Which Bluetooth speaker should you choose for the summer? A guide to the beach, the pool and festivals in 2026
Summer is in the air, and with it comes the first urge to enjoy music outdoors. Whether you’re heading away for the weekend, organising a garden party or planning a trip to a festival, a good Bluetooth speaker quickly becomes the season’s must-have accessory.
But here’s the thing: the market is awash with models that sometimes make vague promises. Between the advertised power, water resistance, battery life and price, it’s hard to make sense of it all without some solid guidelines.
This guide is here to help you make the right choice based on your actual needs. Beach, pool, a night out with friends, an outdoor festival… every situation has its own requirements. And the good news is that Kodak offers a range designed to meet each of these needs, with a special offer available right now: buy any speaker from a selection of models and get the second one at 50% off.
So, where to start? With the basics.
What makes a good speaker for music festivals and summer outings?
Before looking at the models, there are a few questions to ask yourself. How many people will there be? Indoors or outdoors? For a quiet afternoon or a party that goes on until midnight? The answers make all the difference. A speaker that’s perfect for drinks on the terrace won’t necessarily cut it for a party of 30 people in a garden.
What type of speaker do I need for ?
It all depends first and foremost on the size of the space and the number of guests. For a small indoor gathering or a picnic with close friends and family, a compact speaker with a power output of 7 to 10 watts is more than enough. It fits easily into a bag, sits on a table, and does the job without any fuss.
For an outdoor party, the equation changes. Sound disperses in the open air, conversations drown out the music, and the atmosphere demands a bit more oomph. You’ll then need power ratings of 20 watts and above, with speakers capable of covering an area of several dozen square metres without straining.
You also need to think about what else you’ll be using it for alongside the music. A speaker with a hands-free function lets you manage your calls without missing out on the party. Some models even include a power bank function to charge your phone, which can be very useful during a long evening away from a power socket.
What makes a speaker a good party speaker?
Several criteria come into play, and they are often interlinked.
Power, first of all. This is measured in RMS watts, a figure that reflects the actual, continuous power delivered by the speaker. Be wary of inflated figures displayed on some packaging: what matters is the RMS, not the peak power.
Battery life, next. A speaker that lasts 8 to 10 hours gives you some breathing space. If it lasts less than 5 hours, you’ll spend your evening keeping an eye on the battery rather than enjoying your guests.
Water resistance is often underestimated. Spilling a drink, getting caught in an unexpected downpour, placing the speaker near a swimming pool… these situations happen more often than you might think. An IPX5 or IPX6 rating guarantees that the device can withstand splashes without flinching.
Finally, connectivity. Bluetooth 5.0 ensures a stable connection up to 10 metres, giving you real freedom of movement. Some speakers also offer TWS functionality, allowing you to pair two identical devices to create a stereo effect or cover two separate areas. A real bonus for a large terrace or garden.
The Kodak range has been designed with these criteria in mind, featuring models that cater to very different needs depending on the occasion.
Which speaker should you choose depending on your activities: beach, pool or a music festival?
You don’t choose a speaker for the summer in the same way you choose one for your living room. The requirements are different, and a model that excels in one setting may prove unsuitable in another. Here’s how to approach your choice based on what you actually plan to do.
For simple outings with friends: portability and discretion are key
Some days don’t call for a full-scale sound system. A picnic with friends, a quiet day at the beach, an afternoon in the park… In these situations, what you want above all is a speaker you don’t want to leave at home because it takes up too much space or is too heavy.
The number one criterion then becomes size. A compact speaker must fit in a rucksack without compromising on anything else. But compact doesn’t mean lacking in character. 7 watts RMS with a well-made speaker can deliver clear, balanced sound, enough to entertain a small group outdoors.
RGB lighting effects are also a detail that makes all the difference in this segment. Not just for aesthetics, they create an atmosphere as night falls and transform a simple listening session into a truly convivial moment.
The Kodak PWS-2234 mini Bluetooth speaker ticks all these boxes with its 7 watts RMS, 9 lighting effects synchronised with the music and a battery life of 9 hours 30 minutes. Compact, it recharges in 2 hours 30 minutes via USB-C and features TWS functionality for those who want to take the experience a step further.
In the same vein, the Soundbrix Bluetooth speakers focus on colourful design and portability, for those who want a speaker that stands out as much as it sounds.
For the beach and the pool: water resistance, a non-negotiable feature for your Bluetooth speaker
Placing a speaker by the water’s edge without a waterproof rating is taking a real risk. A wave, a child splashing, a spilled drink… and it’s all over. The IPX rating precisely defines what a device can withstand, and for use in water, you shouldn’t go below IPX6, which guarantees resistance to powerful water jets from all directions.
But water resistance alone isn’t enough. A speaker designed for the beach must also be shock-resistant. Sand gets everywhere, surfaces are unstable and accidents happen quickly. A robust casing, ideally with a shock-resistant structure, significantly extends the device’s lifespan.
Here we present the Kodak PWS-2233 portable Bluetooth speaker with lighting, which boasts IPX6 certification and delivers 20 watts RMS thanks to its two speakers combined with a passive bass radiator. Its 9 RGB lighting effects, synchronised with the music, make this a model that’s as entertaining as it is powerful, with a battery life of 8 hours and 30 minutes.
