With all due respect to home sound systems, there’s something awesome about a small Bluetooth speaker that you can throw in a bag, pop out anywhere, and enjoy your music. The beauty of a speaker like the Anker SoundCore Mini is that it doesn’t take up a lot of space but still kicks out the sound like its big brother.
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Anker SoundCore Mini speaker review
If you’re looking for a smaller-sized speaker that won’t break the bank and you won’t be put out if you lose or break it, the SoundCore Mini might be what you’re after.
Design, Look and Feel
Unlike a lot of smaller Bluetooth offerings, the SoundCore Mini is made from aluminum, not plastic. It’s small enough to fit in your hand, about the size of a short soda can, and fairly light. It also has a rubber base to provide some grip when you set it down. It comes in black and pink. The SoundCore Mini is just 3 x 2 inches.
Sound Quality: Surprisinly good for its mini size
Anker claims the SoundCore Mini is built to provide a lot of bass, with the entire top section devoted to a bass speaker. There’s a 5-watt driver that handles all that volume, and for a small speaker, it’s actually able to pump out a lot of sound.
That was the first thing I noticed when I put it on; it’s powerful and sounds really clear, plus it gets surprisingly loud.
For a speaker this small I’m actually shocked at how good it sounds. If I’m being honest, I figured this would be a little scratchy sounding speaker that you’d use kind of in an audio emergency… but the Sound Core Mini is actually a pretty robust and good sounding speaker with a big soundstage and well rounded sound. The bass is surprisingly strong and overall it’s just a great sounding little speaker and I was not expecting that. It may actually be my summer sleeper hit!
Connections/ports
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If you want to go old school, the Anker SoundCore Mini has an Aux-in port and a microSD slot, giving you options for sound input. Of course it’s a portable Bluetooth speaker too so naturally it’s wireless. The SoundCore Mini also features a built-in FM radio that uses the charging cable as an antenna.
The controls on the device itself are straightforward, with a long vertical three-button section that will increase or decrease volume and play or pause. There’s also a button to toggle between input modes, as well as a power button.
There’s also a built-in noise-canceling microphone, allowing you to make calls through the speaker. Some users have mentioned that the Bluetooth connection can occasionally become suspect, with some dropouts.
Setting it up is easy; when it turns on (using a physical switch on the back) it’s already in pairing mode and you can head to your phone’s Bluetooth menu to connect. Once connected it will automatically reconnect to that same device next time it turns on. If it’s not connected to a device it will automatically reenter pairing mode.
It also seems to have some kind of auto shut off, since I forgot to turn it off but the next time I used it it still had juice.
Battery life/charging
Another of the many surprises about this tiny speaker is that it’s got dope battery life. The battery in the SoundCore Mini lasts about 15 hours before needing to be recharged via mini USB cable. It takes about an hour or so to recharge the battery fully, which is pretty fast. The SoundCore Mini has an internal battery, and you won’t be able to change it out once it reaches end of life.
On the back there’s a small LED light that will start to flash if the battery is dying. If it’s off, your battery is fine, and it will turn solid while charging.
How Does Anker SoundCore Mini Compare to Anker Soundcore?
You can check out my full review of Anker SoundCore here. The SoundCore Mini won’t put out as much volume as the Soundcore, and you won’t have the luxury of limited waterproofing. The Mini actually offers more options for connecting through the microSD and the FM radio. The SoundCore costs a bit more, but not substantially. The decision may come down to the style and expected usage of the speaker. The battery life on the SoundCore is twice the length of the Mini, something to take into consideration if you’re prone to lengthy music sessions.
Overall review Anker SoundCore Mini
Overall review Anker SoundCore MiniOverall this is a solid little speaker that surprised me on many levels; it’s powerful, and it sounds so much better than you’d ever give it credit for. It’s cute and compact and is easy to bring anywhere. Plus it’s got lots of options for playing music and long battery life
Downsides? The battery life indicator is rather imprecise and I’m not clear if the app is supposed to work for this speaker but it didn’t for me.
Even so, I like this speaker a lot and can recommend it if you need a small portable speaker that cranks.
It sells for about $40CAD/$24USD and you can get it from Amazon.
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