UE has gathered a reputation for designing solid-performing Bluetooth speakers, and that also seems true for its smart speaker devices. The BLAST provides a much-needed sound quality boost from the Echo and comes packed with additional features. The fact that UE was able to get about 12 hours of playback out of the BLAST is a feat, and it enables it to fulfill both smart and portable speaker needs for a normal user.

UE managed to pull off a great-sounding portable speaker that doubles up as a smart speaker around the home. The new Power Up base is a stroke of genius, but it is an essential bit of kit, which makes you wonder why it is not in the bundle. The only usage case where the Power Up does not really matter is if you are not taking advantage of the smart speaker features, and in that case, you are better off with the cheaper BOOM. The Power Up and BLAST deserve each other, so much so that the Power Up should have been included in the bundle.

Playback sound quality is on point, bass is really good for the size, and the max volume is adequate for most scenarios. Since the BLAST is based around the same principles as the BOOM, both unsurprisingly sounds a lot alike, which is a good thing. When it comes to picking up hot words, the BLAST is up there with the best. In the three rooms we tested in, it was hard to pick any of the speakers apart; all had erratic moments, but across several tries, the same pattern emerges: both the Echo and the BLAST perform well. Your mileage may vary here, of course. My normal male voice with a hint of a Danish accent has a tendency to work well with most common voice assistants.

When it comes to price, the BLAST is pretty competitive. It brings a lot of functionality and most of all sound quality to the Alexa system. If you live in countries where Amazon has a lot of services, it makes great sense to go for the smart BLAST over the somewhat less advanced BOOM.