Amazon.com: Customer reviews: Soundcore Flare Wireless Speaker by Anker, Waterproof Party Speaker with 360° Sound, Enhanced Bass & Ambient LED Light, IP67 Waterproof and 12-Hour Battery Life-Black

Top positive review

Best $ for $ Portable Speaker Out There

Reviewed in the United States on May 11, 2018

I love Anker products (they're one of my very few 'go-to' tech. brands - have wireless earbuds, other bluetooth speakers, bluetooth keyboards, battey pack, etc.); so I was excited to pick one of these up when they came out. I'll try to keep this quick: I compared this to two other products, a Sonos OneAll-new Sonos One - Smart Speaker with Alexa voice control built-In. Compact size with incredible sound for any room. (black), and a Anker Soundcore 2 (not the Soundcore 2+)Anker Soundcore 2 Portable Bluetooth Speaker with Superior Stereo Sound, Exclusive BassUp, 12-Watts, IPX5 Water-Resistant, 24-Hour Playtime, Perfect Wireless Speaker for Home, Outdoors, Travel. Here's what the consumer needs to know:

BUILD QUALITY AND USER EXPERIENCE: if you've ever owned an Anker product, this won't surprise you - build quality and user experience are both exceptional - bluetooth connected to my pixel 2 as soon as I turned it on, and has ever since (no issues); the fabric is the same quality you'd find on any of the other popular speakers right now (amazon's or google's); the light on the base is cool without being tacky (I was a little worried about this), and it can be turned off if you like - primary color settings are: oranges/yellows (chill), greens/blues (spring), and mixed (party) - using the soundcore flare app allows you to sync the light to the music (which is pretty cool - more on the app later). The Flare isn't quite as durable (I'm guessing) as the Soundcore 2 - if I was focused strictly on durability (not necessarily 'build quality') and portability, not as much on volume and sound quality, the Soundcore 2 would be a better option (and that's not to knock the Soundcore 2's volume or clarity, it's just not where the Flare's is - more on that later).

PORTABILITY and BATTERY: I've attached pics to highlight how portable this is (imagine a slightly tall/fat soda can), this is slightly less portable than the Anker Soundcore 2, and obviously far more portable than the Sonos One (not portable). For this speaker's size, it's pretty darn impressive - easily something you could carry around with you in a messenger bag or backpack if you were doing a day-trip somewhere, or wanted a great speaker to take on vacation with you (granted, much bigger than earbuds, but it does fill a room with sound). I haven't stretched the battery yet, but this is an area that Anker has always excelled in (I'm assuming that having the light on, and bass-boost on will impact it, but I'm sure it'll still be as good - or better than - as advertised) I do not anticipate that this will get the kind of battery life the Soundcore 2 gets, due to the elements already mentioned which the Soundcore 2 doesn't have to manage.

VOLUME: very impressive for its size - I tested it in a room that is about 375 square feet, with vaulted ceilings, and it got LOUD when I turned it up - at 50% volume it was solid from a volume standpoint for that same room. The Bass-Boost button DOES make a difference in the bass put out by this thing, and the bass is pretty impressive for a speaker this size. Testing the Soundcore 2 in the same room as this device (the flare), you can notice a difference in both the volume and the base, which isn't enormous but it is significant enough to be noticeable (this was playing them at 50% volume, and became more noticeable at full volume). Again, this isn't a knock on the Soundcore 2, which also filled the room easily and got LOUD when at full volume - the Flare was just noticeably louder. Anker said it was bringing a new Bass technology to these speakers, and they clearly delivered (that's where the biggest difference between this and the Soundcore 2 can be heard). If I'm being fair, the volume and the bass on this is a ways off of the SONOS one - but again, you have to keep in mind that this is a portable bluetooth speaker with long battery-life and a much smaller footprint than the SONOS one (and at less than half the price of the older model, and about 1/4 the price of the newest SONOS one). At 100% volume, there is almost no distortion out of this speaker (even when it's managing multiple components of a track simultaneously...bass, acoustics, and vocals) - at 90% there's no distortion. This is more than loud enough for most contexts in which I'd imagine people using it - you could probably use it to facilitate a tiny dance party if you really wanted (and if you paired it with a second one - which you can do - it'd serve that purpose well). If you were having a gathering of 20 people in a 400 square foot room with vaulted ceilings, this would more than serve admirably as the music outlet.

