Popular speaker company Ultimate Ears today announced the launch of two new speakers to its product lineup, the Boom 3 and Megaboom 3. Like all Ultimate Ear speakers, the Boom 3 and MegaBoom 3 are portable, waterproof speakers that can be used in a variety of conditions and are perfect for the pool or beach.
Compared to previous generation speakers, the BOOM 3 and MEGABOOM 3 use a new two-tone high-performance fabric that is extra tough and was originally designed for purposes such as motorcycle jackets and fire equipment.
There’s also a new Magic Button on top of the speaker for easy access to music controls, while MEGABOOM 3 is equipped with deep bass thanks to new passive radiators.
Design
We were able to test the new MEGABOOM 3 ahead of its debut, and we were impressed with its new design and the new controls that Logitech implemented. The new two-tone fabric looks fantastic, and the speaker’s overall design is much sleeker as the rubber strap that’s normally on the front has been moved to the rear. This gives more surface area for sound for better 360 degree audio
We tested the red version of the speaker, which is vibrant and eye-catching, but it also comes in black, blue, and purple. Apple will also sell two exclusive BOOM 3 and MEGABOOM 3 colors: Cloud, a light blue, and Denim, a dark blue shade. It is worth noting that the new fabric that the speaker is made from offers better resistance to dust, increases its water resistance and increases the ingress rating to IP67.
MEGABOOM 3 and BOOM 3 will hold liquids and can be used at the beach, pool, rain and other similar conditions. This year, the speakers are floating, so you can place them right in the pool to listen to music while swimming. The Ultimate Ears are properly water resistant and we haven’t seen any issues with the speakers in wet conditions.
The BOOM 3 is the smaller of the two speakers and is more portable, while the MEGABOOM 3 has bigger sound and more bass, making it ideal for outdoor use. Sound wise, the MEGABOOM 3 is loud enough that at maximum volume it can be heard across multiple rooms or across a pool or beach area.
Along with the new look, the “+” and “-” buttons blend into the fabric of the speaker for a more subtle design and, most importantly, the update moves the micro-USB to the back of the device instead of the bottom. So now the speaker is upright and can be charged while in use.
Both the MEGABOOM 3 and BOOM 3 are compatible with the $40 Power Up Charging Dock that Ultimate Ears introduced last year, which lets you charge the speaker inductively so you don’t have to fiddle with cables and micro-USB ports.
MEGABOOM 3 and BOOM 3 have built-in batteries. The BOOM 3 battery can last up to 15 hours before recharging, while the MEGABOOM 3 battery can last for 20 hours.
performance and app
While the MegaBoom 3 and Boom 3 look great, it’s the addition of the Magic Button that elevates their usefulness above and beyond the previous generation of Ultimate Ear Speakers.
Paired with the new Ultimate Ears Boom app, the Magic Button allows MEGABOOM 3 and BOOM 3 to work with playlists for the first time. From Apple Music, you can import up to four playlists. You can include self-made playlists or ones that Apple makes, such as New Music Mixes and Chill Mixes.
Playlists can be auto-played using Magic Buttons. A long press will activate your playlists, while a second long press will skip to the next playlist This is useful if you have different playlists that you want to access at a party or at the beach or pool when you don’t have your iPhone handy.
Magic buttons also provide full control for other purposes. Pressing it turns the speaker on, while a second press will pause it. A double press will skip to the next song.
You can set up four playlists using the BOOM app, which is required to use the playlist feature. On iOS devices, it works with Apple Music and pulls content from your music library, Apple’s recommendations, and preset playlists you’ve created. The playlist feature is limited to Apple Music, so unfortunately it won’t work with Spotify at this time.
On Android, though, it works with Deezer Premium, and Ultimate Ears says additional music services will be added in the future.
However, you can still play music from Spotify or any other music service from the iPhone through a Bluetooth connection to the speaker. The BOOM app also offers full music control and the ability to turn speakers on and off, plus it offers an equalizer to adjust bass, mids and treble to desired levels.
The app also provides access to the key features that the Ultimate Ear Speaker is known for for PartyUp to link up to 150 speakers together and Block Party to allow multiple people to stream content to the MegaBoom 3 or Boom 3.
Ultimate Ears says that both the MEGABOOM 3 and BOOM 3 have been upgraded with improved Bluetooth range of up to 150 feet, and that longer-range support was evident in our testing compared to previous-generation Ultimate Ears speakers.
The Ultimate Ears speakers always sound great, and while there’s no improvement on the Boom 3’s sound quality, the MegaBoom 3 has noticeably deeper bass thanks to the inclusion of new passive radiators.
We didn’t get to test the BOOM 3’s sound, but the MEGABOOM 3 sounds even better than the previous generation of Ultimate Ear Speakers.
how to buy
The new MEGABOOM 3 and BOOM 3 will be available for purchase in the US and select countries in Europe and Asia starting in September.
The BOOM 3 costs $149.99, and the MEGABOOM 3 costs $199.99. As mentioned earlier, Apple will sell exclusive versions of the two speakers in two different shades of blue.
Note: Ultimate Ears provided MacRumors with the MEGABOOM 3 for the purpose of this review. No other compensation was received.
