Bose sits in a specific spot in the portable speaker market: genuinely — often significantly — better audio than most of the competition, but also at a price that usually reflects its superiority. So a two-digit price tag on a current-gen Bose speaker is the kind of thing worth stopping for, especially when it’s a Bose speaker that can go wherever you need to bring that sound.
The 2nd-gen Bose SoundLink Micro portable Bluetooth speaker is a limited-time resident of the sub-$100 price category, selling for just $99 at Amazon. Prime Bose sound can indeed come from a speaker as small as the SoundLink Micro, and at this price it’s almost impossible to resist the urge to find out for yourself.
Pocket-Sized Premium Sound
The SoundLink Micro is literally pocketable, and it’s strap-equipped to go places — but the sound doesn’t scale down with the size. The passive radiator design pulls bass out of a speaker that has no business producing it, with crisp highs and low-end thump that consistently surprises people picking it up for the first time. The biggest upgrade from the original SoundLink Micro is battery life, which doubles to 12 hours of continuous playback. For a speaker this size, that’s a serious number — it covers a full beach day, a long trail run, or a weekend camping trip without a mid-outing charge.
The utility strap is reinforced enough to attach to a carabiner or wrap around a handlebar without concern, which is the right call for a speaker marketed to outdoor use. Speaking of which, the IP67 rating means the SoundLink Micro is fully dustproof and waterproof, plus shock- and rust-resistant. Drop it, dunk it, leave it in a wet bag — it’s built to come back from the kind of treatment a tiny outdoor speaker is going to get.
Little Bose to Go
The Bluetooth range of the 2nd-gen SoundLink Micro extends to 30 feet with improved bandwidth over the previous version, and the Bose app adds adjustable EQ — bass, treble, and mid controls — which is a feature that rarely shows up at this price point. Two of these SoundLink Micro units can be paired together in Stereo or Party Mode for anyone building out a small Bose setup, which is perfect for an impromptu outdoor party.
The $99 Amazon price sounds like it should come with a catch — older model, limited color choices, refurbished stock. It doesn’t. This is the current model of the Bose SoundLink Micro at a limited-time discount, and the gap between what it costs and what it sounds like is the whole appeal.
