Bose SoundLink Flex portable wireless speaker review

There’s a portable wireless speaker in almost every home; whether you want one for camping and travel, for outdoor playtime, or just to bring to the office or the jobsite, there’s all kinds of ways to use them.
Audio giant Bose is known worldwide for quality audio products, and the Soundlink Flex promises to be no exception. Bose Soundlink Flex is a portable Bluetooth speaker that’s designed to be rugged and durable, and to deliver a lot of sound for its size, with the promise of “astonishing bass.” I got a chance to spend a few weeks with the new Soundlink Flex. I’ll tell you what it’s likie to use, how it sounds and about its promised features.
Looks and Style
The Soundlink Flex comes in three colors: Black, white smoke, and stone blue. It has a powder-coated steel grille and silicon-covered exterior. Bose claims the finish will be peel and flake-proof and that it will resist UV and rust corrosion while maintaining a sleek, stylish look.
The speaker is rather weighty for its size, meaning it feels well made and durable but not heavy. It’s wide and narrow and can be used on its side, on its back, or hanging from its built in webbed strap. Sitting on its’ side, with just a couple rubber nibs to hold it up does make it rather tippy and on any kind of unstable surface (boat, RV) it will almost certainly flip over onto its back.
Buttons and Controls
There are 5 buttons along the top panel, including a power button, volume up and down buttons, a multi-function button, and a Bluetooth pairing button, as well as a pinhole microphone. The multi-function button allows you to stop and start tracks, answer calls, and move between tracks. Two presses will skip forward a track, and three will go back a track.
Durability and Handling
The speaker is rated at IP67, meaning that it’s (6) totally protected from dust and solid objects and (7) Protected from all jets of water and can be temporarily immersed in up to one metre of water for at least 30 minutes.
Conveniently, the Bose Soundlink Flex also floats (unlike another competitor’s new portable wireless offering), so it’s unlikely that you’d be even able to keep it submerged long enough to cause damage, so for all intents and purposes, the speaker is waterproof. This portable speaker is definitley designed for taking along with you on hikes, camping trips, even on the water.
Bose says it can withstand drops, crushing and more abuse. In my limited tests, it seemed to hold up well

Sound quality
Cutting right to the chase, the Bose Soundlink Flex is a great sounding speaker. It’s plenty powerful and can easily fill a room, though I didn’t get much chance to try it outdoors due to the cold weather. The sound is well balanced, has good, strong bass and an overall top notch sound.
 Position IQ 
Bose claims the Soundlink Flex features a technology called Position IQ, where an internal sensor detects which alignment it’s resting in (vertical, horizontal, or hanging) and adjust the mids and high frequencies audio for maximum clarity. While there isn’t an adjustable EQ for the speaker (not uncommon for outdoor Bluetooth speakers), Position IQ uses predetermined equalization for the different orientations it can be in.  Cool I guess, but I didn’t really notice any audible difference.
Battery life & charging
The Soundlink Flex is charged with an included USB-C cable. A single charge of the rechargeable lithium-ion battery should last roughly 12 hours, depending on the volume level you choose. A full charge should take approximately four hours, and Bose suggests using their cable, and that other cables may influence the charging time. That lengthy charging time is a bit or a downside for me, as is the lacklustre battery life. There are other speakers out there of similar size that can outlast this one, so folks needing to go more time between charges might want to shop around.
I will say that the speaker does seem to go to sleep effectively, disconnecting and shutting itself down when not in use, so as not to drain battery unnecessarily.

Overall review Bose Soundlink Flex

Overall this is a really great portable wireless speaker. It’s small but portable and powerful. The sound quality is awesome and it’s easy to set up and use and it seems wickedly durable, along with being waterproof and floating. Downsides? It can be a bit finicky on the connections sometimes, and while it may remember other devices, it doesn’t always connect to them on its own automatically after being connected to another device,. The total battery life is also just on the okay side, and it takes hours to fully recharge.

If you can get past that, then you’ll love the Bose Soundlink Flex. It sells for about $189CAD

[bettersteps]

I just purchased my second SoundLink. I'm totally happy with this speaker.  
No complaints. I'm a big Bose fan and this product does not disappoint.

[tartertime]

Enjoyed the review. As a blind person I liked the fact that you described the speaker in audible terms rather than just pointing about and things like that. I've pre-ordered one from Amazon in the UK. Thanks again, much appreciated.

