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  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

Ultimate Ears WONDERBOOM 4 vs Ultimate Ears WONDERBOOM PLAY

Side-by-Side Comparison

Products

Ultimate Ears WONDERBOOM 4
Ultimate Ears WONDERBOOM PLAY

Tested using Methodology v0.8

Updated May 15, 2025 07:51 PM

SEE PRICE
BestBuy.com

Tested using Methodology v0.8

Updated Oct 17, 2024 05:03 PM

SEE PRICE
BestBuy.com
Ultimate Ears WONDERBOOM 4 Picture
Ultimate Ears WONDERBOOM PLAY Picture

Variants

  • WONDERBOOM 4 (Active Black)
  • WONDERBOOM 4 (Cobalt Blue)
  • WONDERBOOM 4 (Hyper Pink)
  • WONDERBOOM 4 (Joyous Bright)
  • WONDERBOOM 4 (Sand Beige)
  • WONDERBOOM PLAY (Black)

Our Verdict

Ultimate Ears WONDERBOOM 4

Ultimate Ears WONDERBOOM PLAY

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. 

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Active Black
WONDERBOOM 4
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Black
WONDERBOOM PLAY
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Cobalt Blue
WONDERBOOM 4
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Black
WONDERBOOM PLAY
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Hyper Pink
WONDERBOOM 4
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Black
WONDERBOOM PLAY
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Joyous Bright
WONDERBOOM 4
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Black
WONDERBOOM PLAY
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Sand Beige
WONDERBOOM 4
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Black
WONDERBOOM PLAY
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Main Differences for
Music

Threshold 

0.10

Music 

6.8
5.8

Soundstage 
 

9.0
5.8

Dynamics 
 

7.3
4.9

Full Comparison

Design

Style  

Style Photo  

Ultimate Ears WONDERBOOM 4 Style Photo
Ultimate Ears WONDERBOOM PLAY Style Photo

RGB Lights  

No
No
Show Text 

Portability 
 

9.3
9.3

Dimensions Photo  

Ultimate Ears WONDERBOOM 4 Dimensions Photo
Ultimate Ears WONDERBOOM PLAY Dimensions Photo

Volume 
 

58 in³ (944 cm³)
58 in³ (945 cm³)

Weight 
 

0.9 lbs (0.4 kg)
0.7 lbs (0.3 kg)

Power Source 
 

Battery & USB
Battery & USB

One-Hand Carry 
 

Yes
Yes
Show Text 

Build Quality 
 

9.0
8.5

Build Quality Photo  

Ultimate Ears WONDERBOOM 4 Build Quality Photo
Ultimate Ears WONDERBOOM PLAY Build Quality Photo

Material Quality 
 

Great
Great

Water Resistance 
 

Submersible (IPx7)
Submersible (IPx7)

Dust Resistance 
 

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

Impact Resistance 
 

Yes (IK rating unspecified)
Unspecified

Floats In Water 
 

Yes
Yes
Show Text 

Controls 
 

6.6
6.5

Controls Photo  

Ultimate Ears WONDERBOOM 4 Controls Photo
Ultimate Ears WONDERBOOM PLAY Controls Photo

Controls Photo 2  

Ultimate Ears WONDERBOOM 4 Controls Photo 2
Ultimate Ears WONDERBOOM PLAY Controls Photo 2

Ease Of Use 
 

Great
Good

Feedback 
 

Good
Good

Music Play/Pause 
 

Yes (Physical)
Yes (Physical)

Call Answer/End 
 

No
No

Volume Up/Down 
 

Yes (Physical)
Yes (Physical)

Track Next/Previous 
 

Forward Only (Physical)
Forward Only (Physical)

Microphone On/Off 
 

No
No

Additional Controls 
 

Yes
No
Show Text 

In The Box 
 

In The Box Photo  

Ultimate Ears WONDERBOOM 4 In The Box Photo
Ultimate Ears WONDERBOOM PLAY In The Box Photo
Show Text 
Sound

Frequency Response Accuracy 
 

6.3
6.4

Frequency Response Graph  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Slope 
 

0.31
1.57

Std. Err. 
 

2.29 dB
5.00 dB

Low-Frequency Extension 
 

89.8 Hz
55.8 Hz

High-Frequency Extension 
 

16.0 kHz
16.7 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 
 

9.0
5.8

Directivity Graph  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Directivity Index 
 

1.79 dB
4.11 dB

Stereo 
 

Yes
No (mono)
Show Text 

Dynamics 
 

7.3
4.9

Dynamic Range Compression  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

SPL @ Max Volume 
 

≈ 86.7 dB SPL
80.0 dB SPL

DRC @ Max Volume 
 

1.00 dB
4.25 dB
Show Text 
Active Features

Battery 
 

8.9
9.0

Battery Life 
 

13.1 hrs
14.5 hrs

Charge Time 
 

2.5 hrs
2.4 hrs

Power Saving 
 

Yes
Yes

Charging Port 
 

USB-C
USB-C

Battery Powered 
 

Yes
Yes
Show Text 

Voice Assistant 
 

0.0
0.0

Alexa 
 

No
No

Google Assistant 
 

No
No

Speakerphone 
 

No
No

Siri 
 

No
No

Voice Assistant 
 

No
No

Voice Activation 
 

No
No

Microphone Mute 
 

No
No

Far-Field Performance 
 

No Microphone
No Microphone

Ambient Noise Performance 
 

No Microphone
No Microphone
Show Text 

App 
 

0.0
0.0

App Picture  

Ultimate Ears WONDERBOOM 4 App Picture
Ultimate Ears WONDERBOOM PLAY App Picture

App Name 
 

No App
No App

iOS 
 

No
No

Android 
 

No
No

EQ 
 

No
No

Stereo Pair Mode 
 

No
No

Party Mode 
 

No
No

Multi-Room 
 

No
No
Connectivity

Wired 
 

Aux Input 
 

No
No

USB Audio 
 

No
No

Other Ports 
 

No
No
Show Text 

Bluetooth 
 

8.9
7.6

Bluetooth 
 

Yes
Yes

Bluetooth Version 
 

5.2
5.3

Bluetooth iOS Latency 
 

66 ms
275 ms

Bluetooth Android Latency 
 

82 ms
211 ms

Bluetooth Range 
 

334.6 ft (102.0 m)
334.6 ft (102.0 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

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Active Black
WONDERBOOM 4
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Black
WONDERBOOM PLAY
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Cobalt Blue
WONDERBOOM 4
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Black
WONDERBOOM PLAY
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Hyper Pink
WONDERBOOM 4
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Black
WONDERBOOM PLAY
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Joyous Bright
WONDERBOOM 4
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Black
WONDERBOOM PLAY
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Sand Beige
WONDERBOOM 4
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Black
WONDERBOOM PLAY
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Ultimate Ears WONDERBOOM 4

Ultimate Ears WONDERBOOM PLAY

Comments

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Ultimate Ears WONDERBOOM 4 vs Ultimate Ears WONDERBOOM PLAY: Main Discussion

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