Huawei Sound Joy review: this Bluetooth speaker has lights that dance to the music

To sum up this Huawei Sound Joy review: if you want one of the best Bluetooth speakers with decent sound and incredible battery life, this is an excellent choice. 

You get a few cool extra features here as well like the multicoloured light ring around the top, built-in microphones to make calls, manual bass adjustment and three preset sound modes. 

Huawei may not be the first brand you think of when you’re looking for new audio products, but the Huawei Sound Joy is a really solid offering that isn’t too expensive. The sound is loud and will easily fill the room, although admittedly audiophiles might notice a few flaws when you dial the volume all the way up. 

Competing against the likes of Ultimate Ears, Sony and JBL in the mid-range portables crowd, it holds its own very well even though the sound isn't perfect. It's also one of the best waterproof speakers you can buy and you can quite easily use it outside without worrying about rain, puddles or pools. 

Huawei Sound Joy review: price and availability 

You can buy the Huawei Sound Joy now in the UK for £130, it’s likely to be made available in Australia at a later date although we can’t say exactly how much it’ll cost. Like the rest of Huawei's product range, it won’t be available to buy in the US. 

To see the most up-to-date pricing where you are from across the web, take a look at the widgets on this page. 

At the time of writing, you can get a pair of Huawei Freebuds 4i or the Huawei Band 6 for free when you buy the Huawei Sound Joy directly from the Huawei website. 

Huawei Sound Joy review: design and battery 

The Huawei Sound Joy has a long tubular design, not dissimilar to some of the best JBL Bluetooth speakers. It’s a popular shape for a portable speaker because it means the sound should be the same from every angle. 

You can buy it in a classy black or green. The Huawei Sound Joy is covered in a durable woven fabric and has a cool multi-coloured light ring around the top that dances to the music, it also shows you the volume level and the battery percentage. While it won’t be for everyone, this nifty little feature does set it apart from the crowd and it’ll certainly jazz things up when you play music in a darker room.

The Huawei Sound Joy looks both stylish and rugged. It’s got an IP67 rating which means it’s dust-resistant and waterproof - it’ll survive in a dusty park or if you get caught in the rain, and it’ll even be fine if you accidentally drop it in a pool. 

Weighing about 680g and measuring 202 x 73mm, the Huawei Sound Joy is a good size to carry in a backpack, making it ideal for using out and about as well as at home. It'll fit into a bottle holder and there's a small braided adjustable strap to carry it with so you can take it almost anywhere. 

Along the rubber strip on the back, there are a few different backlit buttons including the power button, microphone button to call on your phone’s voice assistant, a Bluetooth button and the stereo key for when you have two of them paired together. 

On the front of the speaker, there are two large buttons to adjust the volume. While the controls all worked fine, the power button does take a long time to work, you need to be pressing down on it for 20 seconds or so before the speaker wakes up.

One of the best parts about the Huawei Sound Joy is its battery life, from a single charge you’ll get about 26 hours of music. That'll be enough for a day out, or even for a whole weekend away! If you do get caught short there is a safety net because a quick 10-minute charge will give you about an hour of music.

Huawei Sound Joy review: performance and features

Setting up the Huawei Sound Joy is really easy, just start it up and it’ll automatically pair through Bluetooth. When you turn the speaker on a pop-up box will appear on your laptop, tablet or phone screen. Because of the automatic pairing, you don’t need to tap through Bluetooth menus to get it connected which ultimately saves you time and effort. It couldn’t really be easier. 

Because the Huawei Sound Joy uses the most up-to-date Bluetooth 5.2 you shouldn’t have any problems with the connection dropping while you’re using it either. 

To get access to the full suite of features you’ll need to download the Huawei AI Life app where you’ll be able to see the battery percentage, adjust the lighting and volume, tweak the bass or switch between sound modes. It’ll even let you schedule a time to turn the speaker off. You can download it on any Huawei or Android device, but it doesn’t support iOS devices. 

With a 20W full-frequency speaker, a 10W tweeter and two passive radiators, the speaker tech on the Huawei Sound Joy has been provided by French audio specialist Devialet. 

The sound quality is dependable with plenty of power. While it won’t knock you sideways, the bass is deep and rich without being overbearing, the mids come through clearly and the treble is crisp. It’s not as precise as you’d get from a device that costs twice as much but you can still hear every part of the track just fine. 

When you dial the volume right up, I did notice a little distortion, especially on vocals. It made the sound a little harsh but it’s not all that noticeable when you’re listening with a bigger group of people. 

If you and a friend both have the Huawei Sound Joy speaker, you’ll be able to pair them together for even bigger sound and they’ll be able to play in stereo. You just need to shake the two speakers (or press the dedicated button) and they should pair automatically. I couldn't try this out as I only had one device but it seems like a pretty useful feature to have if you do know someone else who owns it. 

Thanks to the 3 built-in microphones, you’ll be able to summon your smartphone’s voice assistant by pressing the microphone button on the speaker. You can use it to find out the answer to your burning question, to control your smart home or to choose a new song. You’ll also be able to use the microphones on the Huawei Sound Joy to take your calls, so it doubles up as a speakerphone. 

Owners of Huawei devices will also be able to make use of the One Touch functionality. You just tap your handset against the speaker to start playing a song. 

Huawei Sound Joy review: verdict

The Huawei Sound Joy is an excellent speaker and the multicoloured light ring is a cool feature to have even if it’s not at all necessary. You get decent sound quality and the battery life is more than enough, in fact, it will last longer than most other portable speakers you can buy. 

If you already own Huawei devices then you’ll be able to make the most out of everything this speaker has to offer, and if you’re an Android user you’ll only really miss out on the ability to transfer tracks by tapping your phone on it which isn't a huge problem.

Don't buy the Huawei Sound Joy if you only use Apple devices. You won’t be able to access any of the features that rely on the smartphone app - that includes the preset sound modes and the lighting won't be able to sync to your music either. 

Huawei Sound Joy review: also consider  

Another Bluetooth speaker to consider is the Bang & Olufsen Beosound A1 2nd Gen - you won’t find better right now. It looks stylish, the sound is incredible and the app gives you loads of manual control over the audio, but it is a lot more expensive than this.

Another similarly priced speaker is the JBL Flip 6. Like the Huawei Sound Joy, it’s compact and waterproof. Although you won’t get the dancing light ring, the sound is just that little bit better so if you care more about that than having loads of extra features then it could be a better choice for you.