Anker Soundcore Motion 300 Review (2024)

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The Anker Soundcore Motion 300 is a portable Bluetooth speaker designed for on-the-go listening. It has a solid, rugged look with the distinct Soundcore logo on the front. There's a detachable nylon strap, so you can clip it to your bag, too.

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Volume

Weight

Power Source

One-Hand Carry

This small, lightweight speaker is easy to bring wherever you go. It's battery-powered, so you don't need to plug it into an outlet to use it.

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Material Quality

Water Resistance

Dust Resistance

Impact Resistance

Floats In Water

Overall, this speaker feels very sturdy and solid, which is great for listening on the go. It's covered in silicone, which the manufacturer says helps with impact resistance. A metal grille in front protects the drivers inside. The USB port is protected by a tight rubber seal, and rubber feet on the bottom and back of the speaker help to hold it in place, whether standing up or laying on its back. The nylon strap feels cheap, but it's still sturdy enough to hold if you attach it to your bag or backpack.

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Ease Of Use

Feedback

Music Play/Pause

Call Answer/End

Volume Up/Down

Track Next/Previous

Microphone On/Off

Additional Controls

On top of the speaker, there are some simple-to-use controls. You can power the speaker on/off, adjust the volume, and turn on the Xtra Bass preset from the control. The play/pause button lets you skip to different tracks and answer/end phone calls, and you can hold it down to activate the voice assistant. Holding the Bluetooth pairing button lets you pair to another compatible speaker. The buttons are backlit for easier use in low-light settings, and there's some audible feedback to let you know when you've turned the device on and off. Plus, the power button blinks red to tell you when the battery is low and white to let you know you've reached max volume.

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Slope

Std. Err.

Low-Frequency Extension

High-Frequency Extension

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Directivity Index

Stereo

The Anker Soundcore Motion 300 is designed for audio playback in three orientations: standing up, lying down, and hanging from its strap. Its Smart Tune feature automatically adjusts the speaker's output based on the orientation, so you don't have to turn this feature on to use it. Our results represent the speaker standing up, which is how we figure most will use it. It plays stereo sound in this orientation and also when it's lying on its back. However, when it's hanging, it downmixes stereo sound to mono. It's a front-facing speaker that doesn't bring consistent sound from all angles like a 360-degree speaker, though its directivity is likely to slightly improve if it's lying on its back.

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SPL @ Max Volume

DRC @ Max Volume

This speaker is small, and still, it's loud enough to fill an average-sized living room with sound. There's some compression as you push it to max volume, though.

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Battery Life

Charge Time

Power Saving

Charging Port

Battery Powered

The manufacturer advertises a 13-hour battery life, which isn't far from the 11.5 hours we measured in our tests. Different settings you use, like the EQ preset and the volume level, can impact its battery performance. If you want to save battery, you can set the speaker to automatically power off after five, ten, twenty, or sixty minutes of inactivity through the Soundcore app.

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Alexa

Google Assistant

Speakerphone

Siri

Voice Assistant

Voice Activation

Microphone Mute

Far-Field Performance

Ambient Noise Performance

Pairing your smartphone to the speaker lets you use the voice assistant through that smartphone. It works with Siri and Google Assistant, and while Alexa appears as an option on a paired smartphone, we couldn't get this assistant to respond to our commands. Through this speaker, Google Assistant can hear your commands clearly from far away and in noisy settings. Siri's performance with this speaker is a little worse, though.

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App Name

iOS

Android

EQ

Stereo Pair Mode

Party Mode

Multi-Room

The Soundcore app has many features to enhance your listening experience. First, you can use its Smart Tune feature to adjust the speaker's sound based on its orientation. Smart Tune automatically works if you use the EQ presets, and you can also set custom EQs for each orientation if you prefer. You can also use the app to set the auto-off timer, change the button brightness, and switch between different audio codecs. You can't control the voice prompts, but you can adjust the sounds made as the speaker turns on and off or pairs to another device over Bluetooth. While you can't use the app to stereo pair, you can do it manually by holding down the Bluetooth button on the second speaker. See a video of the app in action here.

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Aux Input

USB Audio

Other Ports

There's a USB-C port to charge the speaker, but that's it.

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Bluetooth

Bluetooth Version

Bluetooth iOS Latency

Bluetooth Android Latency

Bluetooth Range

Multi-Device Pairing

This Bluetooth-compatible speaker pairs to up to two devices at the same time. It supports various codecs over Bluetooth, including SBC, AAC, and LDAC. LDAC allows for higher-resolution audio playback with certain apps like Tidal, and the manufacturer recommends turning it on if possible. This codec only works with compatible Android 8.0 or later devices, though, and it increases power consumption and reduces overall playtime. Our latency measurements represent the more commonly available SBC codec, and while they're on the higher side, it's important to note that some apps compensate for latency differently.

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Wi-Fi Version

Wi-Fi Frequency Band

Wi-Fi

Apple AirPlay

AirPlay Latency

Google Chromecast

Chromecast Latency

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