The LG xboom Bounce is a portable Bluetooth speaker, designed in collaboration with will.i.am. It offers a slightly different feature set from the other speakers in the xboom lineup, boasting a longer, 30 hours of advertised battery life (at 50% volume) than the LG xboom Grab, while maintaining a more portable design than the LG xboom Stage 301. It stands out from the crowd thanks to an LED light strip mounted on the front, while features like AI room calibration, an IP67 rating, and Auracast support round out its modern feature set.
Our Verdict
The LG xboom Bounce is okay for music. While it's capable of rendering mid-range and treble frequencies with precision, there's a notable lack of bass presence, even for a speaker of this size. As a result, vocals and stringed instruments have plenty of detail, but the kick drums and basslines that underpin them sound hollow and lacking in body. The speaker is capable of outputting stereo content without downmixing to mono, with solid directivity, so audio sounds quite consistent from different listening angles. While it can get quite loud for its size, there's a lot of compression at higher volumes. On the bright side, there are a fair few EQ modes and even a 6-band graphic EQ for advanced sound customization.
Multiple EQ modes, with 6-band graphic EQ.
Can playback stereo audio without downmixing.
Compresses bass at max volume.
Poor low frequency extension for its size.
The LG xboom Bounce isn't suited to playing back video or movie audio. While it can get reasonably loud and can playback stereo content without downmixing to mono, it's hampered by its high latency with Android devices. While latency values are slightly lower with iOS devices, there's still a chance you'll experience sync issues between your audio and video (though apps and devices compensate for this in different ways). Furthermore, the lack of bass-range presence can rob action sequences and dramatic scenes of some of their power, with movie audio erring on the side of tinny.
Can playback stereo audio without downmixing.
Compresses bass at max volume.
Poor low frequency extension for its size.
High latency with Android devices.
The LG xboom Bounce is a good choice for podcasts. It does a great job of reproducing the mid-range (where podcast dialogue lies), so your favorite hosts' voices come through loud and clear. It can get quite loud for its size and, though there's some compression at max volume, it doesn't really affect mid-range reproduction. It's also plenty portable, as you can bring it from room to room with one hand, and its solid directivity score means you don't have to worry about positioning yourself directly in front of the speaker to follow the narrative.
Multiple EQ modes, with 6-band graphic EQ.
Portable design with carrying strap.
Over 25 hours of battery life.
Compresses bass at max volume.
The LG xboom Bounce is a passable choice if you plan on using it with voice assistants. It's compatible with both Siri and Google Assistant, but relies on the voice assistant capabilities of your device, with no built-in support of its own. The built-in mic does a great job of identifying voice commands, though, even in crowded and noisy environments. If privacy is a concern for you, it's worth noting that there's no mic mute button.
Mic picks up voice commands well.
No built-in voice assistant.
The LG xboom Bounce is great for outdoor use. Armed with an IP67 rating for protection against dust damage and water submersion and over 25 hours of continuous battery life, this speaker is ready to come with you on your next hike or backyard bash. It can get reasonably loud for its size, ensuring sound carries in an outdoor setting, plus audio is relatively consistent across different listening angles. It's also small enough that it can be stowed in a backpack or shoulder bag, too, though you can also carry it around using the included elastic carrying strap.
IP67 rating.
Portable design with carrying strap.
Over 25 hours of battery life.
Compresses bass at max volume.
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Differences Between Sizes And Variants
The LG xboom Bounce comes in just one color variant: 'Black,' and here's a picture of its label. If you encounter another variant of this speaker, please let us know in the comments, and we'll update our review.
Popular Speaker Comparisons
The LG xboom Bounce is part of LG's xboom line, designed in collaboration with 'experiential architect' will.i.am. All three speakers from this inaugural lineup feature the same suite of AI-enhanced features, like AI radio stations, room calibration, and lighting. The xboom Bounce features the longest battery life of the three, clocking in at over 25 hours, but falls short in a few other regards. While it's almost as portable as the LG xboom Grab, it outputs less bass, despite its larger frame. That said, if lighting up the party (literally and metaphorically) is your concern, the LG xboom Stage 301's loud, bass-heavy sound and flashy lights might be just the ticket. If you want more bass from a similarly sized speaker, the Bose SoundLink Max might work better for you. It has better low-end extension and can get much louder, though it lacks the LG's marathon battery life.