[bryanbryant]

I own the SoundLink Flex, and I like it. The form factor is odd in my opinion: long and flat with a narrow angled base. Despite its narrow base, it is stable when placed on a solid, flat surface. The sound is excellent. SoundLink Flex is worth its current price of $149.00 US. Some might disagree with me, but I think it sounds better than my Revolve+ (first generation, not II), which sold for $300 US a few years ago. To me, SoundLink Flex does not sound significantly better than some of my other speakers in approximately the same price range such as JBL Flip 5, Charge 5, Bose SoundLink Color II, SoundLink Mini. However, SoundLink Flex is definitely a strong competitor, very enjoyable, and I am glad I purchased it.

[lgetchell]

Received two of them today. Had no issues pairing two of them in party mode. One streams to the other in stereo mode, Easy to use since great sounding isn't always easy to use. Great review! BTW my pair of JBL Xtremes with no longer hold a charge - they need to stay plugged in to listen. These sound better anyway. Sorry Bose haters.

[robertseaburg]

Great speaker, I had done lots of research before buying it and I have no regrets on my choice and very happy with it's sound quality.

[bhcbhc]

Thanks! Just bought 2 for stereo function. So amazing.

[williampower]

The little strap is a nice touch, as you can use it in many ways to keep the speaker off the ground outside with a bit of string or a bungee cord, camping, whatever.

[localdiscgolf]

Great content! Love the out-takes at the end!

[oliverstemp]

It looks so much cooler in white. I’m not sure why all of Bose and the other reviews showcased the black version.

[Matrịx.-os]

I got one....Erin hasn't stood on it tho 😪...bu ii can tell you it replicates a of bass frequencies accurately and has a very good level of quality and overall sound reproduction

[bbass]

Thanks - I just picked up 2 of them from Costco on sale for $105 each

[Dan-ojiq]

This is the first of the many videos that you've made I've watched. Because I have a pair of the Soundlink Flex speakers I loved the video. Especially you including the out takes.This was a super idea and adds hugely to the content.
P.S. I failed to mention that I love the speakers and you were correct about the connection issues.They can be a bit of a pain. The charge time is also a concern for some but for me that is OK because i leave them plugged in all day while listening to them. At night they are played for around eight hours on battery life with no problem at all. They could go the full twelve as you mentioned. But the damn connection is a bit finicky and I find myself having to reconnect them occasionally.

[holohulolo]

I think there are several reasons people would pick something like the jbl charge5 over these when looking for an outdoor bluetooth speaker, and non of those are the form factor and outer design. But personally that is actually one of the main reason I chose this. Because it looks nice enough to be used indoor. I was looking for a wireless speaker I can easily carry around the house because even though there are better sounding speaker for indoors, I cant really the music loud enough to be hear everywhere in the house without affecting the neighbour. Now I know there are also portable home speakers like the 360 and I think another one but firstly they are all more expensive than this and they dont have the kind of IP rating this has, probably around better though. Since I'd be carrying the speaker around the house at least I'd need it to be light, and if I use it in the kitchen or the bathroom I'd need it to have a decent water resistant too, I'd also be using it when I work on hands on project that could be dusty and this has the ip rating for it too + when I really need to bring speakers outdoors this would have had no problem too. The tag is nice and the silicone/ rubber finish on the back is much preferable for me than the seemingly fabric one by jbl, if I get them dirty when using for cooking I'd be able to clean them easily too.

[iu]

Great review, as usual. I would love to hear how you think it compares with the other Bose speakers or against similarly priced speakers in general. You have reviewed so many - I am sure you have an opinion. Also, you kind of suggested that we do that comparison ourselves. As you have access to so many more than the average consumer ... any chance you help us out? haha

Fantastic job as usual: Please keep doing this. You are so very good at it!

[av]

My first time viewing your channel. Great video! Very detailed with great viewing of the bose speaker. I’ve been debating on whether I should pick this up. You’re very knowledgeable as well. And you have pretty feet! Lol! I’ll be subscribing and you definitely get my thumbs up!

[TheIrishMedievalArcher]

Thanks! I liked this video!

In your opinion which one has the better base? Flex or Mini soundlink?

Greetings.

[robertoalfonso]

Hi Erin, exelent review, I just bought the bose home speaker 500, do you know if there s a way to pair 2 sound flex to this system to sync all of them out?

Hi Erin, Another very useful review. I recently purchased a Altec Speaker at Best Buy for $60 US and was interested to learn how they compare. After watching your review I am satisfied that for my situation--pairing the speaker w/ my Chromebook--the Altec was a good find.

[Youtubeitisin]

can u take phone calls on it and if yes, how is the call quality?

[joeytumambing]

Nice👌🏻Can you help me to choose between bose flex or revolve ll?