Latest news with #AnkerSoundcoreBoom3i
CNET
04-08-2025
- Business
- CNET
Save $50 on This Floating Anker Speaker and Grab It for a Record-Low $90
Looking for an excellent Bluetooth speaker that won't break the bank? The rugged and powerful Anker Soundcore Boom 3i is the updated version of the Boom 2, which is our top pick for the best value speaker of 2025, and it's down to a new all-time low price at Amazon. Right now, you can pick up the black variant for just $90, which saves you $50 compared to the usual price. This speaker is also available in blue, brown and green, all of which are on sale for $100 at the moment. Though there's no telling how long these launch discounts will last, so get your order in sooner rather than later. Our audio experts haven't yet had a chance to review this brand-new speaker, but it has a stacked set of features that make it an incredible value for just $90. It's equipped with a 40W subwoofer for rich, powerful lows and a 10W tweeter for crisp, piercing highs, and it has an impressive maximum volume of 96 dB. It's also perfect for summer adventures with a seriously durable design. It's fully waterproof -- including protection against salt water -- and is designed to float so you don't have to worry about taking it out on a boat. You can also keep the party going all day or night with a 16-hour battery life, and it features built-in LED lighting to help set the mood. It weighs just under 2 pounds, and has a detachable shoulder strap for easy transport. Why this deal matters Claiming multiple spots on our list of the best Bluetooth speakers of 2025, Anker's Soundcore speakers offer a tremendous value thanks to their solid sound, affordable price and rugged design. Released earlier this summer, the Soundcore Boom 3i is the latest model in its lineup, and is perfect for camping trips, beach days and just about any other summer adventures. It's already a decent value at full price, so a chance to pick it up for $50 off is a deal you won't want to miss.
CNET
10-07-2025
- Business
- CNET
Level Up Your Next Pool Party With Anker's Waterproof Speaker—Now $45 Off For Prime Day
Amazon Prime Day deal: The Anker Soundcore Boom 3i speaker is available for $95 as part of Amazon's Prime Day sale event. That's equivalent to 32% off. We named this model the "best compact rugged Bluetooth speaker that floats," and it's now at the best price we've seen since it launched. In some ways, Anker's new Soundcore Boom 3i is the spiritual successor to the Soundcore Motion Plus. It's similarly shaped but has more of an outdoor adventure slant, with Anker touting it as "built for the wild" and is billing it as the first Bluetooth speaker with playback in water, as it floats and "auto-corrects" to keep the speaker drivers facing upward just above the surface. All that adds to a perfect speaker for the summer, so you might want to snag one on the cheap while Prime Day's still around. I've been using the Soundcore Boom 3i for the past few days and have mainly been impressed with it, but the speaker is a lot easier to recommend to CNET readers with a discount of $45 off the black model, dropping the price to $95. Meanwhile, the blue, yellow and red models range from $40 to $100 off for Prime Day. As you'd expect from a speaker that promotional photos show strapped onto a kayak (it does have a detachable carrying strap), the Soundcore Boom 3i is fully waterproof and dust-resistant, with an IP68 rating. Anker takes things a step further, touting the Boom 3i as "5x" saltwater-resistant. "While typical speakers may rust in under five months, Boom 3i stays corrosion-free for up to two years of beach, boat and seaside use." Read more: Best Bluetooth speakers of 2025 You shouldn't expect audiophile sound from a mono Bluetooth speaker of this ilk. But for the most part, the Soundcore Boom 3i gives you what you want from a portable Bluetooth speaker from a sound perspective. By that I mean it plays loud for its size -- it weighs about 1.8 pounds and measures 8.3 by 3.1 by 3.3 inches -- plus it puts out a reasonable amount of bass and has fairly respectable clarity. You can find speakers that sound a little more natural, but these types of rugged portable speakers aren't designed for critical listening. The speaker has some colorful LED lighting on each side. David Carnoy/CNET I used it outdoors and inside in a few rooms, including a bathroom (it does make for a good bathroom speaker), and it was able to fill smaller rooms with sound. You can tweak the sound with the equalizer settings in the Soundcore companion app for iOS and Android and play around with the settings for the built-in beat-synched LED light show, which I kept turned off most of the time. You can also pair two of these speakers up in stereo mode and get significantly better sound. I tested the speaker's playback in water by dropping it in a pool. It indeed flipped over, so the speaker drivers were facing up, and the music kept playing, though the audio got a little garbled when a little wave passed over the speaker, and the drivers started spitting water out. In other words, it certainly sounds better out of the water than in it. One of the problems with Bluetooth devices is that Bluetooth doesn't transmit through water, which is why you have to load MP3s into memory when using wireless headphones while swimming (you can't stream music to the headphones if your head is underwater). I don't know where the Bluetooth antenna is on this speaker, but presumably it's on the side that stays above the surface when the speaker is floating. Enlarge Image The Soundcore Boom 3i not only floats but auto-corrects to an upright orientation. David Carnoy/CNET You can actually activate a Buzz Clean mode from the app that makes the speaker vibrate and shed dirt and particles, like sand after a day at the beach. After finishing the Buzz Clean, you can then rinse off the speaker to get it truly clean. The speaker also has another interesting feature: Holding down the "BassUp" bass-boost button for 5 seconds sets off a 96-decibel emergency alarm -- Anker says it's clearly audible at up to 100 meters -- with flashing red LED lights. You can hit any button to turn the alarm off. Battery life is rated for 16 hours at moderate volumes, which is decent for a speaker this size. It's also worth pointing out that the Boom 3i has a Bluetooth range of 100 feet, which is better than the more typical 33 feet you get with many Bluetooth speakers. For more Prime Day Anker deals, check out our roundup of the best offers you can shop right now.
