REVIEW – There are large speakers and there are small speakers. Then, there are really small speakers like this—the Innogo PowerBeat Speaker. This petite circular speaker can do a lot for a speaker its size—and then some.
⬇︎ Jump to summary (pros/cons)
Price: $36
Where to buy: Innogo
What is it?
The Innogo PowerBeat Speaker is a circular, tiny speaker that measures 2.75 inches in diameter at the base and tapers to 1.75 inches at the top (the speaker part). It features a lighted interior that shines through the side of its clear round shell.
The top speaker grill has an intricate and pretty laser-cut pattern that protects a single 40mm dynamic driver speaker. The bottom has a magnetic ring that is sized for Qi-enabled wireless smartphone charging, but can also wirelessly charge (Qi) other devices. Since the PowerBeat speaker is magnetic, it can also act as a phone stand (horizontal only) while playing audio.
Power-efficient Bluetooth 5.4 is included. Charging is rated at 2 hours, providing up to 6 hours of playtime, depending on signal and volume. Charging is via a USB-C port—a USB-A to USB-C cable is included.
A carrying lanyard can be attached to the PowerBeat speaker for hanging on a branch, backpack or carrying.
What’s included?
- PowerBeat Speaker
- USB-A to USB-C Charging cable
- Detachable lanyard
- Magnetic ring sticker
- Manual
Tech specs
- 40mm speaker
- TWS (total wireless stereo)
- Size: 2.75 in. diameter (at base) x 1.5 in. height
- 600mAh rechargeable lithium battery
- 2-hour charge
- 6 hours of playtime
Design and features
The Innogo PowerBeat Speaker began as a Kickstarter project that met its funding and is now available. If you’re looking for a small to tiny speaker, this thing can fit almost anywhere and stick to almost anything—either magnetically or using the included magnetic sticker ring. A speaker like this is good for attaching to a fridge to listen while cooking or doing the dishes. It can be set on a counter in the bathroom.
Note that it is not a shower speaker. It does not have a wetness rating.
When powered on, the PowerBeat speaker puts on a little light show with internal RGB lights that slowly morph between colors. It’s slow enough as not to be distracting. However, the lights can be turned off if desired.
Turning the speaker on (and off) requires the power button to be pressed and held for 3 seconds. Once on, it goes into Pairing mode if not already paired with a Bluetooth source. Pairing is simple. Note that Bluetooth (on an iPhone at least) shows BW200 for pairing. I have no idea why.
Once paired, the speaker is capable of getting a bit loud. But its small size hampers its volume capability. When the volume is pushed, the speaker distorts only a little bit (a good thing), but music still becomes unlikable. Harshness creeps in when volume is past 75%. On my iPhone, I tweaked the EQ with different settings available in the Music app. I concluded that FLAT (or off) was the best EQ.
One thing lacking with the PowerBeat speaker is bass. Due to the speaker’s small size, bass is almost nonexistent. Even playing with EQ didn’t improve the bass—it just muffled clarity. Darned physics. However, middle and high frequencies were plentiful. This speaker shines with spoken content—podcasts, audiobooks (my favorite) and any source featuring spoken content.
Having said that, the PowerBeat speaker can be enjoyable for music, as long as the volume is kept low for personal background music.
Then there’s TWS. TWS means Total Wireless Stereo. When two PowerBeat speakers are paired, they play true left/right stereo. One speaker is in the left channel and the other is in the right channel. This setup is always preferable to a single speaker. It adds more depth to whatever is being played. Granted, bass is still weak, but the overall effect is more immersive. And the speaker is inexpensive enough to easily buy two.
TWS also has the added benefit of creating an invisible speaker. With the speakers properly spaced, music can not only be heard in left/right stereo, but also from an “ghost” center channel. You have to hear it to fully grasp this phenomenon. Once you hear TWS—even on less expensive tiny speakers like the PowerBeats, there is no going back to a single speaker.
Final thoughts
The Innogo PowerBeat Speaker won’t shake up the audio world. There are other fine, small Bluetooth speakers out there. However, when you combine its features—decent sound, magnetic Qi-enabled charging, RGB light show, decent build quality, and especially TWS stereo—all with an affordable $36 price ($72 for two), what’s not to like?
What I like about Innogo PowerBeat Speaker
- TWS works great
- Inexpensive
- Sound good for what they are
- RGB lights (that can be turned off)
- Can double as phone stand
- Qi-enabled 15W Android / 7.5W Apple wireless charging
What needs to be improved?
- Weak bass
- Speaker needs to be wired to a power source to wirelessly charge a Qi device
Price: $36
Where to buy: Innogo
Source: The sample of this product was provided for free by <replace with the company link>. <company name> did not have a final say on the review and did not preview the review before it was published.
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