with poor directivity.
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No sound customization options.
The Ultimate Ears WONDERBOOM PLAY doesn't feature a built-in mic or voice assistant capabilities, so it's not suitable for this use.
The Ultimate Ears WONDERBOOM PLAY is decent for outdoor use. Its integrated hand strap and amazing portability mean it lends itself well to on-the-go use. Plus, its 14 hours of battery life means it can survive a few day trips without needing a recharge, and its IP67 rating gives some protection against the elements. Unfortunately, its single-speaker design means that its directivity isn't the best, so not everyone at your outdoor hang will enjoy consistent audio. It can't get very loud either, and there's a fair bit of compression at max volume, so you'll want to avoid cranking it if possible.
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Portable design with nifty hand strap.
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14 hours of continuous battery life.
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IP67 rating against dust and water damage.
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Poor dynamics performance with low max volume.
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Only mono playback, with poor directivity.
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No sound customization options.
- 5.8 Music
- 5.2 Videos/Movies
- 6.8 Podcasts
- 2.6 Voice Assistant
- 7.1 Outdoors
- Updated Oct 17, 2024: Review published.
- Updated Oct 07, 2024: Early access published.
- Updated Oct 01, 2024: Our testers have started testing this product.
- Updated Sep 19, 2024: The product has arrived in our lab, and our testers will start evaluating it soon.
- Updated Sep 12, 2024: We've purchased the product and are waiting for it to arrive in our lab.
Differences Between Sizes And Variants
The Ultimate Ears WONDERBOOM PLAY comes in one color variant: 'Black' (you can see its label here).
If you encounter another variant, please let us know in the comments, and we'll update our review.
Compared To Other Speakers
The Ultimate Ears WONDERBOOM PLAY is a budget offering from Ultimate Ears, known for its portable speaker manufacturing, that offers the same compact design as the Ultimate Ears WONDERBOOM 4 with a paired-down feature set. One of the sacrifices made at this price point is eschewing the dual-driver design seen in most of the manufacturer's other speakers. As a result, this variant lacks the excellent directivity that we've come to expect from Ultimate Ears' speakers, despite its visual familiarity. Its mono output and 14.5-hour battery life make it a solid low-cost alternative to the popular JBL Charge 5, though the JBL offers a better dynamics performance.
If you want to check out other similar speakers, head over to the best Bluetooth speakers under $100, the best budget and cheap Bluetooth speakers, and the best portable Bluetooth speakers.
The Ultimate Ears WONDERBOOM PLAY is essentially a paired-down version of the Ultimate Ears WONDERBOOM 4. It comes with an elongated hand strap, which means it can easily be fastened to your hand while you skateboard or run. The iconic oversized volume buttons have also been moved to the top panel, so they're available at your fingertips. However, the WONDERBOOM PLAY is a single-speaker design, which results in a worse soundstage and dynamics performance due to the limitations of a single driver. While the two have a similar frequency response and battery life, the WONDERBOOM 4 has lower latency values. As a result, unless the handheld ergonomics or the slightly lower price are significant selling points for you, the WONDERBOOM 4 is a better choice for most use cases.
Despite their differences in design and shape, the JBL Flip 6 and the Ultimate Ears WONDERBOOM PLAY satisfy similar use cases. Both are single-driver designs, which result in lackluster soundstage performances and mono playback. Like most small speakers, neither is able to output much bass either, though both have relatively balanced mid and treble ranges. That said, the JBL can get louder and compress less at max volume. It also has a companion app, within which you can customize the sound to your liking. As a result, it's a better choice for music lovers, and its lower latency with iOS and Android devices make it a better choice for soundtracking videos, too. That said, the Ultimate Ears has a much longer battery life that lends itself better to outdoor use.
The JBL Charge 5 and the Ultimate Ears WONDERBOOM PLAY are very similar speakers, despite their slightly different designs. However the JBL's performance justifies its higher retail price. Both have 14-hour battery lives and feature single-driver designs, so they're unable to playback stereo content without downmixing to mono and their directivity suffers as a result. The JBL has a more bass-heavy sound that's well-suited to playing back music genres like EDM and hip-hop, and there's even a graphic EQ in the companion app that lets you customize the sound. It's also capable of getting louder, with less compression at max volume. That said, the Ultimate Ears' hand strap and ergonomic control scheme make it the ideal fit for handheld use.
