It’s been three years since the Wonderboom 2 and for me, Ultimate Ears’ third-generation update falls short.
It’s no secret I’ve been hankering after the UE Wonderboom 3 for years. Why? Because the 2019 Wonderboom 2 was just so good – even now, it’s sitting pretty as one of the best Bluetooth speakers we’ve had the pleasure of testing.
And finally, today, it has arrived! The Ultimate Ears Wonderboom 3 comes in four new jackets: Joyous Bright (which is actually gray), Hyper Pink, Performance Blue, and Active Black – all made with a minimum of certified 31% post-consumer plastic.
The crisp, bassy audio should now last up to 14 hours – ie. an hour longer than the Wonderboom 2 – and the mobile Bluetooth range is up to a claimed 40m versus the 30m range of the second-generation Wonderboom.
But that’s it, folks. That’s where the upgrade list ends, as far as I can see.
As with the Wonderboom 2, the Wonderboom 3 still floats. It also has the same cute ‘outdoor boost’ tree button on its underside, and it carries the like-for-like IP67 rating for dust and water ingress. But it also sports the same micro USB charger that was relatively old news even in 2019 – so anyone looking to carry one USB-C charger to rule them all will be sorely out of luck.
Ultimate Ears has been cagey about the Bluetooth version supported and, as far as I can tell, there’s been no change in the driver configuration under its new, eco-friendly jacket either – no racetrack-shaped drivers (as seen in JBL’s latest slew of speakers), no extra few watts of power, nothing.
