Anker Soundcore Icon Mini Review: Small, but Loud!

October 14, 2020

Anker Nepal recently refreshed the portfolio of Anker and Soundcore-branded products in Nepal. Among the products that are available in the Nepali market right now, is the Anker Soundcore Icon Mini. It is the cheapest Bluetooth speaker under the Anker Soundcore brand in Nepal. Today, I will be discussing how this portable Bluetooth speaker performs in real-life usage in this detailed review of Anker Soundcore Icon Mini.

Anker Soundcore Icon Mini Specifications:

Body: 3.7 x 2.9 x 1.4-inches; 215 gm
Battery: 900 mAh (up to 8 hours)
Charging: Around 3 hours; 5V/1A
IP Rating: IP67 (Up to 3 feet for 30 minutes)
Connectivity: Bluetooth 4.2, Micro USB, AUX-in
Range: 30 m / 99 ft
Driver: Elliptical driver
Output Power: 3W (RMS)
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Anker Soundcore Icon Mini Review:

Design

Compact squarish design
IP67 dust, water-resistant

Anker Soundcore Icon Mini sports a square design with curved edges. The corners are also rounded. The speaker grill is placed on the front and in the middle of it, with the Soundcore logo painted on top. The LED light is placed under the top center spot of the grill, which I think is a weird choice. Anker could have easily placed it on another spot making it more visible.

The cord on the top right corner of the speaker can be used to hang it to a sturdy surface. It has its own length adjusting mechanism with the Soundcore logo on it. The cord is robust and doesn’t look out of place. The speaker is IP67 rated against dust and water.

Dimension-wise, the Anker Soundcore Icon Mini measures 3.7 x 2.9 x 1.4″. Because of the small size, it easily fits in the palm. It weighs around 215 grams. Thus, I did not have any problem carrying it around in my pocket. However, the speaker is designed to be placed flat with the grill facing the sky. The side opposite of the grill has four tiny feet to support the entire speaker.

Connectivity

Bluetooth v4.2 (30 m / 99 ft)

You can connect the speaker to your music player in two ways. Since it is advertised as a portable Bluetooth speaker, the first way is through a wireless Bluetooth connection. For the initial pairing, turn on the speaker and press the Bluetooth button on the top of the speaker. The speaker should now be visible to nearby Bluetooth devices. Turn on the Bluetooth on your phone, and search for Soundcore Icon Mini, and hit connect. The speaker gets automatically after the initial pairing.

The speaker also supports wired connections through a headphone jack. The port for the 3.5mm headphone jack resides on the right side of the speaker just below the micro USB port.

Controls

Dedicated buttons for volume, playback control
Plus, a power and Bluetooth button

As for controls, there are five buttons raised from the top surface. The one with the Soundcore logo is the multi-function button. A single press on the button plays or pauses the current content. A double-tap skips the current content for the next one. A triple tap brings back the previous content to play.

A long press activates the default voice assistant of your device. Similarly, there are buttons for turning the speaker on/off and changing the volume. The fifth button is used when connecting to a device for the first time.

Sound Performance

3W power (with a loudspeaker and a passive radiator)
Built-in microphone for calls and voice assistant

For a speaker so small, Anker Soundcore Icon Mini can get very loud. This makes it a perfect companion while going out on a picnic, hiking, or other similar activities. Other than that, the speaker does not offer much to audiophiles. The bass is decent at best and the vocals are not that accurate.

The vocals feel rather heavy and get grainy with an increase in volume level. At the highest volume, you might even notice the speaker creaking. It is more evident while listening to the final chorus of Green Day’s Know Your Enemy. For a better experience, users can connect two Soundcore Icon Mini speakers for a stereo sound effect.

Battery

900 mAh with 5W charging (Micro USB)

Anker is claiming up to 8 hours of music playback on Soundcore Icon Mini in a single charge. That is true if you keep the volume at around 50%. The battery endurance will decrease if you turn the volume up. At max volume, I was only able to get about 3 hours of playback. The thing that annoyed me is that the low battery life is indicated only using a small flash of red light, which itself is hard to notice. A voice prompt would have been a lot better here.

It takes around 180 minutes to get the speaker from 0 to 100% using a 5W (5V, 1A) charger. The micro USB port is hidden at the right side of the speaker.

Conclusion

As a portable speaker, the Anker Sound Core Icon Mini has a lot of things going for it, including its size and the price. On a single charge, it can last up to 8 hours. The cord comes in handy when you are trying to hang it on something. However, sound quality needs improvement. Similarly, the brand could also improve the location of LED light and add voice warning for low battery level.