1. Try Searching by
    1. Category (Best $100 Headphones, Best 50 Inch TVs, …)
    2. Brand (Sony, Samsung, LG, Bose, …)
    3. Model (S405, QC 35 II, …)
    4. Etc
Get insider access
Get insider access
Preferred store
Your browser is not supported or outdated so some features of the site might not be available.
Best
Bluetooth Portable Outdoor Bose Loud Home Shower Parties Alexa Small JBL Brands Budget And Cheap Bluetooth For Bass Waterproof Bluetooth Golf Bluetooth For Sound Smart iPhone Bluetooth Under $100
Tools
Compare Table Review List Review Index Graph Custom Ratings
Popular
JBL Boombox 3 JBL Charge 5 JBL Authentics 500 JBL Flip 6 Bose SoundLink Max Sonos Era 100 Harman/Kardon Go + Play 3 Ultimate Ears EPICBOOM Sonos Era 300 Ultimate Ears WONDERBOOM 4 JBL PartyBox Stage 320 Sonos Move 2 Bose SoundLink Flex Bose SoundLink Flex (2nd Gen) Ultimate Ears MEGABOOM 4 JBL PartyBox 310 Harman/Kardon Onyx Studio 8 Sony SRS-XB100 Ultimate Ears HYPERBOOM JBL PartyBox Club 120
163
Speakers bought and tested
Supported by you via insider access, and when you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.
Driven by data, run by a passionate team of engineers, testers, technical writers, developers, and more.
We are hiring!
  1. Home
  2. Speaker
  3. Compare
  1. Table of Contents
  2. Top
  3. Main Differences
  4. Design
    1. Pictures
    2. Style
    3. Portability
    4. Build Quality
    5. Controls
    6. In The Box
  5. Sound
    1. Frequency Response Accuracy
    2. Raw Frequency Response
    3. Soundstage
    4. Dynamics
  6. Active Features
    1. Battery
    2. Voice Assistant
    3. App
  7. Connectivity
    1. Wired
    2. Bluetooth
    3. Wi-Fi
  8. Comments

Bose SoundLink Flex vs Bose SoundLink Flex (2nd Gen)

Side-by-Side Comparison

Products

Bose SoundLink Flex
Bose SoundLink Flex (2nd Gen)

Tested using Methodology v0.8

Updated Oct 31, 2024 02:49 PM

SEE PRICE
Amazon.com

Tested using Methodology v0.8

Updated Nov 28, 2024 05:10 PM

SEE PRICE
Amazon.com
Bose SoundLink Flex Picture
Bose SoundLink Flex (2nd Gen) Picture
Bluetooth
Yes
Wi-Fi
No
Speakerphone
Yes
Voice Assistant
Yes
Battery Powered
Yes
Bluetooth
Yes
Wi-Fi
No
Speakerphone
Yes
Voice Assistant
Yes
Battery Powered
Yes
  1. Recommended in 3 articles:
  2. Bose
  3. Shower
  4. Golf

Variants

  • SoundLink Flex (Black)
  • SoundLink Flex (Carmine Red)
  • SoundLink Flex (Chilled Lilac)
  • SoundLink Flex (Cypress Green)
  • SoundLink Flex (Stone Blue)
  • SoundLink Flex (White Smoke)
  • SoundLink Flex (2nd Gen) (Alpine Sage)
  • SoundLink Flex (2nd Gen) (Black)
  • SoundLink Flex (2nd Gen) (Blue Dusk)
  • SoundLink Flex (2nd Gen) (Sandstone)

Review

See Bose SoundLink Flex review

See Bose SoundLink Flex (2nd Gen) review

0
0

Our Verdict

Bose SoundLink Flex

Bose SoundLink Flex (2nd Gen)

The Bose SoundLink Flex (2nd Gen) is a better speaker than the first-generation Bose SoundLink Flex. The 2nd Gen comes with an app that lets you EQ the sound to your preferences, support for AAC and aptX codecs (with compatible devices), and an improved control strip. That said, the first generation gets a little louder. 

