Anker Soundcore Flare (2018) vs Sony SRS-XB01 (2018)

The Anker Soundcore Flare (2018) and Sony SRS-XB01 (2018) make for good, if unremarkable, Portable Bluetooth Speakers at their respective budgets.

With that said, while they both should serve reasonably well, you might want to look into other options at the $80 and $40 price points - it's likely that there are some better alternatives available.

If you want to learn more about the Anker Soundcore Flare (2018) and the Sony SRS-XB01 (2018), however, we prepared a summary of the information that we have:

The Anker Soundcore Flare (2018) was loved by reviewers at PCmag, a highly trusted source that performs reliable in-depth testing. It did great in its "The Best Bluetooth Speakers Under $100" roundup where it was named its "Ranked 2 out of 10", which, in itself, makes it a product worth considering.

Returning to the Sony SRS-XB01 (2018), CNET, a source that's known for its high-quality in-depth testing, has great things to say about it. In fact, it was named its "Best under $30" in its "Best portable mini Bluetooth speaker for 2021: JBL, Bose, Sony and more" roundup, which is quite a feat.

When we thoroughly analyzed their review scores, we learned that all of the sources that tested both Portable Bluetooth Speakers, including Technically Well, preferred the Anker Soundcore Flare (2018) over the Sony SRS-XB01 (2018).

We also took a look at which sources they managed to impress the most. The Anker Soundcore Flare (2018) was liked best by Technically Well, which gave it a score of 9.3, while the Sony SRS-XB01 (2018) got its highest, 8, score from CNET.

Lastly, we averaged out all of the reviews scores that we could find on these two products and compared them to other Portable Bluetooth Speakers on the market. We learned that both of them performed far better than most of their competitors - the overall review average earned by Portable Bluetooth Speakers being 7.6 out of 10, whereas the Anker Soundcore Flare (2018) and Sony SRS-XB01 (2018) managed averages of 8.9 and 7.8 points, respectively.

Due to the difference in their prices, however, it's important to keep in mind that a direct Anker Soundcore Flare (2018) vs. Sony SRS-XB01 (2018) comparison might not be entirely fair - some sources don't take value for money into account when assigning their scores and therefore have a tendency to rate more premium products better.