Last week, we took a look at the EVERBOOM, a recent mid-range addition to the portable speaker lineup from Logitech's Ultimate Ears brand, and today Ultimate Ears is introducing a new smallest and cheapest member of the family, the MINIROLL. Notably, it's a revival of the previous ROLL and ROLL 2 form factor that was discontinued back in 2019, but slightly smaller and with upgraded specs.
Priced at $79.99, the MINIROLL is a compact round speaker optimized for portability. It has a hard plastic rear shell and a firm polyester mesh front, and it features the traditional oversized plus and minus volume buttons that are found on the front of most Ultimate Ears speakers. A rubber-like strap spans the entire rear of speaker, with a tab that allows the top of it to be unhooked so the speaker can be attached to backpack straps, belts, leashes, cooler handles, and even small rods like tent supports.
The MINIROLL measures a little over 4 inches (105 mm) in diameter with the strap tab adding a bit in the vertical dimension, and it's around 1.9 inches (48 mm) thick, while it weighs 9.8 ounces (279 g). With an IP67 rating, the MINIROLL is highly resistant to water and dust, and it's been drop tested to a height of 1.2 meters, so it's ready for an active lifestyle out and about in the wilderness, at the pool, and elsewhere.
In addition to the prominent volume buttons, the MINIROLL includes subtle power/pairing and play/pause buttons on the left side. A short press of the power button turns the speaker on or off, while a longer press activates the Bluetooth pairing mode. The audio control button offers the typical functionality of a single press for play/pause, a double press for skipping forward, and a triple press for skipping backward. Pressing the volume buttons simultaneously will trigger the MINIROLL to speak its approximate battery level.
For charging, there's a USB-C port on the bottom of the MINIROLL, and battery life is rated at 12 hours. The speaker can be recharged in under 3 hours, but you'll have to provide your own cable.
With its small size, there's not a ton of space inside the MINIROLL, but it still features a 45.6 mm active driver and a 37.75 x 65 mm passive radiator, and it delivers directional sound at up to 85.5 dB. This isn't going to be offering large room-filling sound, but it puts out plenty of volume for personal and small-group settings.
If you need more sound, you can sync an unlimited number of MINIROLL speakers in PartyUp mode with Auracast technology, taking advantage of Bluetooth range of up to 40 meters (131 feet). A long press on the play/pause button activates PartyUp on the primary MINIROLL, broadcasting its connection and allowing other MINIROLL speakers to join with the same long press.
The MINIROLL is available to order today from Ultimate Ears and comes in four color options: Gentle Black, Majestic Blue, Revive Grey, and Calming Pink.
Note: Ultimate Ears provided MacRumors with a MINIROLL for the purposes of this news coverage. No other compensation was received. MacRumors is an affiliate partner with Ultimate Ears. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which helps us keep the site running.
Article Link: Ultimate Ears Launches New MINIROLL Personal Bluetooth Speaker
