Anker SoundCore Mini 2 Review

Sound Quality

The Anker SoundCore Mini 2 retains the great sound quality of the original Mini 1 speaker. The Mini 2 gets a little louder with its 6-watt driver, up one watt from the Mini 1’s 5-watt driver. Like the Mini 1, the speaker tends to overemphasize highs and can start to sound scratchy at higher volumes, but at normal volume levels (say up to about 75%), the speaker has great overall sound. In Anker’s SoundCore line of speakers, the Mini 2’s sound quality sits between the SoundCore Nano and the SoundCore 2.

Bass Performance

Normally, you would expect zero bass with a unit this size. However, I was surprised to find a little bit of kick to the bass on this unit, enhanced a little more from the previous Mini 1 speaker. It won’t give you that “thud” you would find on larger speakers, but the sound quality definitely rivals some speakers twice its size.

Features

Surprisingly, the Mini 2 loses some features from the Mini 1. There is no Micro SD card playback on the Mini 2. The FM Radio feature has also been removed from the Mini 2. But will these 2 features really be missed? While they were nice to have, you couldn’t control the playback order the Micro SD card and you couldn’t save stations or navigate to a specific frequency on the FM radio. However, if those features are important to you, you may actually prefer the Mini 1.

The Mini 2 does add an IPX7 waterproof rating. This means it can be immersed in up to 3 feet of water for 30 minutes without ruining the speaker. So you can take it pool-side and if it accidentally gets knocked in (and you quickly retrieve it), you’ll be fine. Just remember to keep the back ports securely covered with the built-in rubber gasket. I tested out the speaker by dunking it in a bowl of water and laughed as the speaker splashed me when I pulled it out: the bass of the song squirted the water out of the top grill.

The Mini 2 speaker can also be paired with another Mini 2 speaker for wireless stereo sound. This is done by holding down the Bluetooth button on the first speaker for 3 seconds, then tapping the Bluetooth button on the second speaker.

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Bluetooth Performance

Bluetooth performance works really well and I have not encountered any issues while using the speaker in the same room as my phone. I also found the Mini 2 could get about 30-40 feet away from my phone in my home (through walls) with minimal breakups.

Battery Life

The SoundCore Mini 2 can achieve up to 15 hours of battery life, which is unchanged from the Mini 1. The unit can be recharged with a standard Micro USB cable. The charging port is located underneath the waterproof seal on the back. The speakers takes about 3 hours to recharge. As is the case with most Bluetooth speakers, you’ll want to remove the speaker from the charger soon after it is full.