The Ultimate Ears BOOM 4 and the Ultimate Ears WONDERBOOM PLAY have very different designs and strengths. The cylindrical BOOM 4 has a dual-driver design that helps create a wider soundstage, with better directivity. It can also get louder with less compression. While its default sound isn't quite as balanced as the WONDERBOOM PLAY, it features a graphic EQ and presets in its companion app. The WONDERBOOM PLAY has a more balanced default sound, with a less recessed treble range, but it's limited by its single-driver design, which caps its max volume and compresses a lot as you turn the volume up. It's better for handheld use, though, thanks to its hand-carrying strap and more ergonomic control scheme. It also has a slightly longer battery life.
Test Results
The Ultimate Ears WONDERBOOM PLAY shares a very similar design to the Ultimate Ears WONDERBOOM 4. It's roughly the same size and shape, with just a few visual tweaks. The oversized volume buttons have migrated to the top of the cylindrical frame, and the elasticated carrying loop has been extended to accommodate a handheld grip. It's only available in the 'Black' color variant.
This speaker is extremely portable. It's very lightweight, and the new elongated hand strap means it can easily be carried in one hand by just about anyone.
This speaker has excellent build quality. Like the rest of the WONDERBOOM line, its construction seems solid and dense. It's rated IP67 for protection against dust damage and submersion in water for up to 30 minutes. That said, there's no mention of an impact rating against drops and shocks, which is a departure from previous models.
If you've used a WONDERBOOM series speaker before, the controls will be familiar to you, though they're slightly stripped down compared to more recent iterations. For first-time users, the control scheme is intuitive enough to grasp without much consulting of the quick start guide. While some users will miss the oversized volume buttons on the front of the speaker, their repositioning on the top makes for very little functional difference. If you have the speaker strapped to your hand, it's now possible to change the volume without repositioning your hand, though. There's a single LED on the power button to indicate power status, as well as audio feedback that's provided for power status, battery level, and pairing/connecting. Sadly, there are no EQ presets, so there's no button for this, like with the Ultimate Ears WONDERBOOM 4's 'Outdoor' or 'Podcast' modes.
This speaker's default sound is passable. It has a lot in common with the Ultimate Ears WONDERBOOM 4, including the slightly muted low-end that you'd expect from a small speaker. The mid-range is well-balanced, though, making it a good fit for vocal or dialogue-centric content, like podcasts. The treble range is relatively even, too, save for a spike in the response in the high-treble — a frequency range that our ears lose sensitivity to over time. Unfortunately, this speaker lacks any type of bass boost function, as well as the 'Podcast' and 'Outdoor' EQ presets found in other WONDERBOOM speakers, so there's no possibility of adjusting the default tuning.
The Ultimate Ears WONDERBOOM PLAY has a disappointing soundstage performance, especially when considering the brand's reputation for manufacturing speakers with excellent directivity. While this speaker shares the same cylindrical design as other Ultimate Ears speakers, it's only capable of playing back audio in mono due to its single speaker. As a result, its directivity is limited to the direction in which its one speaker is pointing. Audio reproduction will be inconsistent at different angles for this reason.
This speaker has a poor dynamics performance. It can't get very loud, and there's quite a bit of compression present that affects audio quality as you turn the volume up. Its low max volume compared to the Ultimate Ears WONDERBOOM 4 is no doubt a limitation of its single speaker.
This speaker has outstanding battery life performance. The manufacturer advertises around 10 hours of continuous battery life, but we were able to measure more than this at over 14 hours. However, its battery life will vary according to a range of factors including volume. As with other Ultimate Ears speakers from this generation, it charges via a USB-C port. There's also an auto-off timer that switches the speaker off after 15 minutes of inactivity.
This speaker has good Bluetooth connectivity. It supports Bluetooth multi-device connectivity, so you can pair two devices at one time, and its long Bluetooth range means it'll stay connected even if you move to a different room. Its latency with both Android and iOS devices is quite high, though, so it's possible you'll encounter sync issues between your audio and video if you use this speaker to soundtrack videos. That said, different devices and apps compensate for latency differently.