0

Check Price

Black
SoundLink Flex
Searching
Finding store
Black
SoundLink Flex (2nd Gen)
Searching
Finding store
Carmine Red
SoundLink Flex
Searching
Finding store
Alpine Sage
SoundLink Flex (2nd Gen)
Searching
Finding store
Chilled Lilac
SoundLink Flex
Searching
Finding store
Blue Dusk
SoundLink Flex (2nd Gen)
Searching
Finding store
Cypress Green
SoundLink Flex
Searching
Finding store
Sandstone
SoundLink Flex (2nd Gen)
Searching
Finding store
Stone Blue
SoundLink Flex
Searching
Finding store
 
White Smoke
SoundLink Flex
Searching
Finding store
 

Main Differences for

Threshold 

0.10

Music 

6.3
6.6

EQ 
 

No
Graphic + Presets

Frequency Response Accuracy 
 

6.9
7.1

Full Comparison

Design

Style  

Style Photo  

Bose SoundLink Flex Style Photo
Bose SoundLink Flex (2nd Gen) Style Photo

RGB Lights  

No
No

Show text

Portability 
 

9.2
9.3

Dimensions Photo  

Bose SoundLink Flex Dimensions Photo
Bose SoundLink Flex (2nd Gen) Dimensions Photo

Volume 
 

57 in³ (942 cm³)
56 in³ (919 cm³)

Weight 
 

1.3 lbs (0.6 kg)
1.3 lbs (0.6 kg)

Power Source 
 

Battery & USB
Battery & USB

One-Hand Carry 
 

Yes
Yes

Show text

Build Quality 
 

8.7
8.7

Build Quality Photo  

Bose SoundLink Flex Build Quality Photo
Bose SoundLink Flex (2nd Gen) Build Quality Photo

Material Quality 
 

Good
Good

Water Resistance 
 

Submersible (IPx7)
Submersible (IPx7)

Dust Resistance 
 

Dust-Proof (IP6x)
Dust-Proof (IP6x)

Impact Resistance 
 

Yes (IK rating unspecified)
Yes (IK rating unspecified)

Floats In Water 
 

Yes
Yes

Show text

Controls 
 

8.4
8.6

Controls Photo  

Bose SoundLink Flex Controls Photo
Bose SoundLink Flex (2nd Gen) Controls Photo

Controls Photo 2  

Bose SoundLink Flex Controls Photo 2
Bose SoundLink Flex (2nd Gen) Controls Photo 2

Ease Of Use 
 

Okay
Okay

Feedback 
 

Decent
Great

Music Play/Pause 
 

Yes (Physical)
Yes (Physical)

Call Answer/End 
 

Yes (Physical)
Yes (Tactile)

Volume Up/Down 
 

Yes (Physical)
Yes (Tactile)

Track Next/Previous 
 

Yes (Physical)
Yes (Physical)

Microphone On/Off 
 

Yes (Physical)
Yes (Tactile)

Additional Controls 
 

Yes
Yes

Show text

In The Box 
 

In The Box Photo  

Bose SoundLink Flex In The Box Photo
Bose SoundLink Flex (2nd Gen) In The Box Photo

Show text

Sound

Frequency Response Accuracy 
 

6.9
7.1

Frequency Response Graph  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Slope 
 

0.22
0.49

Std. Err. 
 

2.85 dB
1.97 dB

Low-Frequency Extension 
 

60.8 Hz
64.4 Hz

High-Frequency Extension 
 

15.6 kHz
17.5 kHz

Show text

Raw Frequency Response 
 

Raw Frequency Response Graph  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Binaural Recording @ 1m 
 

Binaural Recording @ 2m 
 

Soundstage 
 

5.5
5.3

Directivity Graph  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Directivity Index 
 

4.59 dB
5.05 dB

Stereo 
 

No (mono)
No (mono)

