Black Friday 2020 and Cyber Monday are the perfect time to buy a new wireless or Bluetooth speaker. This area of tech is totally saturated, and has been for years. And that means you’ll see deals far more desirable than they may appear on the surface.
What are we talking about? Well, in any area of tech you have hero products and also-rans. And the more developed and competitive a category, the better those also-rans tend to be.
You will see some of the very biggest Bluetooth speaker names appear on Black Friday 2020 and Cyber Monday, but many of the top deals are for speakers that don’t sell all that well for the rest of the year. Our tip: consider both, as long as the less popular one sounds good.
These are the best speaker deals we have found so far and the brands you should be looking out for.
Bose SoundLink Revolve
Pre-sale price: £149
View now at Amazon
The best value winner of our best wireless speaker group test was the Bose SoundLink Revolve. This is the kind of speaker you might buy for use at home and away. It’s large enough to produce hifi-style sound, but also has a 16-hour battery.
You can also buy a dock for the Revolve, a charger unit that avoids any annoying scrambling about for the charger when the battery runs out.
The Revolve is a fairly simple Bluetooth wireless speaker, one that doesn’t have Wi-Fi or the most advanced multi-room skills. However, we like its simplicity, and there is an app that lets you pair up two Bose SoundLink Revolves. They can play the same track, or act as a stereo pair.
Even a simple Bluetooth speaker like this can behave in a super-smart way these days too. A button on its top lets it talk to your iPhone’s Siri digital assistant, or an Android’s Google Assistant.
You don’t need a flat-out “smart speaker” to use the latest tech.
Jam Heavy Metal
Pre-sale price: £49.99
View now at Amazon
The Jam Heavy Metal is a top speaker to look out for on Black Friday if you just want to play music, and are after a classy bargain.
This speaker has been available since 2015, but it still holds up very well in 2019. Its sound quality is superb for the size, and it is often on sale for well under its usual price.
As we write this, around a month before Black Friday, it costs £94.97 at Amazon. That’s already a good price for what you get: top sound quality and a classy aluminium design.
But last year, during Black Friday 2018, the Jam Heavy Metal dropped all the way down to £50. We class that as an unmissable deal.
Bad points? As it’s an earlier model battery life is eight hours rather than 15 or more, and it isn’t water resistant.
Ultimate Ears Boom 3
Pre-sale price: £91.00
View now at Amazon
Here’s another big fish of the Bluetooth speaker world, the Ultimate Ears Boom 3. UE’s range is home to some of the most desirable lifestyle speakers around, but they regularly appear in Black Friday sales.
The Ultimate Ears Boom 3 is its latest. This is a little tower of power, with 360-degree sound and neighbour-bothering top volume.
It comes in more than half a dozen colours, so keep an eye out for multiple Black Friday listings. Companies like Amazon often offer more than one style for speakers like this.
The “lifestyle” angle here is more than just about the look. The Ultimate Ears Boom 3 isn’t just water resistant (to a dunk-able IP67), it floats too. You can also buy a wire-free charging dock, which we’d recommend if you want a speaker to use all around the house.
Keep an eye out for the UE Wonderboom too. This is the Boom 3’s dinky cousin. It doesn’t have quite as powerful bass as the Boom 3, but costs less and we think it’s highly likely to appear this Black Friday season
Sonos Move
Pre-sale price: £358.00
View now at Amazon
Here’s one from our own Black Friday 2019 wish list. This is the Sonos speaker many have been waiting for. The Sonos Move is a classic multi-room speaker when indoors. You can leave it plugged in and it’ll behave much like a Sonos One or Sonos Play:5.
However, it also has a battery and Bluetooth, so you can take it outdoors.
The price is the only part of the Sonos Move we have an issue with. At £399 it’s £120 more than the Apple HomePod. At a lower Black Friday price this could be the ultimate identity-shifting wireless speaker.
Just after a wireless speaker for the home? Make sure to look out for any Sonos One and Sonos One SL. These aren’t Bluetooth speakers, but are just about the best value home wireless speakers around. The difference? The Sonos One has Alexa support, the “SL” doesn’t. And some might consider that a positive change.
Bang & Olufsen Beoplay A1
Pre-sale price: £159.10
View now at Amazon
We also expect to see some Bang & Olufsen bargains this Black Friday. The Bang & Olufsen A1 is one not to miss.
This is a classic Bluetooth speaker, but one more stylish than most. It’s a puck shape and has a metal speaker grille.
The Beoplay A1 won’t fit in your pocket, but it is small enough to stash in a small bag and has a strap for bonus portability. Oh, and it sounds great too. This speaker has been around since 2016, but B&O releases new colours every now and then to keep this modern classic current.
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