Ultimate Ears Wonderboom 3 review: another speaker success story

This Ultimate Ears Wonderboom 3 review is for anyone who is on a tight budget and wants the best Bluetooth speaker possible for their cash, because of that, it’d make a great gift as well. 

Following on from the Ultimate Ears Wonderboom 2, which picked up a T3 five-star rating, the third generation of the speaker improves on the first with enhanced Bluetooth range, longer battery life and it’s now made with more sustainable fabrics. 

In this Ultimate Ears Wonderboom 3 review, you’ll be able to find out everything you need to know about this affordable speaker from its design and setup to its performance and extra features - but long story short, it’s a good ‘un.

Ultimate Ears Wonderboom 3 review: price and availability

Available to buy from 31st August 2022, you’ll be able to pick up the Urban Ears Wonderboom 3 for just $100 in the US, £90 in the UK and AU$150 in Australia. Take a look at the widgets on this page to find out where you can pick one up. 

Ultimate Ears Wonderboom 3 review: design and setup  

When it comes to design, the Ultimate Ears Wonderboom 3 isn’t any different to the second generation, it has the same blown-up can shape with rounded sides and a flat top. 

Small and light, measuring 104 x 95.3mm and weighing 420g, this speaker is perfect for keeping in your backpack or for taking on holiday in your luggage with you.

Large volume controls decorate the front with a contrasting colour and there’s a matching elasticated strap attached to the top which means you can hang it up wherever you want, it’s also the perfect size to slip your finger through to carry it around with you. 

You can buy the Ultimate Ears Wonderboom 3 in a few different colourways including grey, pink, blue and black, so you’re sure to find one that perfectly suits you. The best part? It’s made from at least 31% recycled plastics. 

To control the music there’s a multifunction button on the top which you press down to pause or play the music, and double press to skip to the next track. Below that, you’ll find the power button, and above it, you’ll find the Bluetooth button. Then on the underside of the speaker, there’s a little button with a tree icon which activates the outdoor mode. Each button is easy to use, although they’re integrated into the device's body so they can be a little stiff.

A sturdy little device, the Wonderboom 3 has an IP67 rating which means it’s both waterproof and dustproof. If you drop it in water, it’ll even float!

You’ll get 14 hours of music per charge (up from 13 before) which will be plenty for a day out or for a party in the evening. Surprisingly, the speaker comes with a Mini USB cable to charge it back up again, not the now-standard USB-C, it will take just over two and a half hours to charge it from flat to full.

Ultimate Ears Wonderboom 3 review: performance and features 

For such a small thing, the sound will pleasantly surprise you, it carries well through the room and the 360-degree design helps it reach every corner in exactly the same way. 

Plenty of punch makes it a great little party speaker, it’ll cut through the noise well so you can use it even when you are in a bigger group of people. But what’s really great is the outdoor mode, which you activate through the button on the underside of the device, it boosts the bass to make the sound more impactful when you’re playing music outside. 

As you’d expect from such an affordable portable speaker, you don’t get loads and loads of extra features like manual equaliser control through a smartphone app or speakerphone functionality. But what you can do is pair two of them together to give the sound a boost, you just need to press and hold the multifunction button on the top of the speaker to pair them together, and press it again to switch between mono and stereo modes. Given how popular the Wonderboom speakers are, you might actually make use of that!

After having been boosted to 40 metres (or 131 feet) of Bluetooth range, the Ultimate Ears Wonderboom 3 stays connected even when you wander into another room. I went a few rooms away with my phone and the music still didn’t stop! 

Ultimate Ears Wonderboom 3 review: verdict 

Just like its predecessor, the Ultimate Ears Wonderboom 3 is a stellar budget Bluetooth speaker that would make a fantastic gift. While it may not be jam-packed full of features, it does offer plenty for the price. 

You don’t need to spend hundreds to get great sound, this proves that. It’ll be suited to all sorts of people and places, take it on holiday, go camping with it, slip it in your bag for a beach trip - the possibilities are endless!

Ultimate Ears Wonderboom 3 review: also consider  

Another affordable speaker to consider is the JBL Flip 6, it is slightly more expensive than this but you’ll be surprised by how much sound this little piece of kit can produce. You’ll also get manual equaliser settings in the smartphone app so you can adjust it to suit your tastes.

If money is no object then the best portable speaker you can buy is the Bang & Olufsen Beosound A1 2nd Gen, small and stylish with huge sound and loads of extra features, it’s well worth its price tag.