Bluetooth speakers come in all shapes and sizes, but the Fashionit U Micro speaker is much different than anything I’ve seen before. The U Micro is about the same diameter as a quarter, but packs some serious volume and features for its size.
I’m not sure if it’s the worlds smallest Bluetooth speaker, but it’s the smallest one I’ve seen! In this review of the Fashionit U Micro Bluetooth speaker, I will let you know about the build quality, sound quality, battery life, and whether or not I recommend it.
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U Micro Speaker Overview
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Size and style. Those are the two most important priorities for Fashionit with the U Micro Bluetooth speaker. For style, they offer the U Micro in over 10 different colors. You’ll be able to find a look that matches your style. For size, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a smaller Bluetooth speaker.
When you prioritize size and style, you’re obviously going to trade off some other things, like sound quality and battery life. But I think you’ll find out in this review that the U Micro has some surprises up its sleeves.
The U Micro is described as a coin-sized speaker, and that we can confirm. If you’re looking for a tiny portable speaker with plenty of color options, the U Micro will appeal to you.
Let’s get into the details.
First Impressions
Even though it’s marketed as a coin-sized speaker, I was still impressed at just how small and compact it really is when I first took it out of the box. Surprisingly, it has some nice weight to it. For whatever reason, I naturally attribute quality to weight, so right away I got the impression that this wasn’t just some cheap Bluetooth speaker.
The housing is metal, and it has a metal speaker grill on top. I was expecting cheap plastic, so that was a nice surprise. The button on the bottom is a type of rubber and clicks easily.
Pairing my iPhone to the U Micro was easy. I powered the U Micro on, and was greeted with a nice welcome tone. There is an LED, but it’s on the bottom of the speaker by the power button. So the power on tone was clever, so that you’ll know it’s actually on without turning it upside down to check the LED. The U Micro showed right up on my iPhone, and pairing worked as expected. In a matter of seconds I was listening to music.
Sound Quality
My expectations for sound quality were very low when I started the review process. How good could a coin-sized speaker really sound? I admit, I was a little biased. I thought, “Why not just use your phone’s speaker to play music, why buy this?”
Volume
And then I started turning up the volume. I quickly realized why someone would want a tiny speaker. The speaker that is built into my iPhone didn’t get nearly as loud as the U Micro. It wasn’t even close. Not only that, the music sounded fuller, less flat, than what my iPhone could produce.
Clarity and Quality
The U Micro gets pretty loud, but here is where the limitations of a physically small speaker come into play. You see, the 1.3 inch diameter U Micro simply can’t produce high sound levels without some distortion coming in a those higher volumes. But at normal listening levels, like when you are in the same room with the speaker, quality and clarity are satisfactory.
I’m not going to hand out any awards for the sound quality. And I wouldn’t expect to, given what I said when I started this review. The priority for this design is size and style. You’re trading off sound quality for small size.
That being said, most people will find virtually all volumes of the U Micro pleasant to listen to. My wife actually saw the speaker on my desk and started to use it when she was doing things around the house. It was so small and easy to use, and sounded much better than her phone’s speaker. She would normally just have music playing on the phone, but the U Micro serves well for casual background music because it’s louder, but doesn’t take up much space.
Controls
There is a single button on the U Micro. It’s weirdly placed on the bottom of the speaker, but honestly I didn’t even notice after my initial unboxing. You don’t really need to access the button anyway, except to turn it on and off.
One neat feature of the U Micro is that it can serve as a remote control for your phone’s camera. Set up your phone on a tripod, get in the shot, and then press the button on the U Micro to snap the picture. I didn’t really find this useful because timers exist, but it’s a neat little feature to have.
Battery Life
Fashionit says the U Micro has a battery life of 3 hours. That’s probably on normal volume levels, because I was getting just a bit less than that on a full charge listening at louder volumes. Charging is quick and easy with the included cable.
Again, size is a limiting factor for the U Micro. It simply doesn’t have a lot of space to house a large battery, so 3 hours is about all you get. That might be a let down if you plan to use it when you go out. Most of the time I was using it around the house, so plugging it in to charge every few hours wasn’t a big deal.
The Good
- Tiny, portable size. Easily fits in a pocket, purse, or backpack
- Louder and better than your phone’s built in speaker
- Quality build, not cheap feeling
- Available in a lot of colors so it can match your style
The Bad
- 3 hours of battery life is pretty low
- Distortion/audio quality degradation at higher volumes
- Focus on size means trade offs for sound and battery life
Conclusion
The Fashionit U Micro Bluetooth speaker is a nice little speaker if you need something colorful and super portable. Do you usually listen to music on your phone’s speaker? Try out the U Micro. It sounds better, gets louder, and is tiny enough to disappear into your pocket so you can take it everywhere.
I recommend the U Micro if you care mostly about the size and color options. You’re not getting the best sounding speaker, but I think it’s safe to say this is one of the best sounding speakers of this size.