The category of the best Bluetooth speakers has never been more congested or hotly contested, but that only makes it all the more intriguing. And thus far, 2025 has been a grrrreat year for people who like their Bluetooth speakers bold, colorful, cute or…strappy.
As you’ll soon see in this missive, three of our long-term favorites were updated with fresh iterations this year. It’s impossible not to kick off with the March-release JBL Flip 7, (successor to the excellent Flip 6, and indeed the splendid Flip 5 that came before it) while Bang & Olufsen finally updated its chic and unique crumpet (muffin?) shaped option, which delighted us across the board soon after making its debut in May. And to round things off, Bowers & Wilkins updated one of its most iconic wireless speakers (OK, it was the tail end of 2024, but availability for most of us wasn’t until early 2025) and received nothing but praise from us in February.
We’ve also seen the fresh and intriguing speaker partnership between LG and will.i.am (which was announced at the end of last year) bear fruit with mixed results – but one of the models actually gives the aforementioned Flip 7 a run for its money and is very much in this roundup.
Elsewhere – and this is the ‘also ran’ bit – Tribit’s March 2025-issue Stormbox Lava was a little rough around the edges, and the joyfully named Happy Plugs Joy (which arrived in January) sadly fell short of the mark. Ah well…
The biggest and most successful 2025-release Bluetooth speakers thus far
Aside from the 5-star-all-day-long Flip 7, above, it’s also hats off to the Bang & Olufsen Beosound A1 3rd Generation. Yes, bit of a mouthful, but so, so worth saying – and assuring people you want exactly this speaker. It looks and feels every inch as high-end as you’d expect from B&O, and it sounds the absolute business for the money.
Next up is the LG xboom Grab, which boasts dimensions very similar to the Flip 7 but a few additions, including two useful elasticated straps around its casework – see below for what they can do.
Not to be confused with the slightly disappointing LG xboom Bounce, the Grab performed very well under intense review, earning a highly recommended 4.5-star rating. Not bad for a debutante…
Rounding off my ‘biggest of 2025’ quartet is Bowers & Wilkins Zeppelin Pro Edition.
It’s big, it’s bold, it still looks like it’s floating above whatever you put it on, it’ll use your home Wi-Fi to bring wireless streaming (as well as Bluetooth), and it’s B&W’s best Zep yet. It can also be paired with other members of Bowers & Wilkins’ ‘Formation’ range of wireless speakers, or in conjunction with any of the company’s current (and excellent) line-up of wireless headphones and earbuds to ‘hand off’ audio as you leave home.
Bluetooth speakers 2025: what’s coming later this year
We’re just dotting the ‘i’s and crossing the ‘t’s on our full-fat JBL Charge 6 and Sony ULT Field 3 reviews, (because these things take the time that they take, and we shall not be rushed into verdicts) but one big product we thought we might see falls under Apple‘s remit.
For over a year now, we’ve been hearing strong rumors and mumblings about a HomePod mini 2, and even a HomePod Hub with full touchscreen – both slated for a 2025 release. So far, nothing; Apple’s WWDC event came and went on June 9, 2025, without so much as a dicky bird on any HomePod speakers from the Cupertino giant.
Surely there’s no smoke without fire, though? For now, we wait…
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becky.scarrott@futurenet.com (Becky Scarrott)
