Anker Soundcore Flare Review

Kenn Muguna Avatar

Written by:

Updated 11:25 pm

Expert Rating

91

The Anker Soundcore Flare is a nice-looking speaker that is a few steps ahead of its predecessor, the original Anker Soundcore, and comes with a few tweaks that justify its slightly higher price tag. The wireless speaker offers 360-degree sound, and has a 12-hour battery life that’ll see it playing music for up to half a day before it needs a recharge. If you have the LED light show on as you play your music, the playback period shoots down to about 5.5 hours, though you could also choose to have the speaker play music while it’s plugged in so that it doesn’t shut down. Does it have what it takes to compete with some of the top contenders in our highly-rated Bluetooth speakers list? Go on with the rest of this review to find out.

Why We Like It – Anker Soundcore Flare

Anker is gaining a steadily increasing following as a reliable audio products manufacturer, and this is because of the high quality of products like the Anker Soundcore Flare and other products like the one described in the Anker SoundCore review. With a 12-hour battery life, a 12-watt speaker output, and an IP67 waterproof rating, Anker Soundcore Flare can be the perfect outdoor companion for those that never want to leave their music behind. It’s probably a great contender as the top waterproof speaker.

Pros
  • LED Light ring
  • 12 Hour Battery Life
  • IP67 Waterproof Rating
Cons
  • No built-in microphone

Performance

Despite its small size, the Anker Soundcore Flare manages to handle bass-heavy tracks pretty well, and this is courtesy of its BassUp Technology which analyzes, then enhances your music’s bass frequencies in real-time. You can get a similar effect in the lightweight model which you can learn about in our Anker Soundcore Playtime Bluetooth Portable review. This ensures that the sound quality remains high, and keeps distortion at a minimum even when playing your tracks at high volume. If the 12-watt speaker output is not enough, there’s the option to connect two Anker Soundcore Bluetooth speakers for a stereo sound listening experience, just as you would with two JBL Charge 4 speakers. Also, with an IP67 waterproof rating, the portable speaker is completely capable of withstanding water splashes, and even being completely submerged in water for a short time.

Design

There’s no denying that the Soundcore Flare is a pretty good-looking portable Bluetooth speaker. Like the OontZ Angle 3 Bluetooth speaker, the build quality is top-notch, and it comes in a cylindrical shape that widens out at the bottom where it has an LED light ring that flashes with the rhythm of your music for a completely immersive audio-visual experience. If you’re not a fan of the light show, you can also choose to have it off, and this works to extend the battery life for just a couple of hours. Yet, this is better than the Harman Kardon Onyx Studio 4 speaker, as the battery only lasts eight hours. On its top, there’s a central play/pause button, surrounded by plus & minus controls for the volume on its left and right. Right above it, there’s a button to control the LED lights, and below, another that controls the bass.

If a vintage design is what you seek, you’ll want to read our Sangean WR-11 wood cabinet review. It’s a speaker straight out of the 50s. For a practical speaker used to monitor potentially inclement weather instances, give our RunningSnail NOAA review a read.

Value

If you end up buying the Soundcore Flare, using it will get a lot easier once you download the Soundcore app. This app allows you to control everything from the light flashing sequence to the sound quality through its different EQ modes. To get it charged to full capacity will take something close to 3.5 hours, and despite this being a little longer than most of the other Bluetooth speaker models, it’s still reasonable seeing that the speaker can also be used to play music while plugged in. If you’re still not satisfied with the level of sound performance that the Flare has to offer, then you could opt for the more sophisticated Bose Soundlink Color II Bluetooth speaker, though it’s going to cost you a bit more money to buy.

Anker Soundcore Flare Wrap Up

The Anker Soundcore Flare is a decent Bluetooth speaker to get for less than $70, and with its elegant shape and small size, carrying it around should be a breeze. The speaker is built to last and looks good whether you have it on top of your desk or by the pool.

Kenn Muguna Avatar