Bose SoundLink Flex 2nd Gen Earns Every Bit of Praise as the Portable Bluetooth Speaker to Beat

Engineers have managed to compress an incredible amount of audio power into a speaker that is small enough to be held with one hand. Listeners who attach the Bose SoundLink Flex 2nd Gen, priced at $119 (was $149), to a backpack or throw it in a beach bag are in for a surprise: sound that fills a patio or campsite so convincingly that you forget it’s a compact device, with no distortion or muddiness to worry about.

For anyone who uses a speaker outside of the home, durability must be a key priority. That is why an IP67 classification is significant, as it means the Flex can resist complete dust storms and be submerged in water up to a meter deep for at least a half hour. The exterior shell is comprised of thick rubber meant to absorb impacts, while a metal grille protects the drivers within. In real-world testing, the Flex was tossed around, hosed down, and even thrown into a pool with no symptoms of issue.

Given the device’s small size, the sound quality is surprising (or should be). Bose has really excelled themselves here. The drivers are calibrated to produce a nicely balanced output that maintains instruments sounding pleasant and separate while bringing voices forward in the mix. The bass goes deeper than you’d anticipate given its chassis size, yet it never overwhelms the mids or highs, a trick they’ve managed to pull off without sacrificing any depth. Another cool feature is the squeezed-in PositionIQ sensor, which detects whether the speaker is sitting flat or standing upright and adjusts the audio accordingly. Switching between the two orientations in the middle of a song produces the same quality sound, with no drop in quality or weird tone shifts.

The accompanying app is simple to use and provides just the perfect amount of control; no convoluted settings or anything like that. Owners can use a simple equalizer to increase the treble if they’re in an open space or to reduce the bass if they’re in a quieter room, and firmware updates are delivered via Bluetooth to keep the Flex current for years to come. Stereo pairing works great with a second Flex or some other Bose models, resulting in a larger soundstage that feels twice as huge as the individual speakers, all without the trouble of extra cords or tedious setup. There’s also a convenient quick-press button for playing, volume, and calls, and the built-in microphone picks up even faint conversations in windy situations.

The battery life is also impressive, lasting 12 hours at moderate volumes before needing to be recharged, and when it does, a USB-C port charges it in around 4 hours from empty, with the app or voice prompts keeping you aware of how much energy is left. Real-world tests demonstrate that it can easily handle a long lunch, overnight bonfire, and morning trek on a single full charge, with no need to recharge it in the middle of use.