Anker Soundcore Mini -- Review After (Nearly) 4 Years of Use.

The last time I reviewed a product was 4 years ago. For a crappy lavalier microphone. So, here goes….

On the 14th February 2019, I purchased a Bluetooth speaker to play audio content when going to bed, as I hated the awful sound of the Xperia Z2’s speaker. The reason I went for the Soundcore mini was it being well reviewed and on-sale for £16.49.

Now it’s been nearly 4 years since purchase. I will present some positives and negatives that I have experienced since receiving the speaker.

Positives:

Portability: The speaker is both small-sized and light, though its shape may be slightly inconvenient for some (cylinder).

Build Quality: The Soundcore Mini is metal bodied (apart from the bottom) and feels extremely solid in the hand. I have dropped a few times and the speaker still works perfectly and there are no signs of physical damage.

Battery Life: Or at least originally, when the Soundcore Mini only needed charging about once-a-week. Nearly 4 years on, battery capacity has dropped by around 50%.

Neutral:

Sound quality: The small-size of the Soundcore Mini means that bass is in short supply. However, for listening to audiobooks and YouTubers, it’s fine enough. A bigger speaker would for sure add more “warmth” to the sound, but it’s fine enough if you don’t plan on playing music at any decent quality.

Negatives:

MP3 though Micro-SD: I attempted to play audiobooks directly from a Micro-SD card but could not get a sequence of MP3s to play in order.

In conclusion: The Anker Soundcore Mini is a decent enough Bluetooth speaker if you are listening to spoken words. However, improvements in smartphone and tablet speakers since limits the improvements experienced with such a small speaker.

Nowadays, I would recommend getting something bigger.

Published: 1st February 2023