5 features to look for in your next Bluetooth speaker

Bluetooth speakers are pocket sized and fun, and easily the best companion to take with you on a trip with friends and family. These tiny, portable devices are generally very powerful and can fill a room with sound pretty well. They’re amazing for livening up a dull bus ride or for kicking off a jam session on a lonely beach. These speakers are even great for the (rather boring) purpose of providing clear audio for meetings at work, acting as powerful mics, and more. And if you’re looking for a new Bluetooth speaker in 2024, here are five features you must have in your new device!

1. Bluetooth 5.3 support

We don’t often look at specs when picking up a Bluetooth speaker, but this is one we’d recommend you look for when buying your next speaker. This new update to the Bluetooth standard offers two major benefits for Bluetooth speakers. The first one is superior connectivity thanks to an updated protocol, and the second is better battery life thanks to better power management for the Bluetooth radio.

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Older Bluetooth protocols are fine, but it’s worth paying a little bit more for Bluetooth 5.3 if you have that option. 

2. Voice assistant integration

There aren’t many options like this, but if you do find one, pick up a Bluetooth speaker with support for voice assistants. Rather than having to pull out your phone every time you want to change a track or adjust volume, simply having the option to yell at a Bluetooth speaker and having it do your bidding is a lot more convenient.

3. Multi-room audio and multi-device pairing

Several Bluetooth speakers today come with support for multi-room audio. This is a criminally underrated feature and should be present on all Bluetooth speakers.

ALSO READ: How to connect a phone to multiple Bluetooth speakers or headphones? 

With this feature, you’ll be able to communicate with other speakers in the same house or area. It’s amazing when you’re having a house party and the like, as everyone can rock to the same music simultaneously.  

4. An IP68 rating

This one’s a no-brainer, but worth mentioning for how essential it is. Portable Bluetooth speakers are meant to tough it out with you as you travel, and to that end, you need a speaker that is waterproof and dust–proof so a little rain or dust doesn’t kill it. You should be able to rock to your tunes just as easily on a beach as you would in your home.

5. Customisable EQ

Another feature we love on our Bluetooth speakers is the option for custom equaliser settings. Having the option for a custom equaliser (EQ) means that we can tune the audio to our liking. Too much bass? Tune it out. You could also boost the treble and mid-range, or cut down on any hiss you don’t like.

ALSO READ: Top 5 Bluetooth speakers under Rs 1,000: Find quality on a budget 

Bluetooth speakers have fundamentally changed the way we listen to and enjoy music. No longer are we tethered to complex home audio setups, or stuck with tinny smartphone speakers. They’re fun, lively companions that are well worth carrying with us wherever we go, and hopefully, this article has put you on the right track towards finding the right features for you.