For more, check out our recommendations for the best portable Bluetooth speakers, the best waterproof speakers, and the best outdoor speakers.
The JBL Charge 6 and the LG xboom Bounce are both speakers designed for on-the-go use, with portable, durable builds. That said, the LG is the better speaker for most use cases. The exception to this is for music, where the JBL's lower bass extension makes for a fuller sound that brings out more punch and boom in the low end. Otherwise, the LG has a much longer battery life, better dynamics performance, and can playback stereo content without downmixing to mono. The LG also supports voice assistants like Siri and Google Assistant, though you'll need a phone that features voice assistant support to use this function.
The Sony ULT FIELD 3 and the LG xboom Bounce are very similar speakers in many ways, but the LG has the edge when it comes to performance. The two speakers take up an almost identical amount of space, both feature IP67 ratings against water and dust damage, and come with Siri and Google Assistant support (as long as you have a compatible mobile device). While the Sony is able to output more bass, resulting in a more balanced sound overall, the LG features a better dynamics performance and can playback stereo audio without downmixing. The LG also has a much longer continuous battery life, making it a better fit for long excursions. Still, if you plan on using your speaker to soundtrack videos and movies, you might prefer the Sony's lower latency with iOS and Android devices.
The Bose SoundLink Max and the LG xboom Bounce have similar form factors, both being portable speaker options that can easily be slung in a backpack or handbag. The Bose is a better choice for music lovers, with a more balanced default frequency response with better bass extension, plus better directivity and dynamics performance. That said, if battery life is your biggest concern, the LG's 25-hour battery life might be a deciding factor. If you're a fan of hands-free controls, the LG also features rudimentary voice assistant support, allowing you to use the Siri or Google Assistant capabilities that come with your mobile device.
The LG xboom Grab and the LG xboom Bounce are similar speakers, both designed in collaboration with will.i.am. They're both very portable and feature IP67 ratings against water submersion and dust damage, but have different strengths otherwise. The Bounce features a longer 25-hour battery life and can playback stereo content without downmixing to mono. It can also get quite a bit louder, without compressing as much at max volume. That said, the Grab has much better bass extension, resulting in a fuller sound overall.
Test Results
The LG xboom bounce has a slightly more conventional design than its siblings, the LG xboom Grab and the LG xboom Stage 301. While it's much smaller in size than the latter, it's a little bigger than the former, without the eye-catching barrel-shaped design. It has a rectangular shape, with two passive bass radiators on the top surface. There's an LED strip on the front that indicates the battery level and two silicone feet on the bottom that stabilize its base. A silver and red 'xboom' logo is embossed on the front center.
It's a highly portable speaker: light and small enough to stow in a tote bag. It features a handy elastic carrying strap that lets you easily carry it with one hand, too.
The LG xboom Bounce is outstandingly well-built. It's made from a hard, durable plastic, wrapped in a woven mesh material. It's rated IP67, so it's dust-proof and submergible in water. The manufacturer even claims that it passes seven MIL-STD-810H tests for exposure to very harsh environmental conditions. Two rubber feet on the underside give it some stability, and the swappable battery is housed in its own compartment, so you'll need a screwdriver to access it. Perhaps the only weak point in the speaker's construction is the carrying strap, which seems like it could lose its elasticity over time.
The LG xboom Bounce has an impressive control scheme. All the controls are located on the top panel and provide a straightforward and intuitive suite of functions via clicky, texturized buttons. There are dedicated buttons to adjust the volume, power the speaker on/off, pair via Bluetooth, and play/pause audio (which can also be pressed multiple times to cycle forwards/backwards). Long-pressing the power button lets you check the battery status (which is displayed both on the battery status LED and the light strip). There's also the multi-functional 'MY' Button (❤): pressing it twice initiates the speaker's room correction, while a single press can launch you into a selected playlist, or even play an AI Radio station. Finally, there's a dedicated stereo pair/party mode button.
There's audible feedback for when you hit maximum or minimum volume, pair/unpair a device, and enable/disable PartyLink mode (stereo pair/party mode). The LED light strip also serves as an indicator for a few things, like battery life, volume, BT pairing, and voice assistant initiation.
