Pros
- Bigger than the original but still compact
- Best-in-class sound for its tiny size, with improved bass and better clarity
- Fully water- and dust-proof with IP67 rating
- Integrated strap is removable and replaceable
- Double the battery life of the original (up to 12 hours)
- USB-C charging
Cons
- Pricey for a tiny Bluetooth speaker
- No speakerphone capabilities (no microphone)
- Despite sound improvements, it still has its sonic limitations and sounds better at close range
Not all product updates are considered equal. When Bose upgraded its QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds and QuietComfort Ultra Headphones to new “2nd Gen” models, they basically looked the same as their predecessors and ultimately didn’t seem like true second-generation products. However, after testing the new SoundLink Micro 2 Bluetooth speaker, I can confirm it really is a substantial upgrade.
Read more: Best Bluetooth speakers of 2025
It’s been eight years since the original Bose SoundLink Micro debuted in 2017, so you’d hope that the SoundLink Micro 2 would be a completely revamped speaker. And indeed it is. Not only is it a little bigger than the original, and an ounce or so heavier, but it’s equipped with Bluetooth 5.4, USB-C charging (instead of the old micro USB), improved battery life and, yes, better sound quality. Plus it has a new strap for attaching the speaker to a backpack, bike handlebar or just about anything else. It’s removable and replaceable.
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The SoundLink Micro 2 is a bit larger than the original but still tiny, and comes in two color options: blue or black.
Alas, you’ll have to pay more for those improvements. The SoundLink Micro 2 costs $129 or $30 more than the original. That’s a lot to pay for a speaker this size, but it is the best-sounding speaker in the “micro” class that I’ve tested, and it has a good build quality. Like a lot of today’s Bluetooth speakers, the SoundLink Micro 2 is fully waterproof and dust-resistant with an IP68 rating.
Improved clarity and better bass
The original SoundLink Micro was impressive because it managed to produce more bass than you’d think for such a tiny speaker, though it certainly had its limitations. The same is true for the SoundLink Micro 2 but it seems to produce at least 25% more bass (by my estimate) and sounds clearer too, with less distortion at higher volumes.
The big caveat here is that the speaker can sound shockingly good with some tracks, particularly with well-recorded ones, and not so great with others. It also helps to listen at close range, say 2 to 8 feet away from the speaker. The Micro 2 really is a personal speaker and not something that can fill a larger room. It does make for a good bathroom speaker though and could be brought into a shower.
I left the speakerphone out in the rain for a bit. It survived just fine.
Since it’s quite strong in the midrange where voices live, and also delivers good treble, this little speaker sounds best with acoustical material and ballads. It also handles jazz, country and classical material quite well, and even some electronica, but it’s more challenged by rock music. Tracks like Elvis Costello’s She, Billie Eilish’s My Future, The Rolling Stones’ Time Is on My Side, The Pretenders’ Kid (live) and Kacey Musgrave’s Rainbow sound impressive. I even thought The Police’s Driven to Tears (remastered version) came across with gravitas and punch for such a small speaker.
It starts to struggle is with more complicated tracks that have a lot of instruments playing, as well as with deeper bass. Tracks like Arctic Monkey’s 505 and Jvke’s Golden Hour sound clean and full in the intro when the speaker’s dealing with just vocals and a single accompanying instrument. But once the track gets more complicated, the sound can start to feel a little hollowed out. Things got a little shrill when the hard electric guitar line kicks in on the 505 track, for example.
The new strap is removable and replaceable.
I’m telling you all this to temper your expectations for a small speaker, but I think the SoundLink Micro 2 will exceed most people’s expectations. When I pitted it against similar small speakers like Ultimate Ears Miniroll ($80) and Marshall’s Willen 2, which also lists for $130, it wasn’t really a contest. The Bose plays louder, delivers more bass and sound clearer. Sound-wise, it’s also superior to JBL’s Clip 4 and new cannister-style Grip speaker ($100), and also a significant step up from Tribit’s Stormbox Micro (around $60), which I still like as a value pick in the micro Bluetooth speaker category.
Note that SoundLink Micro 2 is a mono speaker but you can pair it up with another Micro 2 to create a stereo pair. I didn’t try that, but I have done it with Bose’s larger SoundLink Flex speaker, and a dual-speaker stereo set up does improve the sound dramatically.
I put it up against the more affordable UE Miniroll (left), which has a nice design and is a decent micro speaker, but the Miniroll couldn’t compete from a sound quality perspective.
While this model is truly pocket-size — and that’s certainly an appealing feature — the bigger but still compact SoundLink Flex sounds better and is also the better value. It lists for $150 but its price sporadically dips to $130 or less, particularly during the holiday buying season.
Improved battery life and Bluetooth 5.4, but no speakerphone
The original SoundLink Micro was only rated for up to 6 hours of battery life at moderate volume levels. This second-gen model doubles the rated battery to 12 hours, which is more line with competing micro speakers. Tribit’s Stormbox Micro is rated for 12 hours of playback while Marshsall’s Willen 2 is rated for up to 17 hours. Note that those numbers will drop considerably should you crank the volume.
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It’s one of the best speakers for bikers, though it’s missing speakerphone capabilities (it has no microphone).
This model has Bluetooth 5.4, which isn’t technically the latest standard (Bluetooth 6.0 is just starting to roll out to devices), but it’s fine as far as I’m concerned. The speaker’s wireless range is listed at 30 feet with “increased bandwidth” and I didn’t have any connectivity issues.
I’m a little disappointed that the new SoundLink Micro 2 no longer has a built-in microphone, so you can’t use it as a speakerphone. I’m guessing Bose would say that most customers didn’t use the speakerphone feature in the original, but I liked it. The Micro 2 even looks kind of like a speakerphone and would work well for calls, so it would have been nice if it kept that feature.
Bose SoundLink Micro 2 final thoughts
You can certainly find Bluetooth speakers in this price range that deliver bigger and better sound with more bass, including Anker’s Soundcore Boom 3i ($100) and Soundcore Boom 2 ($120). They’re better values than the Bose SoundLink Micro 2, which is a little pricey, but they’re also bigger speakers.
I’ve tested a lot of tiny Bluetooth speakers and most of them don’t sound all that good and some sound downright bad. And while the Bose SoundLink Micro 2 certainly has its sonic limitations, I haven’t encountered a micro-sized Bluetooth speaker that sounds as good as it does and is as well built. That’s why it’s earned a CNET Editors’ Choice award.