SOUND QUALITY/360 EFFECT: really great for a portable speaker - not as good as the SONOS one, but not miles off either. I wouldn't call myself an audiophile, but I do like listening to music and I do like it when it sounds nice - this speaker sounds nice. The sound quality is slightly better than the Soundcore 2's (the bass is the most pronounced upgrade from the Soundcore 2), and the sound quality is noticeably better at higher volumes (again, not a knock against the Soundcore 2, which also has decent sound quality). I would have no problem with having this is my primary speaker for my home, from a sound quality and volume standpoint. THE 360 EFFECT: this does project music in all directions - I walked around it constantly, attempting to ID a 'blind-spot' from a projection standpoint, and couldn't find one - this makes it uniquely useful for certain purposes, and is a positive differentiator from the SONOS one and the Soundcore 2. If you want a speaker system for your patio, but don't want to invest in a ton of wiring, two of these would fill the largest patio/deck with quality music (they're also IPX7 water resistant - I never test that stuff, but I trust Anker not to market it if it's not legit).

APP: clean, minimalist, not too elaborate in what it can an can't do (I can see them building this out with time, but for now it's pretty straightforward/bare bones). You can control the base's light from the app (which I found myself more amused by than I thought I would be); You can pair an additional Soundcore Flare (which I didn't have to do, but trust Anker to make as easy as everything else they do); you can adjust the volume; and you can use their wave equalizer to turn the Bass-Up feature on or off, and select different listening settings (Default, Voice, Flat, and Chill). Overall, the app is limited, simple, still useful, and very user-friendly...I can see them building this out as they grow Soundcore as a product line.

SPEAKERPHONE: I didn't test this extensively, when I made a call with it everything went fine - not a great tool for speaker phone use but not worse than most bluetooth speakers. I wouldn't get this for it's speakerphone functionality (or any other bluetooth speaker - smartphones are usually just as capable speakerphones on their own). NOTE: this can become a smart-speaker if you pair it with an echo dot or google's home (I think) - I don't like the idea of smart-speakers in my home, but it should be acknowledged that this has that functionality when paired with the appropriate hardware.

CONCLUSION: overall, this is an awesome bluetooth speaker. The volume, bass, and sound quality is superior to the Soundcore 2 (which is already great); this isn't quite as portable as the Soundcore 2, or quite as durable (but it's close), and I don't expect the battery life to be quite as strong. If portability, durability, and battery life are most important to you - saving $20.00 by going with the Soundcore 2 is probably your best bet (again - it is still a really great speaker); if volume, bass, aesthetics (the flare is prettier), and sound quality are most important - this does offer a noticeable upgrade to the Soundcore 2 in all those areas. When compared to the SONOS one, this is truly a different product with a noticeable gap between it and the SONOS when it comes to volume, bass, and sound clarity/quality...but for a fraction of the price, I'd take a hard look at this if you think it'll meet your specific needs (its 360 degree music dispersal, and portability are particularly useful features that the SONOS one doesn't have). I also like that this speaker doesn't 'require' an app to use it (whereas the SONOS does) - the app for the flare is nice, but I could still have a friend connect to it and stream their music without having to have them download the SONOS app to do it. The SONOS one was a gift to me (and I do love it)...if I were spending my own $ on a speaker to listen to music on, 9 times out of 10 the Flare would likely be the one I'd go with (save $100 or more - spend that on a second Flare and still save approx $50.00). The 1/10 scenario in which I'd go with the SONOS: if I was getting it as a dedicated home stereo speaker/system, that was never going to leave wherever I placed it in my home...even then, I don't know how two of these Flares (paired to stereo mode) might compare to one SONOS one serving the same function.

233 people found this helpful

Top critical review

Critical reviews›

Lynn Olson

Great sound; Short life

Reviewed in the United States on December 8, 2023

This worked great for almost 3 years with great sound quality. Then the battery failed an/or the on/off button failed (may be related problems or 2 different problems. Either way it is now non-functional).

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joshua mitchell

Not waterproof!

Reviewed in the United States on September 3, 2023

Color: blackVerified Purchase

We have had this speaker for a few years now. We loved it, no problems.
Until we finally tested it on our river float where we submerged it under water.
It is now malfunctioned. Will not stay connected to our phones Bluetooth. Now is completely unusable.
Disappointed in the claim that it is "Pool Party" ready.

