Soundcore Flare Wireless Speaker by Anker, Waterproof Party Speaker with 360° Sound, Enhanced Bass & Ambient LED Light, IP67 Waterproof and 12-Hour Battery Life-Blue

I did my research and ultimately chose to purchase the Anker over the JBL. Cost was certainly a factor but not the first. I wanted a good speaker for my daughters to enjoy. Plus, I was sick of listening to them blare their music through the crappy phone speakers. Now at least, I can hear a bit more depth. I took note if this type of speaker when a friend traveled to visit brought his JBL. we had fun putting it in the center of the table on the patio while we chatted and took turns choosing songs on his phone. I decided on the Anker after talking with a different friend who had a different Anker. I purchased a pair of these along with the carry case for each of my two daughers. The sound is great, and can fill a room without trouble. It may not have all the features of the JBL (cant hook 99 of them up in series for a bon fire beach party--bummer?) but they work great, and the ring lighted base that strobes to the beat is pretty cool. It can be turned off, by the way. They take a while to charge, 6+ hours I think. But this speaker puts out strong sound for a long time. Its pretty durable and I like that it stands erect rather than horizontal as it takes up less footprint on a table. Since my car does not have bluetooth or a patch cord, the speaker often gets placed on the dash or between the seats with no problem. I never know how much abuse electronics will get from my daughters who seem to go through screen protectors every month, and this Anker is holding up really well. its pretty rugged. Another reason i strayed from the pricier JBL, thinking that if it got trashed, my sense of financial practicality would not be quite so wounded. All the controls are on the top of the unit and we have had no connection issues at all. I also got the patch cord so they could hook it up to their laptop. So ya, all in all, its been a good purchase and after 4 months, no problems and still going strong.

Pros: I loved the sound quality and lights on the speaker, I also loved the ability to pair two Soundcore Flares for a surround sound effect. It is also quite nice that it has a ipx7 waterproof rating (can be completely submersed up to 3ft). Cons: My biggest issue with this product is that the advertised battery life is not accurate, instead of 12 hours it lasts about 5.5 hours on max volume. The Soundcore app frequently has an issue pairing with the devices and requires me to re-pair the speakers in order to try again. One of the speakers also suddenly stopped working after 5 days which was also highly aggravating and I am currently attempting to get a refund/replacement. I would say these are still worth the purchase as they are great but it is important to know their drawbacks as well.Edit: I received the refund for the defective speaker and I am currently happy with the speed of delivery and simplicity of returning my defective item. I am crossing my fingers that these two speakers continue to work just fine.Edit #2: After owning these two speakers for a couple years now, I can absolutely say that they are reliable and a worthy purchase. After the defective speaker was replaced, I continued to use these on a daily basis. They have suffered numerous drops onto hard surfaces and have not broken yet (I’m gonna try to stop dropping them anyways). I am changing my review from a 3 star to 5 star!

This little speaker packs quite the punch. I honestly don't know how it is able to produce the bass it can and the volume can be cranked up without distortion. Adequate for a pool patio gathering.

I didn't want to review it until I had the device for more than a year, and it has NOT disappointed. It's SO much cheaper than the Bose Soundlink speakers some of my coworkers have, and the sound quality is not that different in my opinion. Mess with the equalizer in the app and you'll likely get the performance you want.I work outside rain or shine in the spring and fall prepping boats. This little guy plays for two full workdays (16 hours total) before dying, going well past their estimated battery life of 12 hours even one year of use later. I don't blast it at full volume but I do have it pretty decently loud, and I have the little LEDs and bass boost turned off which may explain the longevity somewhat. Nowadays I bring a solar charger and top it up every few days during a lunch break if it's starting to get low, and I can't remember the last time it died at this point.Haven't tested the waterproofing other than a few quick rainstorms and bringing it in the shower sometimes (not purposefully under the water, but sitting on a shelf in the shower). It can definitely handle high ambient humidity and some splashing, but I'd look to other reviewers for its performance after submersion. For cleaning I usually use a vaccuum to suck out any dust that gets on its little cloth covering and then run a wet rag over it.The only con for me: the app on iOS isn't great, and for some reason wants your mobile data on (??) even if it's connected to your bluetooth already. If you disable the app from using your cell data it will claim it can't find the device (note: the speaker will be happily playing music over bluetooth throughout this exchange, it isn't a connection issue at all). As soon as you re-enable data, boom, the app works. Not sure why, perhaps there's a reason I'm not understanding. Thankfully you don't need to use the app unless you wish to control the equalizer or the colour controls for the LEDs, so I set it up once and then haven't touched it much since.