The iFox iF012 is a small, well-built speaker designed for use in the shower. Its IP67 rating for dust and water resistance certifies it to be dust-tight and immersible in up to a meter of water for 30 minutes, so you don't have to worry about it getting wet while singing along to your favorite songs in the shower. It comes with a suction cup to help you stick it somewhere in your shower and a carabiner clip to clip it onto your shower caddy or to bring it with you on the go. Unfortunately, when placed flat on its suction cup facing upward, the iF012's uneven sound profile makes vocals and lead instruments sound alternately honky and veiled. It also really lacks low-bass and doesn't get very loud.
Note: The acoustics of your bathroom can affect your perception of the speaker's sound.
Our Verdict
The iFox iF012 Bluetooth shower speaker is disappointing for music. When placed flat on its suction cup facing upward, it has an uneven sound profile that makes vocals and lead instruments sound alternately honky and dull. It lacks a lot of low-bass, and there aren't any customization features to adjust its sound to your liking. It also has to downmix stereo content to mono, which isn't as immersive. That said, while it doesn't get very loud, there isn't much compression present at max volume, so your audio sounds clean when the speaker is pushed to its louder volume levels.
-
Little compression present at max volume.
-
Open and spacious-sounding soundstage.
-
Lacks low-bass.
-
Lacks sound customization features.
-
Requires second unit for stereo audio.
-
Uneven sound profile.
The iFox iF012 Bluetooth shower speaker is bad for videos and movies. Its uneven sound profile makes voices and dialogue sound alternately honky and veiled. Like many small speakers, it lacks low-bass, so you can't feel the thump and punch in action-packed scenes. It also has high Bluetooth latency with iOS and Android devices, which can cause syncing issues between the visuals you see and the audio you hear. That said, some apps compensate for latency differently, so your experience may differ.
-
Little compression present at max volume.
-
Open and spacious-sounding soundstage.
-
Lacks low-bass.
-
Lacks sound customization features.
-
Uneven sound profile.
-
High Bluetooth latency with iOS and Android.
The iFox iF012 Bluetooth shower speaker is satisfactory for podcasts. When placed flat on its suction cup facing upward, it offers a wide and spacious-sounding soundstage, meaning you can hear your audio clearly from most angles. It's also incredibly portable, so you can easily move the speaker from room to room when listening to your favorite podcasts or bring it with you when you're on the go. However, it doesn't get very loud, and its uneven sound profile makes voices sound alternately harsh and dull.
-
Incredibly portable.
-
Open and spacious-sounding soundstage.
-
Lacks sound customization features.
-
Uneven sound profile.
The iFox iF012 doesn't support voice assistants.
The iFox iF012 Bluetooth shower speaker is unremarkable for outdoor use. It's well-built with an IP67 rating for dust and water resistance that certifies it to be dust-tight and immersible in up to a meter of water for 30 minutes. It's also incredibly portable and comes with a carabiner hook you can use to clip it to your bag when you're on the go. However, it doesn't get very loud and has an uneven sound profile that lacks a thumpy low-bass. It also has to downmix stereo content to mono when using it on its own, which isn't as immersive.
-
Incredibly portable.
-
IP67 rating for dust and water resistance.
-
Little compression present at max volume.
-
Lacks low-bass.
-
Lacks sound customization features.
-
Uneven sound profile.
- 5.1 Music
- 4.6 Videos/Movies
- 7.3 Podcasts
- 3.1 Voice Assistant
- 6.4 Outdoors
- Updated Feb 02, 2022: Review published.
- Updated Jan 26, 2022: Early access published.
- Updated Jan 21, 2022: Our testers have started testing this product.
- Updated Jan 04, 2022: The product has arrived in our lab, and our testers will start evaluating it soon.
- Updated Dec 18, 2021: We've purchased the product and are waiting for it to arrive in our lab.
Differences Between Sizes And Variants
The iFox iF012 Bluetooth shower speaker comes in three colors: 'Black', 'Black/Gold' and 'White'. We tested the 'Black/Gold' variant; you can find its label here. We expect these variants to perform similarly.