- LG xboom Bounce
- Removeable battery
- USB-C charging cable (0.8 m/2.5 ft)
- Safety and warranty information
The LG xboom Bounce has a passable frequency response accuracy. We tested this speaker using the Bass Boost preset, with AI calibration (room correction) enabled and the speaker placed horizontally. Surprisingly, we found that its low-frequency extension was worse than its smaller sibling, the LG xboom Grab. We performed numerous subjective listens to confirm this and concluded that this speaker's frequency response lacks low-end heft, meaning kicks and basslines don't have the punch and boom you'd expect. The mid-range is nicely balanced, though, rendering vocals with a good amount of detail. There's a slight dip in the low-treble, which can hollow out higher-pitched instruments, like soaring violin melodies in orchestral soundtracks.
This speaker comes with an AI calibration feature, which uses a test tone to adjust the frequency response to the acoustics of your room. However, we found that the frequency response stayed the same after calibration. That said, we also tried placing the speaker in the corner of our testing room before running the calibration, to see if this made a difference. This resulted in a slight increase in the mid-bass in our measurements, but subjectively, we didn't notice much of a difference in the sound. Of course, your experience will vary depending on the layout and acoustics of your listening environment.
The soundstage performance is good. This speaker can playback stereo content without downmixing to mono. It also has solid directivity, meaning audio reproduction is fairly consistent across different listening angles, though the sound will get more muffled as you move to the periphery of and behind the speaker.
The dynamics performance is okay. While it's able to achieve quite a high max volume considering its size, there's a fair bit of bass range compression at max volume, which can rob kicks and basslines of their transients.
The LG xboom Bounce has an amazing battery life. The manufacturer advertises around 30 hours of playback at 50% volume, and we achieved just shy of that at 25.6 hours with the light strip on and the 'Bass Boost' preset enabled. With the light strip enabled, we measured just over 19 hours of battery life. You can also use the speaker like a power bank to charge your mobile devices via the USB-C port.
The speaker turns off automatically after 15 minutes without audio playback, though you can adjust this interval in the settings to different increments. The battery itself is also user-replaceable, and you can technically purchase a second battery if you feel like hot-swapping batteries to extend playtime.
Unfortunately, we couldn't find a purchase link for a first-party battery, which is disappointing for repairability. Let us know in the comments if you find one, and we'll update the review. Just be aware that you'll need a screwdriver to open the battery compartment.
The LG xboom Bounce lacks any built-in voice assistant functionality, instead relying on the voice assistant capabilities of your paired device. You can pair it with both Siri and Google Assistant-compatible smartphones, though, and its microphone will do a great job of picking up your voice, even in crowded and noisy rooms.
The LG ThinQ app is very good. It's available for both Android and iOS and lets you customize and access functions that go beyond the physical controls. You can see it in action in our app video.
You can use it to cycle between the different sound/EQ modes (including a 6-band graphic EQ), initiate party link/stereo pairing, or even adjust the lighting effects on the LED strip light. You can alter the function of the MY' Button (❤) so it plays back specific playlists, AI radio stations, or even Healing Therapy sounds, too.
The speaker uses Auracast to pair with other speakers, though compatibility is limited to select LG speakers only. This comprises the Bounce, as well as the LG xboom Grab and the LG xboom Stage 301.
While the LG xboom Bounce features a USB-C port, it's for charging the speaker only. There's no way to use a wired connection for audio playback.
This speaker has impressive Bluetooth connectivity. It supports Bluetooth 5.4 and features multi-device pairing, so it can stay paired with up to two devices. There are even two different multi-playback modes that you can adjust in the app. Private mode asks you to manually pause playback on the device before initiating a switch, while Party mode auto-detects media playback on another device and switches over. Furthermore, you can also set the speaker to turn on upon detecting a Bluetooth connection by adjusting the 'Power On with Bluetooth' setting in the app.
While latency is a little lower than with the LG xboom Grab with iOS and Android devices, it's still on the higher side. Watching videos while paired to the speaker may result in some lip-sync issues that can disrupt your viewing experience. That said, devices and apps compensate for latency differently, so your experience may vary.
The speaker employs Auracast technology to pair with other speakers, though cross-product compatibility is currently limited to the LG xboom Grab and the LG xboom Stage 301.