Ultimate Ears Wonderboom vs Ultimate Ears Wonderboom 2: Should I upgrade?

If you plan to spend time outdoors this summer, you'll need a portable speaker. The Wonderboom and Wonderboom 2 are both small and lightweight, making them easy to carry. But don't be fooled by their size; these speakers offer big, robust sound, too.

Let's break it down

With the Wonderboom 2, Ultimate Ears introduced some important improvements that make the new speaker a big upgrade over the original. And it still comes at an affordable price, making the Wonderboom 2 a great companion for the great outdoors.

Category	Wonderboom	Wonderboom 2
Battery life	10 hours	13 hours
Water and dust proof	IPX7	IP67
Design	Single-tone fabrics	Athleisure-inspired two-tone fabrics
Size	102 mm x 93.5 mm 425 g	104 mm x 95.3 mm 420 g
Port	MicroUSB	MicroUSB
Colors	Lilac Subzero Concrete Patches Avocado Unicorn Raspberry	Radical Red Deep Space Black Crushed Ice Grey Bermuda Blue

More features and improved sound

The original Wonderboom was already great because of its small size, large sound, and affordable price. But the Wonderboom 2 is better in every way, including battery life and durability. These two features are very important if you plan to use the Wonderboom 2 outdoors.

The Wonderboom 2 features a battery that can last up to 13 hours, as opposed to the Wonderboom's 10. That's a big difference, especially if you're away from a power source. After all, the Wonderboom 2 is designed to be used outdoors, so chances are electricity won't be readily available.

Speaking of the outdoors, the Wonderboom 2 will survive the elements thanks to its IP67 rating, which means it's water and dustproof. The original Wonderboom, by contrast, isn't dust resistant, so taking it to the beach is a dangerous proposition. It's an important difference, because it means you'll have greater peace of mind knowing the Wonderboom 2 won't be defeated by the elements.

The Wonderboom 2 also features richer sound, thanks to an Outdoor Boost mode. According to Ultimate Ears, Outdoor Boost specially tunes the speaker for outside listening, providing bigger bass, louder audio, and a 360-degree sound. The original Wonderboom has no such boost mode, so its sound doesn't fill spaces as well.

Bottom line

The Wonderboom 2 features several key upgrades over the original model, while still offering a compact design at an affordable price.

Importantly, the Wonderboom 2 features 30 percent better battery and water and dust resistance. The speaker can be submerged in up to 1 meter of water for 30 minutes and still come out unscathed. I'd say Ultimate Ears has learned some survival skills.

While you're enjoying the great outdoors this summer, the Wonderboom 2 will fill adventures with your favorite music.

However, if you absolutely need an Ultimate Ears speaker and need to save some money, the Wonderboom isn't a bad option. It's just not the best you can do.