Show text

Dynamics 
 

6.4
6.2

Dynamic Range Compression  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

SPL @ Max Volume 
 

87.5 dB SPL
84.5 dB SPL

DRC @ Max Volume 
 

3.02 dB
2.73 dB

Show text

Active Features

Battery 
 

6.7
6.4

Battery Life 
 

7.2 hrs
6.6 hrs

Charge Time 
 

2.7 hrs
2.4 hrs

Power Saving 
 

Yes
Yes

Charging Port 
 

USB-C
USB-C

Battery Powered 
 

Yes
Yes

Show text

Voice Assistant 
 

5.7
5.7

Alexa 
 

No
No

Google Assistant 
 

Yes (Requires Smartphone)
Yes (Requires Smartphone)

Speakerphone 
 

Yes
Yes

Siri 
 

Yes (Requires Smartphone)
Yes (Requires Smartphone)

Voice Assistant 
 

Yes
Yes

Voice Activation 
 

No
No

Microphone Mute 
 

No
No

Far-Field Performance 
 

Excellent
Excellent

Ambient Noise Performance 
 

Excellent
Excellent

Show text

App 
 

6.6
7.9

App Picture  

Bose SoundLink Flex App Picture
Bose SoundLink Flex (2nd Gen) App Picture

App Name 
 

Bose Connect
Bose

iOS 
 

Yes
Yes

Android 
 

Yes
Yes

EQ 
 

No
Graphic + Presets

Stereo Pair Mode 
 

Yes
Yes

Party Mode 
 

Yes
Yes

Multi-Room 
 

No
No

Show text

Connectivity

Wired 
 

Aux Input 
 

No
No

USB Audio 
 

No
No

Other Ports 
 

No
No

Show text

Bluetooth 
 

8.0
8.3

Bluetooth 
 

Yes
Yes

Bluetooth Version 
 

4.2
5.3

Bluetooth iOS Latency 
 

236 ms
119 ms

Bluetooth Android Latency 
 

109 ms
135 ms

Bluetooth Range 
 

255.9 ft (78.0 m)
275.6 ft (84.0 m)

Multi-Device Pairing 
 

2 Devices
2 Devices

Show text

Wi-Fi 
 

0.0
0.0

Wi-Fi Version 
 

No Wi-Fi
No Wi-Fi

Wi-Fi Frequency Band 
 

No Wi-Fi
No Wi-Fi

Wi-Fi 
 

No
No

Apple AirPlay 
 

No
No

AirPlay Latency 
 

N/A
N/A

Google Chromecast 
 

No
No

Chromecast Latency 
 

N/A
N/A

Check Price

Black
SoundLink Flex
Searching
Finding store
Black
SoundLink Flex (2nd Gen)
Searching
Finding store
Carmine Red
SoundLink Flex
Searching
Finding store
Alpine Sage
SoundLink Flex (2nd Gen)
Searching
Finding store
Chilled Lilac
SoundLink Flex
Searching
Finding store
Blue Dusk
SoundLink Flex (2nd Gen)
Searching
Finding store
Cypress Green
SoundLink Flex
Searching
Finding store
Sandstone
SoundLink Flex (2nd Gen)
Searching
Finding store
Stone Blue
SoundLink Flex
Searching
Finding store
 
White Smoke
SoundLink Flex
Searching
Finding store
 
Back to Top

Bose SoundLink Flex

Bose SoundLink Flex (2nd Gen)

Comments

  1. Comparison
 • Posted 4 months ago

Bose SoundLink Flex vs Bose SoundLink Flex (2nd Gen): Main Discussion

What do you think of these products? Let us know below.


Looking for a personalized buying advice from the RTINGS.com experts? Insiders have direct access to buying advice on our insider forum.

Follow Discussion0 followingSee All Soundbars & Speakers DiscussionsCopy link
0 replies
PreviewBack to editorFormat guide
No comments yet, refresh to see new ones
We make money directly from you via insider access (which gives you access to extra features) and when you buy a product after clicking a link to a retailer. Learn more about how we work.
We buy our own products, just like you, mostly from the United States. When a product is discontinued or no longer popular, we sell the review units locally. You can see what products we currently have for sale here.
© 2025 9298-5266 Quebec Inc. All Rights Reserved. Visit our corporate site.