Tom’s Guide Verdict
The Miniroll mixes a tiny chassis with some big sound.
I decided to bring the recently released Ultimate Ears Miniroll.
The speaker costs $79 in the U.S., and 79 in the UK.
UE Miniroll review: Design
I really like the way that the Miniroll looks.
Its chunkier than its predecessors but retains its round shape and mesh-covered front.
The buttons on the front bring some color accents to the otherwise single-color speaker.
The rear of the unit is a rubberized plastic, sharing the color of the front mesh.
Its surprisingly secure as well, so you could easily attach it to bike handlebars or your backpack strap.
The build itself is solid as a rock.
The rugged plastic on the back of the Miniroll could take a real beating.
I should know, after it accidentally fell down some stone stairs.
The USB-C port on the bottom is something to watch out for, however.
Note that you cant do both at the same time, its either stereo or louder tunes.
You activate the feature with a long press of the play button found on the side of the speaker.
Once the initial equipment is ready, you do the same on the second equipment.
The two then find each other and connect up.
That means no customizable EQ or remote turning on and off, which is a shame.
Beyond partyup, the Miniroll is just a simple Bluetooth speaker.
Its Bluetooth 5.3 so latency is lower if you want to boost the sound of movies on your smartphone.
Its a good, solid connection as well, with no dropouts or stuttering during my testing.
UE Miniroll review: Sound quality
Lets get one thing out of the way first.
If youre looking for room-filling, rich sound, youre looking at the wrong Bluetooth speaker.
Despite its small stature, theres surprising bass response.
The mid-range is relatively well represented, with plenty of warmth to guitars and vocals.
Thats me being picky, however.
Considering how small it is, its an impressive sonic performance.
Spinning up Hans ZimmersDunesoundtrack reveals the strengths and weaknesses of the speaker.
One thing of note is the volume of the UE Miniroll.
For something so small it getsextremelyloud.
Loud enough, in fact, that it manages to vibrate itself off of tables at full volume.
Thats identical to the staying power of the similarly sized Tribit Micro.
It charges over USB-C, although you have to bring your own charging cable.
Like theAirPods 4, there isnt one in the box.
Dont expect earth-shattering sound quality and youre in for a treat.
There are alternatives, of course.
If you dont want to spend too much money theTribit Microis a great, similarly sized speaker.
You wont get the enormous volume headroom of the Miniroll, however.
If you want something with a bit more substance, then the slightly largerWonderboom 4might be a good option.
Its got 360-degree sound, and has multiple listening modes on board.
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