If you come across any other variants of this speaker, let us know in the discussions, and we'll update our review.
Compared To Other Speakers
The iFox iF012 Bluetooth shower speaker is a small, well-built speaker. It has an IP67 rating for dust and water resistance that certifies it to be fully dust-tight and immersible in up to a meter of water for 30 minutes, meaning you can bring your favorite tunes along with you in the shower. It has a removable suction cup to stick it on your shower wall or the rim of your bathtub and comes with a carabiner clip to clip it onto your shower caddy or bring it with you when you're out and about. Unfortunately, the iF012's uneven sound profile makes vocals and instruments sound alternately honky and dull. It also really lacks a thumpy low-bass and doesn't get very loud.
See also our recommendations for the best shower speakers, the best waterproof speakers, and the best outdoor speakers.
The Anker Soundcore Flare 2 is a better speaker than the iFox iF012 overall. The Anker offers a better-balanced sound profile with its BassUp feature turned on and has a graphic EQ and presets you can use to customize its sound profile to your liking. It also supports voice assistants through your smartphone and can play stereo content without downmixing it to mono. That said, the iFox has less compression present at max volume, resulting in cleaner audio at louder volume levels. It also comes with a removable suction cup and carabiner hook, which some users may prefer.
The Anker Soundcore 3 is a better speaker than the iFox iF012 overall. With BassUp enabled, it offers a better-balanced sound profile to produce a more extended low bass than the iFox. It comes with a graphic EQ and presets you can use to customize its sound to your liking, and it supports voice assistants through your smartphone. It can play stereo content without downmixing it to mono, which is more immersive. However, the iFox offers a wider and more open-sounding soundstage and has less compression present at max volume, so your audio quality doesn't degrade as much at louder volume levels. Some users may also prefer that it comes with a removable suction cup to help place it in the shower.
The Ultimate Ears WONDERBOOM 2 is a better overall speaker than the iFox iF012. It offers a better-balanced sound profile and can produce a more extended low-bass than the iFox. It can play stereo content without downmixing it to mono, which is more immersive. It also has a longer-lasting battery life of almost 13 hours, though this can vary depending on your usage. That said, the iFox shower speaker comes with a removable suction cup to help you stick it in somewhere your shower, which some users may prefer. You can use the speaker to answer and decline phone calls, and it has less compression present at max volume, resulting in cleaner audio at louder volume levels.
The JBL Go 3 and the iFox iF012 are both small, well-built speakers that perform fairly similarly. The JBL offers a more neutral sound profile suitable for listening to many different types of audio content. It also has lower Bluetooth latency with iOS and Android devices, making it better suited for watching videos and movies. The iFox is designed to be used in the shower and comes with a removable suction cup to secure it somewhere in your shower. It can get slightly louder than the JBL with less compression present at max volume. It also has a longer battery life of just under eight hours, though this can vary depending on your usage.
Depending on your listening habits, you may prefer either the JBL Clip 4 or the iFox iF012. The JBL offers a better-balanced sound profile that can produce a more extended low-bass than the iFox. It also has a built-in carabiner hook to help transport it and has lower Bluetooth latency with iOS and Android devices. However, the iFox can get a bit louder with less compression present at max volume, so audio quality doesn't degrade as much at louder volumes. You can also use the iFox to accept and decline phone calls, and it comes with a removable suction cup and carabiner hook, which some users may prefer.
The JBL Boombox 2 is a better speaker than the iFox iF012, though they're for different uses. The JBL is much larger and can produce a significantly more extended low-bass than the iFox. It has a much longer-lasting battery life and can get louder. It can also play stereo content without downmixing it to mono and has a better-balanced sound profile overall, making it suitable for listening to a variety of audio content. That said, the iFox is much smaller and designed for use in the shower. It comes with a removable suction cup to help secure it in your shower. You can also use it to answer and decline phone calls.
Test Results
The iFox iF012 is a small, round speaker with a puck-like design and a gold trim around its control buttons. It sits on a removable suction cup which you can use to stick it facing up on a flat surface or vertically on your shower wall. It also comes with a removable carabiner clip you can use to clip it somewhere in your shower or onto your bag when you're on the go. You can find it in three different color variants, 'Black', 'Black/Gold', and 'White. We tested the 'Black/Gold' variant.
