I Love This Anker Floating Speaker, And It’s On Sale For Under $100 This Fourth Of July.

Fourth of July update: I Anker Soundcore Boom 3I perfect for pool parties, beach days and any other summer fun, and you can get one for just $95 on Amazon thanks Fourth of July prices. That’s a $35 discount. While it’s not the lowest price we’ve seen, it’s a great deal at best portable Bluetooth speaker. Note that the only color in stock at the $95 price point is green.

In a way, Anker’s new Soundcore Boom 3I he is a spiritual follower of Soundcore Motion Plus. It’s designed in the same way but with more outdoor adventures, with Anker calling it “built for the wild” and billing it as the first Bluetooth speaker that plays on water, as it floats and “self-adjusts” to keep the speaker drivers facing up just above the surface. All of that adds up to the perfect speaker for backyard hangouts or hot tubs, so you might want to get yourself one on the cheap while the Prime Day deals are still in full effect.

I’ve used the Soundcore Boom 3I for a few months and have been impressed with it, though the speaker is a little more recommended to CNET readers for $35 in select colors.

As you’d expect from a speaker that promotional photos show strapped to a kayak (it has a removable carrying strap), the Soundcore Boom 3I is completely waterproof and dustproof, with an IP68 rating. Anker takes things a step further, labeling the Boom 3I as “5x” saltwater resistant. “Whereas conventional speakers can rust in less than five months, the Boom 3I remains rust-free for up to two years of ocean, boat and sea life.”

Read more: The best Bluetooth speakers of 2026

You shouldn’t expect audiophile sound from a single Bluetooth speaker of this ilk. But for the most part, the Soundcore Boom 3I gives you what you want in a portable Bluetooth speaker from an audio standpoint. By that I mean it plays loud for its size — it weighs 1.8 pounds and measures 8.3 by 3.1 by 3.3 inches — and it puts out a decent amount of bass and has decent clarity. You can find speakers that sound a little more natural, but these types of rugged portable speakers are not designed for serious listening.

I used it outside and inside several rooms, including the bathroom (it makes a great bathroom speaker), and it was able to fill small rooms with sound. You can adjust the sound with the calibration settings in the Soundcore companion app iOS again Android and play around with the settings for the built-in synchronized LED light show, which I had turned off most of the time. You can also pair two of these speakers in stereo mode and get even better sound.

I tested the speaker’s performance in water by dropping it in a pool. Indeed, it turned around, the drivers of the speakers were facing upwards, and the music continued to play, although the sound was interrupted when a small wave passed over the speaker, and the drivers started spitting water. In other words, it sure sounds better out of the water than in it.

One of the problems with Bluetooth is that Bluetooth doesn’t transmit underwater, which is why you have to load MP3s into memory when using wireless headphones while swimming (you can’t stream music from headphones when your head is underwater). I don’t know where the Bluetooth antenna is on this speaker, but it’s probably on the side that sits above the area where the speaker floats.

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You can actually turn on the Buzz Clean mode from the app which makes the speaker vibrate and remove dirt and particles, like sand after a day at the beach. After you finish Buzz Clean, you can wipe the speaker down to really clean it.

The speaker also has another fun feature: Holding down the bass-boost “BassUp” button for 5 seconds sets off a 96-decibel emergency alarm — Anker says can be heard clearly from up to 100 meters away — with flashing red lights. You can press any button to turn off the alarm.

Battery life is rated at 16 hours at medium volumes, which is decent for a speaker of this size. It’s also worth pointing out that the Boom 3I has a Bluetooth range of 100 feet, which is better than the standard 33 feet you get with most Bluetooth speakers.