Ultimate Ears Boom 4 Review

Introduction

It might not represent the biggest upgrade fans will have been hoping for, but the Ultimate Ears Boom 4 is still a good speaker nonetheless.

Given just how exhausting yearly product cycles can be, it’s quite refreshing to see how Ultimate Ears has had nothing but the utmost faith in its products, giving them time to find an audience. We reviewed the UE Boom 3 back in early 2019 and it wasn’t until last year that a successor finally arrived in the Boom 4, which launched alongside a handful of other UE speakers including the Megaboom 4.

Still, the downside of such a lengthy update cycle is that the expectations of a successor are much higher, and particularly against increased competition from the current crop of the best Bluetooth speakers, such as the Sonos Roam 2, quite a lot needs to be done to make sure that a new device isn’t dead on arrival.

While it isn’t quite the overhaul that it arguably should have been, the UE Boom 4 is still an excellent speaker that I have enjoyed using for the last month.

Design

• Near identical to the Boom 3
• IP67 rated
• The oversized volume buttons are still fun to use

Whether you think it’s a good thing or not, the UE Boom 4 is practically identical to the Boom 3, and if you put them side by side and offered no further explanation, I’d imagine that most people wouldn’t be able to tell them apart.

While this isn’t exactly great for signaling a shift from the old to the new, I can’t say that I mind all too much given how strong Ultimate Ears’ design philosophy is already.

The oversized volume buttons, which can be seen on every UE speaker, are instantly recognisable and it helps the company’s wares to stand out from the other Bluetooth speakers on the market. It’s also just a great feature from a user perspective, as you can quickly change the volume without having to go fishing around for smaller buttons that are hidden away.

The way in which the grille wraps around the entirety of the device, and how the speaker is kept in place with rubberised caps on either end, also conveys just how rough and ready this speaker is (something confirmed once you pick it up and feel its 620g heft in the hand).

The Boom 4 is IP67 rated, making it fully waterproof and ready to withstand any accidental dips in the pool or the bath, so you definitely have nothing to worry about if one party goer spills a drink.

There’s a rubberised cover that guards the charging port on the back which I think is a nice touch, especially for keeping dust away, and the power/connection buttons on top of the device feel wonderfully tactile. In fact, I’d argue that those top buttons provide a better response than their volume-focused counterparts, so I’d love to feel more of a click on those larger buttons in the future.

There are different (and fewer) colourways this time around, including Active Black, Cobalt Blue, Raspberry Red and Enchanting Lilac. I’ve become quite enamoured with the Cobalt Blue of the review unit as it’s eye-catching but in a subtle way, although long-time fans may miss some of the wackier colourways that used to be available – does anyone else remember Unicorn?

Features

• A long-awaited shift to USB-C
• PartyUp lets you connect to other UE speakers

With the design of the Boom 3 and the Boom 4 being so similar, it would have been fair to assume then that Ultimate Ears had left the bulk of the changes for all the features under the hood, but there’s only one key change in this area, and it’s the move from Micro-USB to USB-C.

Don’t get me wrong, this change in charging tech is welcome, especially in 2025 where, if you’re anything like me, you have dozens of USB-C cables and maybe one Micro-USB cable left to hand, but I would have considered that change the bare minimum in order to keep up with the current competition.

There needed to be another big draw to entice people, and I’d argue that if you’re fine with keeping a Micro-USB on hand for your Boom 3, then you don’t need to make the upgrade – it’s only new users who should seek out the Boom 4.

Still, what the Boom 4 does benefit from are the app connected features that Ultimate Ears has established on previous devices, namely PartyUp. If you have another compatible UE speaker to hand then you can wirelessly connect them to the Boom 4 via the UE app and have them sync up in their playback.

If you are hosting a larger gathering then this can be an easy way of ensuring that there are no dead zones that the music is unable to reach, keeping everyone locked into the beat. It’s a great feature that works well, and it makes the idea of building up a collection of UE speakers all the more tempting.

If you do have an impromptu gathering and you don’t want to faff around with finding (or building) a playlist, you can set it so that the Boom 4 dives straight into a preselected playlist (you can choose up to four) by just holding the power button. It’s a great little feature that I’ve found myself using on occasion, and it also has the ability to work with Amazon Music and Apple Music, not just Spotify.

While the default soundscape for the Boom 4 is the best for most people, you can tweak the audio experience via the equaliser settings in the accompanying app. In addition to the default Signature mode, there are four other presets including Bass Boost, but if you’d rather change things to your personal preferences then you can make a custom EQ mode based on those alterations.

Battery life remains unchanged at up to 15-hours per charge, but that in itself is plenty to keep a party going. And in the month that I’ve been using the Boom 4 for a bit of personal playback whilst working at my desk, I’ve only needed to replenish the battery once.

If you have a camping weekend in the diary, you should be able to get away with not needing to top up the device during the stint, depending on how you use it.

Sound Quality

• Fun, energetic audio
• Works well at higher volumes
• Plenty of bass and warm-sounding vocals

When I was testing the pricier Ultimate Ears Megaboom 4, I found its sound profile somewhat at odds with personal playback at home. It was trickier to locate the detail in tracks unless the volume was cranked up a fair bit. As such, I was slightly worried the Boom 4 might carry the same issue, but I’m glad to report it’s a far more balanced affair.

I’ve been enjoying the soundtrack to Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3+4, and as it moves through a handful of genres, it’s proven to be a great showpiece to depict what the Boom 4 is capable of. When putting on the grunge tones of Charlotte by Kittie, the drum roll throughout the intro packs a serious punch as you can really hear the impact on the snare drum, which then gives way to the very heavy guitar riff that feels very in sync with the bass.

It’s the same when switching to Turnstile’s Real Thing, with a palpable crunch to the guitars and the drums that will have you nodding along instinctively. The vocals have a nice warm quality to them as well – I wouldn’t call it crystal clear as it can lose some depth to that powerful bass line, but it never gets to the point where you can’t latch on to what’s being said.

I did find vocals to be clearer when listening to hip hop tracks like Rock Co.Kane by De La Soul and MF Doom, where there’s less chaos at the mid-section. Instead, you have the percussion working in tandem with the vocals, so you can still get a great experience here if rock/alternative tracks aren’t really your thing.

This also carries over to podcasts where I never found myself needing to crank up the volume to hear what’s being said. In fact, the levels feel so fine tuned by default that even when toggling the dedicated podcast mode in the EQ settings, I couldn’t pick up on any discernible change in playback.

When it comes to performance at higher volumes, I was expecting a noticeable discrepancy between the Boom 4 and the power that the Megaboom 4 brings to the table, but I was surprised to find that when mashing the ‘plus’ button a few times, the Boom 4 did a great job of retaining clarity at the higher-end, without it falling into a distorted mess.

It now has me thinking that unless you really need a bit of extra bass to go with your next barbecue, the Boom 4 is arguably the better buy for being just a tad bit more portable, and cheaper at the checkout.

Should you buy it?

FAQs

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