Verdict
With 50w of power, the soundcore Boom 3i is a power house of a small speaker that's as rugged as it is loud with it's IP68 rating, salt-water protection, and drop resistance. Extra features are just icing on the cake for what is a speaker that is incredible value for money.
The Good
- Insanely loud for it's size
- Built to take a few knocks
- sound is highly configurable
The Bad
- The shoulder strap feels a bit cheap
- Not much else really at this price
Soundcore has just dropped their most rugged Bluetooth speaker yet, and it’s making some serious noise—literally. The Boom 3i doesn’t just promise durability; it delivers incredible volume and a bunch of features you probably didn’t even know you needed. But does all this add up to a speaker worth your money?
Design and Build: Standing Out from the Crowd
First things first—you’re definitely not going to lose this speaker in a hurry. While most portable speakers come in boring black, the Boom 3i arrives in a refreshing jungle green (though you can also grab it in blue, black, or brown if you’re feeling more conservative). It’s a welcome change in a sea of identical-looking speakers, and honestly, we’re here for it.
Size-wise, you’re looking at roughly 8 inches long and about 3 inches square. At 780 grams, it sits in that sweet spot between the lighter JBL Flip 7 and the heavier JBL Charge 6—making it a perfect Goldilocks speaker that’s easy to carry around and toss in your bag without breaking your back.
The convenience factor gets even better with the included carry strap. Just hook it onto the built-in attachment points at the top, and you can sling it over your shoulder or strap it to a kayak. It’s designed for adventure, and it shows.
Built Like a Tank
The build quality feels rock solid, which is exactly what you’d want from Soundcore’s most rugged speaker to date. Those rubberized ends aren’t just for looks—they protect the speaker if you drop it and house passive radiators that light up when music plays (more on that later).
The plastic grille on top protects the woofer and tweeter underneath. Yes, it’s mono sound, but you can pair two Boom 3i speakers together for stereo if you want to get fancy.
Controls That Actually Make Sense
The control layout is refreshingly straightforward. You’ve got your standard power button, Bluetooth pairing, volume up/down with play/pause in between, and a light switch for cycling through various light modes (or turning them off entirely). There’s also a dedicated pairing button and—here’s where it gets interesting—a bass up button that makes a noticeable difference to the sound.
Ruggedness Redefined
This is where the Boom 3i really shines. Soundcore has engineered this speaker to handle pretty much anything you can throw at it—literally. It’s been drop-tested from about a meter, so your typical fumbles won’t phase it.
But here’s the kicker: it has a special protective coating that makes it five times more resistant to salt water than uncoated speakers. While we’d still recommend rinsing it after ocean use, that extra protection gives you serious peace of mind.
The IP68 rating means it’s completely dustproof and waterproof—you can submerge it in over a meter of water for 30 minutes and it’ll keep trucking. But here’s the thing: even if you accidentally chuck it off a boat, it floats.
The Floating Feature That Changes Everything
Plenty of Bluetooth speakers float, but the Boom 3i has been deliberately designed to always float speaker-side up. This might sound like a minor detail, but it’s genius. How many times have you seen speakers flip over in water, leaving you listening to muffled music coming from underwater? Problem solved.
And if you somehow manage to get sand all over it (because, let’s face it, sand gets everywhere), there’s a “Buzz Clean” feature that sends pulsating vibrations through speaker to shake loose any debris. It’s like having a tiny earthquake for your speaker—in the best possible way.
Sound Quality: Loud and Proud
The Boom 3i packs 50 watts of power, which is seriously impressive for a speaker this size. It’ll easily fill most rooms, and when you combine that with the Bass Up 2.0 feature, you get surprisingly deep low-end for something so portable. I would definitely recommend leaving the Bass-Up feature on as without it music can sound quite thin in comparison.
The default sound signature is decidedly V-shaped—lots of bass, lots of treble, and very energetic. It’s perfect for parties, beach hangouts, or anywhere you want music that grabs attention. If the out-of-the-box sound isn’t quite your style, there are multiple preset EQs and a 9-band custom equalizer so you can tweak the sound to exactly what you want.
Despite it’s loud volume the Boom 3i is only equipped with a single woofer and tweeter. So, whilst the mono setup might seem limiting, the speaker delivers enough presence and volume that it rarely feels like a compromise. And remember, you can always grab a second one and pair them up for true stereo sound.
And there’s more!
As if the core features weren’t enough, there’s even more that this speaker can do:
Battery Life: 16 hours on a full charge is excellent for this size class. Of course, cranking the volume and using Bass Up will drain it faster, but it’s still impressive.
Emergency Alarm: There’s a 96dB alarm function for emergencies. Trust us, it’s insanely loud—the kind of sound that’ll get attention when you need it most.
Voice Broadcast: You can record messages on your phone and broadcast them through the speaker. Perfect for telling everyone the barbecue is ready or making announcements at gatherings.
Light Show: The passive radiators light up and can sync with your music or provide ambient lighting. It’s not essential, but it adds a fun party vibe.
The Soundcore App Experience
The companion app allows you to fully control all the features on the Boom 3i. Whether that’s simply adjusting the volume or toggling Bass-Up 2.0, through to fully customising the sound via the 9-band custom equalizer, or using some of it’s advanced features such as the voice amplifier, , light effects, or emergency sirens.
The soundcore app is one that goes from strength to strength with every product that soundcore releases as it uses the same app for all it’s products. This makes for a clean and intuitive interface — no hunting through menus to find what you need.. It’s certainly one of the best, and most feature rich, apps out there for controlling your speakers or headphones.
Final Thoughts
The Soundcore Boom 3i succeeds by focusing on what matters most: durability, volume, and convenience. It’s light enough to carry anywhere, tough enough to handle whatever you throw at it, and loud enough to be the life of the party.
The extra features like the lighting effects and voice broadcast are nice touches, but even without them, there’s more than enough here to justify the asking price of $140. However, at the moment soundcore are knocking up to $45 off and so you can currently buy it for under $100! At regular price, it’s a solid buy. On sale, it’s a no-brainer.
Whether you’re heading to the beach, going camping, or just want a speaker that can handle daily life without babying it, the Soundcore Boom 3i delivers where it counts.
