HiFuture has launched some cool products ever since it burst into the Nepali market last year. The company’s latest product here is the Sound Mini portable Bluetooth speaker. I have been testing the HiFuture Sound Mini portable Bluetooth speaker for quite some time now, and I’ll be sharing my experience in this review.
HiFuture Sound Mini Specifications:
- Body (L x W x H): 98 x 98 x 47.5mm, 170 grams
- Color Options: Black
- Battery: 1800mAh Li-Ion Polymer
- Music Playback: Up to 12 hours
- Charging: Around 3.5 hours (5V/1A)
- IP Rating: IPX4 water resistant
- Connectivity: Bluetooth 5.0
- Bluetooth Profiles: A2DP 1.3, AVRCP 1.6, HFP 1.7
- Audio Codec: SBC, CVSD
- Driver: 40mm Full Range
- Output Power: 5W
- Frequency Response: 100Hz – 20kHz (6dB)
- Signal-to-noise Ratio: > 75dB
- Microphone: Yes, Omni-directional
- Price in Nepal: Rs. 3,800
HiFuture Sound Mini Review:
Design
- Circular design, LED stripe
- IPX4 splash resistance
Let’s talk about the design first. The Sound Mini is well-built for a budget speaker. However, nothing about it screams premium. It has a circular design with a curved top and flat bottom. The top has a speaker grille covered with fabrics.
Below the grille lies a thin LED stripe that glows green, blue, and red on different occasions. I have to be honest—this LED does very little to add to the aesthetic of the speaker.
The majority of this speaker is made from plastic which catches smudges pretty easily. There is also a lanyard to easily carry the speaker around. To its opposite lies a Type-C charging port, which doesn’t have any covering. The speaker is still IPX4 water-resistant. This doesn’t make the speaker fully waterproof, but it should survive some minor water splashes.
Connectivity and Pairing
- Bluetooth 5.0
- Two speakers for stereo output
HiFuture Sound Mini comes with Bluetooth 5.0 connectivity. First-time pairing is quite easy. Just turn on the speaker and look for HiFuture Sound Mini on your phone, PC, or other devices. If you want to quit the current connection, you’ll need to press the pairing button for around 10 seconds until the green light flashes twice.
You can even pair two Sound Mini speakers for stereo effect. In my case, the two speakers connected automatically when brought together. However, if the process is not automatic, you need to press the pairing button for around 3 seconds on both speakers. You can exit the stereo mode by following the same process.
Controls
As for the controls, they are placed awkwardly at the bottom of the speaker. Thus, you will end up covering the speaker every time you need to use it while the speaker is playing. That being said, the buttons are clicky and responsive.
HiFuture has included buttons for power, volume up/down, pairing, and activating voice assistant. A circular rubber padding offers little ground clearance so as to avoid accidental presses.
Audio
- 40mm full-range driver
HiFuture Sound Mini features a massive 40mm full-range audio driver. And it’s plenty loud given the price and size of the speaker. It’s so loud that I found myself using it at volumes lower than 50% most of the time. At full volume, the Sound Mini can fill up a moderate-sized room.
That being said, the sound quality is not that impressive. The vocals sound subdued. They also distort as you go higher up in the volume. The bass is passable. However, it does get muddy, while listening to songs like Hammer by nothing, nowhere.
That being said, it is pretty much what you get with most of the budget speakers. At a lower volume, the experience is decent for casual listening. HiFuture Sound Mini outputs mono audio by default. But if you want, you can pair two of them for stereo output.
Built-in microphone
Moving on, the HiFuture Sound Mini features a built-in omnidirectional microphone. You can use it to take calls or summon your phone’s voice assistant. For the latter, HiFuture has included a voice assistant button at the bottom. I tested it with my phone’s Google Assistant and it seems to work fine.
As for the call quality, it is just average. While I didn’t face much problem with it, there were times where the person on the other end could not hear me clearly enough.
Battery
- 1800mAh battery
- Type-C charging port
HiFuture rates the 1800mAh battery on the Sound Mini for 12 hours of playback. I generally got closer to 10.5 hours of listening time on average usage. I used the speaker at variable volumes but mostly below the 50% range.
Given how loud it is, I don’t think anyone will ever need to crank it past 60%. There is a Type-C port that accepts 5W DC input. In my test, the speaker took 3 hours 45 minutes to go from 0 to 100%.
HiFuture Sound Mini Review: Conclusion
All in all, HiFuture Sound Mini doesn’t stand out much from other budget speakers in the market. It is loud and can come in handy during picnics and small gatherings. It also has long-battery life to back it up while you can even pair two of them for stereo effect. That being said, everything else about it is just average, from its design to actual sound quality.
HiFuture Sound Mini Review: Pros and Cons
Pros
- Lightweight, portable design
- IPX4 splash resistance
- LED stripe to spice things up
- Loud enough to fill up a room
- Mic for taking calls
- Great battery life
Cons
- Awkwardly placed controls
- Average sound quality
- Calls are not always clear
- Slow charging