The iFox iF012 Bluetooth shower speaker is incredibly portable. It's small, lightweight, and battery-powered, meaning you can bring it along with you in the shower. It also comes with a removable suction cup to stick it on your shower wall, as well as a carabiner clip to clip it somewhere like onto your shower caddy.
The iFox iF012's build quality is very good. It's mostly made of plastic, and has a gold ring surrounding its rubberized controls. While it doesn't feel very premium, it still feels quite sturdy. It's rated IP67 for dust and water resistance, meaning it's certified to be fully dust-tight and immersible in up to a meter of water for 30 minutes, so you don't have to worry about getting it wet while bringing it into the shower with you.
It comes with a removable suction cup which you can screw on and off the speaker. The suction cup feels pretty sturdy on our unit, especially when placed flat facing upward, you can see a video of it here. However, water and soap may affect its ability to stick firmly to your shower wall. Fortunately, there's a built-in hoop atop the speaker you can use to attach it to its included carabiner clip, if you'd rather clip it somewhere in your shower instead, or when you want to bring it along with you on the go. You can see what the iF012 looks like from underneath without its suction cup here.
The iFox iF012 Bluetooth Shower Speaker has a good selection of physical controls that are easy to use, so you can control your audio from your shower without needing to reach out of the shower for your paired phone. You can long-press its power button to turn the speaker on/off. You can short-press the volume buttons to increase and decrease its volume and long-press them to skip tracks and backtrack. The speaker will beep to inform you of when you've reached its maximum and minimum volume levels. You can play and pause your audio by short-pressing the play/pause button and can long-press it to enable its True Wireless Stereo mode when you want to create a stereo pair with a second iF012 speaker.
Also, there's a phone button you can long-press to enable Bluetooth pairing mode, which will cause the light next to the icon to turn blue. You can short-press this button to accept calls, and long-press it to decline them, which doesn't disconnect the speaker from its paired audio source. Double-pressing the phone button will redial the last phone number in your call log.
- iFox iF012 Bluetooth Shower speaker
- Micro-USB charging cable
- Carabiner clip
- Quick Start Guide & User Manual
The iFox iF012 has poor frequency response accuracy. It has a pretty uneven sound profile with an overemphasis in the high-mid range that makes some vocals and instruments sound honky and harsh, and the dip and peak in the treble range makes higher-pitched voices and sibilants like 'S' and 'T' sound alternately dull and harsh. Also, it struggles to reproduce a lot of low-bass, which may disappoint fans of bass-heavy music like EDM or hip-hop.
Note: Our sound tests were conducted with the speaker placed flat on its suction cup, facing upward. It's also important to note that the acoustics of your bathroom can affect your perception of the speaker's sound.
The iFox iF012 has a decent soundstage performance. It has fantastic directivity, resulting in a wide and natural-sounding soundstage. That said, it requires a second unit to play stereo audio and has to downmix stereo content to mono when using it on its own, which isn't as immersive.
The iFox iF012's dynamics are alright. While it doesn't get very loud, there's little compression present at max volume, so the quality of your audio doesn't degrade as you increase the speaker's volume.
The iFox iF012 has a satisfactory battery performance. While the manual claims the speaker can last up to six hours from a three-hour charge, the speaker could last up to almost eight hours in our tests. However, battery performance can vary depending on your usage, and your experience may differ. There's also a power-saving feature that shuts the speaker off following 15 to 20 minutes of inactivity and when it isn't connected to an audio source.
The iFox iF012 Bluetooth shower speaker only has a micro-USB port to charge the speaker. That said, you don't have to wait until it's fully charged to enjoy your music and can use it while it's charging.
The iFox iF012 Bluetooth shower speaker has fair Bluetooth connectivity. It has a fantastic range, so you don't have to worry about it being too far from your paired device. However, it has high latency with iOS and Android devices, which can cause syncing issues between the audio you hear and the visuals you see when using it to watch videos and movies. That said, some apps compensate for latency differently, and your experience may differ.