Ultimate Ears launches UE Boom 2 wireless, waterproof speaker

Ultimate Ears is starting to get a reputation for colourful, fun-sounding, not to mention five-star Bluetooth speakers. We're already big fans of the original Boom, the MegaBoom and, more recently, the Roll, all of which impressed during their time with the What Hi-Fi? review team.

Although Boom 2 looks similar from the outside, UE claims to have made a raft of changes, from subtle aesthetic tweaks to wholesale changes including a brand new speaker design.

UE is also promising a completely waterproof exterior, a 15-hour battery life and a new tap control so you can pause, play and skip tracks by tapping the top of the speaker.

Like the original Boom, the Boom 2 can be used with its dedicated iOS and Android app (conveniently called UE Boom 2), which allows for over the air updates for the speaker and the ability to pair up speakers into a stereo wireless speaker system.

The UE Boom 2 will be available in six new new colours - Cherrybomb, Teti, Phantom, GreenMachine, Tropical and BrainFreeze - and is set to cost £170 when it goes on sale this month.

See all our UE news and reviews

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Andy Madden

Andy is Deputy Editor of What Hi-Fi? and a consumer electronics journalist with nearly 20 years of experience writing news, reviews and features. Over the years he's also contributed to a number of other outlets, including The Sunday Times, the BBC, Stuff, and BA High Life Magazine. Premium wireless earbuds are his passion but he's also keen on car tech and in-car audio systems and can often be found cruising the countryside testing the latest set-ups. In his spare time Andy is a keen golfer and gamer.