Best Smartphone Speakers Built In or Over Bluetooth
Most phones list stereo speakers now, from a $400 Motorola up, yet one $1,099 iPhone has a single speaker. Spec sheets decoded, plus portable speakers.
No phone maker publishes a loudness figure that would settle which phone has the best speakers. What a spec sheet can tell you is whether a phone has two speakers or one, and whether it keeps a headphone jack. On that evidence, the phones built most deliberately around sound are Sony’s Xperia 1 VIII and the gaming phones from ASUS and RedMagic. The Moto G Power 2026 at about $400 is the cheapest way to get the same pairing.
Music for a room is a different problem, and a phone is the wrong tool for it. The soundcore Select 4 Go, a portable speaker, is about $35.
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Stereo speakers plus a headphone jack
Sony’s spec sheet for the Xperia 1 VIII says more about audio than most. It lists what it calls Full-stage stereo speakers, a 3.5mm audio jack, Dolby Atmos and its own 360 Reality Audio, and says the speakers are improved over the last model. It is on Sony’s UK site and not on a US one, so there is no dollar price to give. Sony’s cheaper Xperia 10 VIII is listed with stereo speakers as well. Sony Xperia 1 VIII on Amazon
ASUS lists multi-magnet dual stereo speakers on the ROG Phone 9 Pro, a 3.5mm headphone jack and Hi-Res output through that jack. Its page refers to bottom speakers, and says its cases have a chamber that directs their sound to the front. The ROG Phone 9 series is the newest on ROG’s site, and ASUS’s US store did not show the phone, so check availability where you live. ASUS ROG Phone 9 Pro on Amazon
RedMagic, another gaming phone maker, lists dual stereo speakers and a 3.5mm audio jack on the 11S Pro. Its global store prices it from $799 and showed it as out of stock. RedMagic 11S Pro on Amazon
Motorola lists stereo speakers, Dolby Atmos and a 3.5mm headset jack on the Moto G Power 2026. If you want stereo speakers and a jack and have $400, buy this phone. Moto G Power 2026 on Amazon
Pixel, iPhone, Samsung and Xiaomi speakers
Google’s Pixel tech specs page lists stereo speakers on every Pixel 10 and Pixel 11 model, down to the Pixel 10a at about $600. It also lists Spatial Audio, with a footnote saying that needs headphones or earbuds. So the speakers on the $600 phone and the $1,100 Pixel 11 Pro are described in the same two words, which makes the 10a the mainstream phone to look at first. Google Pixel 10a on Amazon
Price does not settle it on an iPhone. Apple’s spec pages label a built-in stereo speaker on the iPhone 17e at $699, the iPhone 17 at about $900 and the iPhone 18 Pro at about $1,200. On the thin iPhone Air, at $1,099, the same diagram labels a built-in speaker, singular, with no mention of stereo. Of the five iPhone lines on Apple’s store, only the Air is labelled without the word stereo. If the speakers matter to you, think twice about it. The iPhone 17 costs about $200 less. Apple iPhone 17 on Amazon
Motorola describes two large stereo speakers with Dolby Atmos on the Edge 2026, about $600, and lists USB-C in place of a headphone jack. Nothing lists symmetric stereo speakers on the Phone (3), with a list price of $799, marked down to $699 on Nothing’s US store. Nothing Phone (3) on Amazon
The Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra is from about $1,300, and we could not find a description of its speakers on Samsung’s US page for it. Samsung’s support site does confirm Dolby Atmos on its One UI phones.
Xiaomi’s phone pages are on its global and India sites, so there are no dollar prices to give. The global site lists stereo speakers and Dolby Atmos on the Xiaomi 17, and dual speakers with Dolby Atmos on the Redmi Note 17 Pro 5G. The plain Redmi Note 17’s audio section lists a volume boost and Hi-Res Audio, and does not say dual speakers. On Xiaomi’s India site, the Redmi Note 15 5G is listed with dual speakers and Dolby Atmos.
LG is no longer an option: it announced in April 2021 that it was closing its mobile phone business.
How much the audio badges are worth
Stereo and dual speakers mean sound from both ends of the phone when you hold it sideways for a video. One speaker means it all comes from one end, where a hand can cover it. On a cheap phone, the words stereo speakers or dual speakers on the spec page are the thing to look for.
Dolby Atmos is processing applied to the sound. It says nothing about how many speakers a phone has or how large they are. Samsung’s support site says every Galaxy phone running One UI has it, and you will find it on a $400 Motorola too.
Read the footnote on any volume boost. Xiaomi advertises a 300% volume boost on the Redmi Note 17 Pro 5G, and its own small print explains that this refers to 17 levels of volume compared to 15. That is one way to count.
A headphone jack is still the simplest way to plug in wired headphones, or run a cable to a bigger speaker, with no adapter. Few phones have one now, and none of the Pixel, iPhone or Nothing spec pages lists one.
A phone’s own speakers can also be adjusted in software. The page on equalizer apps for Android starts with the settings already on your phone.
Portable speakers for music in a room
A separate Bluetooth speaker is the answer to the other meaning of smartphone speakers. Battery and water-resistance figures are the makers’ claims. Prices are list prices, rounded, and JBL’s store had most of its range on sale for less.
| Speaker | Maker’s price | Battery | Water and dust |
|---|---|---|---|
| soundcore Select 4 Go | about $35 | 20 hours | IP67, floats |
| JBL Go 5 | about $55 | 8 hours, 10 with Playtime Boost | IP68 |
| JBL Clip 5 | about $80 | 12 hours, 15 with Playtime Boost | IP67 |
| Ultimate Ears Wonderboom 4 | about $80 | 14 hours | IP67, floats |
| Bose SoundLink Micro (2nd Gen) | about $130 | 12 hours | IP67 |
| JBL Flip 7 | about $150 | 14 hours, 16 with Playtime Boost | IP68 |
| Bose SoundLink Flex (2nd Gen) | about $160 | 12 hours | IP67, floats |
An IP67 rating means dust-tight and able to survive a dunk. Anker says the Select 4 Go can sit in a metre of water for 30 minutes. IP68 is the step above.
The soundcore Select 4 Go is the value pick, with the lowest price and the longest battery claim in the table. soundcore Select 4 Go on Amazon
The JBL Clip 5 suits a bag or a bike, with a built-in carabiner for a bag strap. JBL lists Bluetooth 5.3 and Auracast, which links it with other JBL speakers. JBL Clip 5 on Amazon
The Wonderboom 4 floats, and Ultimate Ears says it is drop-tested from five feet. Ultimate Ears Wonderboom 4 on Amazon
The JBL Flip 7 is the larger JBL, with Bluetooth 5.4 and an IP68 rating. Two can be paired for stereo. JBL Flip 7 on Amazon
The Bose SoundLink Flex (2nd Gen) is the only one here we confirmed has a microphone, so it can take a call. Bose says the smaller SoundLink Micro has none. Bose SoundLink Flex (2nd Gen) on Amazon
Calls with several people in the room are a job a music speaker does badly. Units with four to eight microphones turn up among the best speakerphones.