For those who want to take durability even further, the Kodak PWS-2237 portable Bluetooth speaker also features a shock-resistant air pad casing and a built-in FM radio. Handy when there’s no mobile signal out in the countryside. It is IPX6-rated and comes with a 3000 mAh battery.
What’s the best party speaker for an evening with friends?
An evening with friends in the garden or on a terrace calls for a bit more than a pocket-sized speaker. You need volume, solid bass and, above all, a battery life that doesn’t force you to pause the party to go and fetch a cable.
In this context, actual power output becomes a key selection criterion. A 60-watt RMS speaker delivers a sound level capable of covering a medium-sized outdoor space without distortion, and with enough dynamic range to ensure the music remains enjoyable at high volumes.
Sound management also deserves attention. A built-in DSP processor with multiple equalisation modes allows you to tailor the sound to the musical style. The bass enhancement mode, for example, adds body to electronic or hip-hop tracks without drowning out other frequencies.
This will certainly be the case with the Kodak PWS-2248 portable Bluetooth speaker, which boasts 60 watts RMS spread across four speakers, with a battery life of 8 to 10 hours. It features a DSP with bass boost, three EQ modes, a hands-free function and can even be used as a power bank to charge a phone. And for parties where space is at a premium, the TWS function allows it to be paired with a second identical unit for stereo sound.
What speaker power is needed for a dance party?
Power is often the first figure people look at when searching for a speaker. And yet, it’s also the one most commonly misunderstood. A few concrete guidelines can help clarify things and ensure you don’t end up with a speaker that’s too quiet on the big night.
Understanding power in relation to group size and space
We touched on this earlier, but let’s go into a bit more detail about power in this section. Indoors, a standard-sized room absorbs some of the sound. Walls, furniture, people in the room… all these factors affect how loud the sound seems. For around twenty people in a living room or dining room, 20 watts RMS is sufficient. The music sounds good, conversation remains possible, and no one ends the evening with ringing ears.
Outdoors, the equation changes radically. Sound disperses in the open air; there are no surfaces to reflect it, and ambient noise rises quickly as the group grows. For around thirty people in a garden, you’ll need at least 40 to 60 watts RMS to maintain a comfortable volume without pushing the speaker to its limits. Constantly overloading an undersized speaker means accepting audible distortion and accelerated wear and tear.
Another often-overlooked factor is frequency response. For a dance party, bass is just as important as volume. A speaker with a passive radiator or a dedicated woofer will deliver deeper, more impactful bass—something small, compact models simply cannot reproduce.
For big parties and outdoor events: when the sound needs to scale up
When the party moves beyond an intimate setting, you need a speaker that keeps up the pace from start to finish. Not just in terms of volume, but also battery life and versatility. An outdoor party that starts at 6pm and finishes after midnight requires a battery that keeps up, seamless connectivity and sound that remains clear even at high volumes.
For those who want to take it a step further, the Kodak PRPS-1775 portable home cinema speaker is designed for even more ambitious use. Designed to deliver home cinema sound in a portable format, it’s just as suitable for a large outdoor party as it is for indoor use when you really want to fill the space with sound.
It’s in this context that true power, combined with good audio signal management, makes all the difference. A DSP processor with multiple equalisation modes allows you to adapt the sound to suit the moment of the evening. At the start of the evening, a balanced sound is preferred for conversation. Later on, you switch to a bass mode to reignite the energy on the dance floor.
In this context, we can also mention the Kodak PWS-2258 wireless portable Bluetooth speaker, which delivers 60 watts RMS across four speakers, with a battery life of up to 12 hours at 70% volume. It features a DSP with three EQ modes, IPX6 certification, TWS functionality and can also be used as a power bank. Its 78mm speaker with passive radiator ensures punchy bass, even outdoors. Enough to last a whole evening without compromise.
The summer bargain: the Kodak ‘Buy 1, get the 2nd at 50% off’ offer
Kodak is currently running a promotion on selected models. For every speaker purchased from the PWS-2233, PWS-2234, PWS-2237, PWS-2248, PWS-84 and Soundbrix ranges, the second is half price.
In practical terms, this opens up two possibilities. The first is to get a pair of identical speakers and connect them in TWS mode for stereo sound. This is particularly effective for covering a large space or creating two separate sound zones at a party. The second is to buy one model for yourself and a second as a gift, or simply to have an extra speaker for another room or another use.
For big parties, pairing two PWS-2248s or two PWS-2233s in TWS mode doubles the sound coverage whilst maintaining the same audio quality. And at this price, it’s hard to find better value for ensuring your summer is well-sounded.
Ready to set the sound for your summer?
Choosing a Bluetooth speaker for the summer is, above all, about choosing based on what you’ve actually planned to do. A day at the beach has different requirements to a garden party, and a festival is experienced differently from a drinks party with neighbours.
What doesn’t change, however, is the need for reliable sound, sufficient battery life and a device that can withstand summer conditions without faltering. The Kodak range covers these uses with models designed to last, even when the party goes on for hours.
And with the current offer, buy one speaker from the selection and get a second one at half price. It might just be the best time of the year to kit yourself out properly, or to share the bargain with someone who needs it just as much as you do.
