MAGQI Bluetooth Speaker Review

MAGQI has designed a couple of great Bluetooth speaker offerings. In the oversaturated market of Bluetooth speakers and headphones, smart little choices are what will set your devices apart. With the S1 and S2 Bluetooth speakers, MAGQI has made both positive and negative little choices. Both are excellent portable waterproof and dustproof wireless speaker options, so how are they different and how is MAGQI setting themselves apart?

First, the positive little things:
-Packaging is great
-Speaker design and button icons are kept appropriately minimal
-MAGQI includes both a Micro-USB charging cable AND an "aux" cable (1/8" to 1/8", male-to-male, headphone jack to headphone jack)
-Leather hand strap is a nice touch
-Immediately enters pairing mode when turning it on for the first time
-Device name shows up on devices as "MAGQI-S2" and "MAGQI-S1" so there's no confusion about what device(s) you're connecting to
-Ability to do hands-free calling as well as listen to music
-Great sound (it is a speaker, after all)
-Waterproof and dustproof

Now, the negative little things:
-Pill-shape feels derivative
-Useless brand badge in the middle of the face of the S2 speaker. It's NOT a functional button or light and it disrupts an otherwise brilliant minimalist design
-Low-battery indicator is almost the most annoying thing I can think of. If I were designing a low-battery indicator for devices I hate, I would choose something that's incessant, annoying, interrupts what you're currently doing, and plays every few seconds.

The negatives aren't enough for me to not recommend these speakers, but if I had to choose one, I would most definitely go with the diamond-shaped MAGQI S1 speaker over the S2 model. There aren't any differences in functionality that I can tell, but the little successes and better visual design of the S1 outweigh the negatives of the S2.

MAGQI S1: http://a.co/5TahY2v
MAGQI S2: http://a.co/eFzF0rM