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Kindle Customer

Sound quality awful - blown out woofer from out of the box

Reviewed in the United States on July 14, 2020

Color: blackVerified Purchase

My friend had bought one and recommended it, so when it was on sale I bought one immediately. I was really excited about this speaker but, unfortunately, as soon as it was charged and tested it's sound quality, it was obviously an inferior product. It can not handle bass at all no matter the music genre, and it sounds like the woofers (if it has any) have been blown out. The reverberation so distorts the bass that it effects the entire sound quality making the music nearly unrecognizable. It can only handle some bass at the most quietest of settings, making it unusable for anything but white noise as I try to sleep... but honestly, since it was a waste of money, the thought of it being used just for that upsets me and I can't sleep..so it's really just a paper weight. Hoping Anker will do what's right and replace this inferior product.

2 people found this helpful

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GSHOCK75

(TRASH) Pairing and keeping it paired to a second unit is a complete pain in the......

Reviewed in the United States on May 12, 2019

Color: blackVerified Purchase

I bought 2 units in hopes of good Stereo playback, all I received is utter disappointment, they constantly disconnect from each other, one unit will connect to my ASUS ROG Laptop, while the other one sits there in pairing mode until it times out, the instruction manual is very basic and poorly written for those that purchase 2 of them, I swear its one headache after another with these units, I might as well send them back, because in my opinion, they are not living up to the Hype, and should you disconnect them move the to a different location, and try to reconnect them, yea, they are TRASH, don't believe that manufactures hype, for the problems that come from pairing them, they really aren't worth the money.

3 people found this helpful

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Gunslinger

Takes FOREVER to charge!

Reviewed in the United States on November 23, 2019

Color: blackVerified Purchase

Its a nice little speaker with a decent sound to it. Can get loud when you need it to.

Only problem is it takes forever to charge. My phone can charge in under 2 hours. My controllers charge in under two hours. There is absolutely no reason this should take as long as it does.

12 hour play - but a 12 hour charge too! Took all night to finally be ready. Not cool if you're planning to use it the same day.

Plan ahead.

UPDATE
It doesn't work anymore. Lasted a little more than a year just playing music on a shelf. Not worth it.

One person found this helpful

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Ann Recotta

Updated- AWESOME!

Reviewed in the United States on May 18, 2021

Color: blackVerified Purchase

This was fantastic, great sound and really enjoyed it, Then we tried to charge it, and it won't charge. We've tried everything, searched forums, switched cords, contacted the seller to no avail. Very disappointed. Would love to get it to charge so we can use!
EDITED: They did send a new one! Customer service was great. Husband didn't tell me that he heard from them with a replacement. 🤣 Hubby says they were great to work with. HIGHLY RECOMMEND!

3 people found this helpful

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Deanna B.

Do not buy for family use! Only pairs to one device!

Reviewed in the United States on August 31, 2020

Color: blackVerified Purchase

Multiple devices can not be used easily with this device. Once a device is paired with it that device is the only device that will work with the Soundcore Flare. There is a way around this though. It requires deleting device from your Bluetooth device history and resetting the Soundcore Flare by pressing the BassUp & Play button for 8 seconds. Then repairing the device. Again not easy or user friendly. It does sound good though. I wish I would bought a different product though.

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Cyrano1db

Service counts.

Reviewed in the United States on May 14, 2019

Color: blackVerified Purchase

I was unable to pair this speaker with my fire TV. I had previously had a smaller Anker that performed very well. When I called for assistance, I was told to pair the speaker with my phone. Since I had just had my phone set up by a pro, I said no. The gal who was supposedly helping just said if I wouldn't pair it to the phone there was no way she could help. That ended the conversation. The unit was returned.

4 people found this helpful

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Daddy B Me

Cannot ever get it to connect to Bluetooth. So frustrating. We gave up and never use it!

Reviewed in the United States on November 9, 2019

Color: blackVerified Purchase

A great sounding speaker when you can get it to connect to Bluetooth. I have to spend 10 minutes turning Bluetooth on and off and turning the speaker on and off to get it to connect if I can even get it to connect at all. I cannot connect it or show up on my iphone 10 XR, iPad Pro or my sons iPhone 8. We never use it because we cannot get it to connect.

2 people found this helpful

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carolmagera

not so happy with purchase

Reviewed in the United States on July 10, 2021

Color: blackVerified Purchase

I bought the speakers because of the sound but I also wanted to be able to pair them together while they will pair they only stay paired for a half an hour then one shuts off and I’ve tried everything to make them stay paired but nothing works

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shammi jayaraj

Terrible product and ro rerun policy seller

Reviewed in the United States on September 25, 2021

Color: blackVerified Purchase

The product will not pair or work at all .. tried iPhone and android phones to pair .. same fate .. I am stuck with this product and the seller had put this item as non returnable!!!!! Do not buy from this seller

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