The market for Bluetooth speakers, by now, is extremely saturated – there’s pretty much a speaker in every form factor to suit all needs and lifestyles. One form of speaker that I haven’t tried myself (having only dealt with medium to large speakers) is the small speaker, the kind that you can pocket and take with you anywhere. This is an area that the Divoom Airbeat-10 has staked its claim, so let’s check out just how good it is.
What’s in the box
Most speakers only come with a few extra cables – one for charging, one for attaching auxiliary audio devices. The Divoom Airbeat-10 does this, but also includes a few accessories that could come in handy if you’re someone who likes to take your music with you everywhere – with the Airbeat-10, you’ll also get a suction cup which can allow you to stick your speaker up on smooth surfaces i.e. bathroom walls, and a clip that allows you to mount the speaker on poles, possibly on a bike handlebar or something similar. Both these add-ons have a simple screw thread which allows them to be screwed into the back of the Airbeat-10.
The Airbeat-10 itself is a relatively rugged affair – covered mostly in a rubbery exterior, the Airbeat-10 feels like it would survive in most outdoor situations and only need a wipe down afterwards. It’s also tiny, measuring 87mm tall and 78mm wide when standing up – I may have relatively big hands, but I can grab the whole speaker in one of my hands. It also has a IPX44 rating, which means it’s splashproof, making it perfect for those beach, pool and shower activities. Naturally, this means that all the controls and ports of the Airbeat-10 are very well covered up.
On the side of the device, you’ll find the power button, a play buttons and the volume up and down buttons. Nestled between the play and volume down buttons is the in-built microphone – this allows the Airbeat-10 to also act as a speakerphone, just in case you need to take a call while washing the day away. Hidden behind a swivelling panel are the auxiliary cable output and the microUSB charging port.
How does it perform
Sometimes its hard to judge just how good a speaker of this size should sound given that physically it simply can’t keep up with bigger speakers, however, the Airbeat-10 manages to hold its own quite well. It struggles to get full sounding bass, but otherwise, the treble and mid ranges sound well-rounded and clear playing a range of today’s popular tracks like Mark Ronson’s Uptown Funk and Walk the Moon’s Shut Up and Dance.
As you might expect from the way it looks , the Airbeat-10 is pretty well made – I did (completely accidentally) drop it a few times from waist height and it looked no worse for wear. I will say, however, that while the rubbery exterior gives the Airbeat-10 an incredible sense of insurance, it makes it an absolute dust magnet, though that can be fixed with a quick wipe down with a wet cloth – which you can do, because it’s splashproof.
What I like about the Divoom Airbeat-10
I really like the Airbeat-10 for its size. That might sound like I’ve fallen for the smaller speaker form factor, but it’s more the fact I like the whole package that you get with the Airbeat-10. The rugged exterior, the great sound and the lifestyle accessories make it a compelling choice for anyone looking for a multi-purpose Bluetooth speaker than can survive occasionally outside of the home.
What I don’t like about the Divoom Airbeat-10
Probably my only complaint concerns the battery life of the Airbeat-10. It’s quoted as 6 hours, and while I did experience slightly more than this during my tests, it is still a short amount of time given the kind of activities you might want to attempt with such a rugged speaker. Luckily, this is offset a little by the 2.5 hour charge-up time, and frankly the size of the speaker probably doesn’t allow for any more juice to be crammed into the frame, but that’s just how I felt during the course of this review.
Final thoughts
Like the previous Divoom products we’ve reviewed here at AndroidStory, the Divoom Airbeat-10 Bluetooth speaker is a miniature package with plenty to offer the active user. With enough insurance to let you use it in most situations around the house and during leisure activities, and great audio, the Airbeat-10 is a great choice for anyone looking for something that you’re not afraid to take places when you still want music.
If you’re interested in seeing more about the Divoom Airbeat-10, you can visit its product page here, or if you want to skip straight yo buying it, Amazon has actually discounted the Airbeat-10 right now, making it $29.99 USD (down from $49.90 normally) – we have an Amazon link down below if you’re interested.
