Bose Flex Gen 2 : https://amzn.to/4fmUO35

So this is the Bose Soundlink Flex Gen 2, and as bose has done with a lot of recent products, the bose Soundlink Flex Gen 2 is another minor upgrade over its predecessor. Now yes, the Bose Soundlink Flex Gen 2 is a little better than the original flex, but a lot of these new features are just software upgrades. Personally, I was really hoping for more meaningful upgrades out of this speaker since it is gen 2… but nonetheless, lets see what the Bose Soundlink Flex Gen 2 is all about.

Regarding pricing, the Bose Soundlink Flex Gen 2 has a retail price of $150… so as with many bose speakers, you are paying a bose tax here. But surprisingly, this speaker is already on sale for $120… but I still feel that you’re paying a bose tax here when you compare this speaker to its most direct competitors. Nonetheless, if you want to pick this speaker up it’ll be linked down below or you can always press on the YouTube shopping button.

So first theres the design of this speaker. Now the Bose Soundlink Flex Gen 2 looks almost identical to the original. Its a candy bar shaped speaker so its wide and thin. You can either stand this speaker up or lay it down flat and it will automatically adjust its sound profile depending on its position. And this speaker is very durable cause it has a powered coated front  and mostly silicone wrapped body which makes it very durable and it also makes it feel very premium. And this speaker is rocking an IP67 ratting meaning that its both dust and water proof. Overall this is a super durable and super portable speaker thats very easy to take on the go with you. However, I really wish that bose either made this nylon loop flexible so that its easier to attach this speaker to things, or I would have liked if bose included a carabneaer this time, or I think it would have been even cooler if bose added the elastic loop that found on the Bose Micro. Overall, this speaker is portable, durable and premium, but bose still has a lot of room here for improvement to help make this speaker easier to take on go with you.

And then theres the batter life on this speaker, the Bose Soundlink Flex Gen 2 has the same battery life performance as the original. Both of these speakers have an advertised battery life of 12 hours, but this advertised battery life of 12 hours is with these speakers playing at 50% volume and at max volume these speakers are going to be good for like 3 hours of playback time and real world use with these speakers playing at 80% volume which is a decent lisenting volume, its going to be good for like 7 hours of playback time.

And again, this is another area where I think bose should have improved… I think the Bose soundlink Flex Gen 2 would have been sick if it had a 20 hour battery life cause I feel the original flex has a pretty small battery for its size and price. And when it comes to charnging this speaker, it charges via s USB C port as it should. But this USB C port is strictly used for charnging. You cant use it as a wired connection and you can’t use it to charge your own devices… and this is another feature that I would have liked to have seen on the Flex 2.

Now when it comes to Bluetooth, this speaker can be connected to two devices at the same time so that you and a friend can both be DJ. Latency is not an issue for this speaker so you can use it to watch videos with on your phone… but one major upgrade the Flex 2 has over the original is that it now has Snapdragon sound… which is nice… but I would have preferred a larger battery and built in clip.

But with all of that out of the way lets talk about sound. Regarding speaker set up, the Bose Soundlink Flex Gen 2 has the same speaker set up as the original. Both of these speakers have a single frontward firing driver and dual passive radiators that shoot out the front and back. And now that its 2025, I feel that this speaker set up just doesn’t cut it for a speaker of this size and price point, cause the Flex 2’s direct competitors are now rocking a woofer and tweeter set up which helps them have better instrument seperation and better openess. But something that is exclusive on the Flex 2 over the original flex is that you can now cosutmize its EQ to your liking. Which honestly, I feel the original flex should have had. But nonetheless we’re going to jump into the sound test. Both of these speakers are playing with their stock EQ’s and they’re both playing at 75% Volume.

Sound test

Overall, I feel that these speakers sound and perform very similar to one another. They both have a very rich bass heavy sound signature. However, something that I did notice with the Flex Gen 2 is that its bass didn’t distort like with the original flex. Now I dont know if this disitiron is cause my flex is 4 years old or if the bass is better on the Gen 2. But besides that these speakers sound and perform very similar. And both of these speakers can equally as loud. Both of these speakers are great for personal use, while in the shower, while on a hike or lets say a 5 person get together. But overall, I would have really liked to have seen bose at least a tweeter here so that the Bose Soundlink Flex Gen 2 could have better instuemnet seperation and openess like its direct competitors.

But finally lets talk about pairing these speakers up with other speakers. Now with the Bose Soundlink Flex Gen 2, if you have two of the exact same speakers then you can pair them up and get them to play in left and right stereo mode, or you can get them to play in sync. Or you can also pair your Flex Gen 2 up to lets say a Bose soundlink Max and get them to play in sync as well. But you can only have a total of 2 speakers paired together and you can not pair an original flex to a flex gen 2.

Overall, Bose’s speaker pairing protocol is very easy to use, latency is not an issue, echoes are not an issue and dicconetions aren’t an issue. However, right now Bose’s speaker eco system is pretty limited, and only being able to pair up to 2 speakers together might not be enough for some people.

Mic Test

inperson 11

But with all of that being said, the Bose Soudlink Flex Gen 2 is a very portable, durable and premium feeling speaker. It has a rich bass heavy sound signature and it gets decently loud. But this is another example of bose just adding very minor features to their already existing products, and slapping a new name on them. The Bose Soundlink Gen 2 is good, but I would have liked to have seen an included carabiner, or built in strap, improved battery life, and or an additional tweeter to help with instrument separation an openess.