Loewe We Hear Pro review: portable speaker delivers the funk

The best Bluetooth portable speaker market is a ripe one – and while there are some really established players, there's always room for a disruptor. If you're going to make a splash, a big celebrity endorsement might be one way to grab some attention.

Loewe certainly thinks so – it's partnered with football megastar Kylian Mbappe to not just advertise its We Hear Pro speaker, but also to release it with "KM" branding and colours. Mbappe's arguably the best player in the world right now, so it's lucky that Loewe hasn't given him a midding assist. 

Instead, the We Hear Pro is a really accomplished speaker, one that's chunky by design but brings out beefy sound quality as a result. Add a really attractive finish together with some smart features, and it's top corner stuff. 

Loewe We Hear Pro review: Price & availability

The We Hear Pro is available now from Loewe and at a range of retailers - it's priced at £255 in the UK or $275 in the US (with availability a little varied in other territories). That makes it a pretty expensive speaker, but for its size and feature set, you'll find that it is cheaper than plenty of alternatives from the likes of Ultimate Ears and JBL. 

You can pick the speaker up in three colours – black with some neon yellow accents, neon yellow with grey accents, or blue with orange accents. All three come with "KM" branding and a matching carrying strap. 

Loewe We Hear Pro review: Design & features

We really like the look and feel of the We Hear Pro – Loewe has threaded a nice needle here. Admittedly, testing the black version does mean we've got the most subtle colour of the three, but it's a really attractive package. 

This is a cylindrical speaker, but unlike some others on the market, it does still have a base – one side of the speaker is a little flatter so that you can set it down on it. The other side houses a few control buttons, including the power button, a pairing one, and two others that can skip tracks but also boost bass or treble as you like.

There's also a thin light strip on this side, which can show you your volume level relative to the maximum as you change it. This all means that you can get a decent amount of control over the speaker, instead of having to rely on your phone the whole time. That's perfect for adjusting things on a trusted playlist. 

On each end of that cylinder there's a driver that you can really easily see vibrating, and each of these houses one of those "KM" logos. The included carrying strap, meanwhile, slots into loops on each end, and is a really great touch. It's sturdy and can be adjusted to a few lengths, and it makes it way easier to carry the speaker around – the unit weights 2.2kg/4.85lbs, so it's well worth attaching the strap! 

The speaker is mesh all over apart from these points, and actually pretty stealthy for its size. Plus, it has a few tricks up its sleeve. For one thing, it can double as a power bank for your devices over USB-C, which is handy in a pinch. The product is also IPX6 water resistant, which means you're fine in the rain (although it doesn't protect it from immersion, something that some of the competition can boast). 

There's even a microphone on the speaker itself in case a call comes through and you can't be bothered to change your inputs and outputs – that's handy, even if most people will prefer to avoid taking calls on it. 

Loewe We Hear Pro review: Sound quality & battery life

One of the best parts of Loewe's offering here is that it's not just a flash in the pan – despite being chunky and powerful, the We Hear Pro can stretch to 24 hours of playback on a single charge. That's a great bar to clear and means that it's more than reliable for long parties or outings without any worry (and means that the power bank feature is all the more reassuring).

We also found its Bluetooth 5.3 connectivity to be really sturdy and solid – it never dropped out unexpectedly and had no issues. Actually turning the speaker on and running through some testing playlists, meanwhile, we were similarly impressed.

Charli XCX's world-conquering latest album had the poppy grunginess that you'd want, while Justice's Hyperdrama, which has become a new staple for our testing, had rich bass and precise highs to round things out nicely. The speaker's default configuration is nicely balanced, in fact, resisting the tendency to lean towards over-powerful bass like some portable competitors.

You can also crank the We Hear Pro really quite loud if desired – not quite as deafeningly as some others we've tried, but more than enough to give it the oomph to power a hangout session in a park, or more contained situations. There might be a tiny bit of detail lost at the very top of those volume charts, but it's not something that stands out too badly at all. 

Loewe We Hear Pro review: Verdict

The We Hear Pro is immediately a contender for anyone who's in the market for a powerful yet portable option. Loewe's speaker design is to our tastes, while the 24-hour battery life is excellent too. 

However, there's no getting away from the fact that IPX6 water resistance falls below best-in-class status, and plenty of people might find that a more compact speaker is more practical for their needs. 

Overall, Loewe has done a terrific job with the We Hear Pro – and not only on the endorsement front. Judging it for what it is, this speaker represents good value for those looking to power some portable listening.

Also consider

There are a whole heap of other chunky portable speakers on the market right now, and many of them tick different boxes. If you decide that durability is your top concern, then you might want to think about one of Ultimate Ears' speakers, like the Megaboom 3, which can take total dunking thanks to its IP67 waterproofing. 

For those who think these all look a little bigger than what they're imagining, though, you could take the current occupant of the top spot on our list of the best Bluetooth speakers overall. That's the Bang & Olufsen Beosound A1 2nd Gen, a brilliant puck-shaped speaker that can be packed in a bag easily.