LG xboom Grab: Two-minute review

There are only so many ways you can design a Bluetooth speaker. Sonos has done the Toblerone look. Ultimate Ears has mastered the rounded cube. And JBL pioneered the rugged cylinder. Is there any room left for innovation? LG thinks so. And the answer is straps.

The xboom Grab is far from the first speaker to feature built-in carry straps, but its two elasticated loops are unique among the best Bluetooth speakers. Subtle enough when not in use, they’re a neat addition that means you can easily lash the Grab to a bike frame or handlebars. Release one end from the metal bracket and you can also hook the speaker to just about anything.

More than a novelty, the straps are useful for users on the move. So are the Grab’s dimensions, which mean it fits neatly in a cup or bottle holder. It might not be the lightest at 700g, but this is a speaker that lives up to its portable promise. It’s also one that feels built to survive a beach party, even if its buttons are easy to press accidentally.

Straps aren’t the only standout feature. To distinguish the Grab in a crowded market, LG has packed it with tricks. A pulsing light strip adds a sliver of color at the foot of the unit. Whether that’s a welcome addition will depend on your taste for ambient flair, but the saturation is bold and the execution slick – as is the option to control, sync or disable its hues in the app.

Strangely, the Grab connects to the ThinQ app, rather than the LG xboom one. This requires you to create an account, a step that feels both unnecessary and lengthy. Still, it’s worth the effort: the app is where you gain access to a range of configuration options, including AI room calibration and the ability to power the speaker on and off remotely. It’s also where you can adjust sound settings.

You’ll want to do that. By default, will.i.am – with the help of LG’s sound engineers – has set the xboom Grab to Bass Boost. This gives it plenty of low-end energy, at the expense of clarity elsewhere in the range. Switch to Standard mode and separation improves dramatically. There’s still weight to the lower frequencies, but it’s balanced with detailed mids and expressive treble, which are given more space to breathe.

A 10W tweeter and 20W racetrack woofer, plus a pair of passive radiators, deliver a dynamic listen, creating a soundstage that’s surprisingly full and spacious for a portable speaker. The Grab certainly has no trouble being heard, indoors or out, with distortion only creeping in when you really crank up the volume.

Longevity isn’t lacking either. Switch off the lights and the Grab’s 20-hour battery rating stacks up. That puts it at the head of the field, with a several-hour lead over its primary rival: the JBL Flip 7.

In truth, the challenge for most people will be choosing between the Grab and the Flip 7. Both speakers have compact proportions and stellar sonic performance. Both also offer app connectivity and adaptive AI tuning. Design is likely to be the deciding factor. If clean lines, bright lights and carry straps do it for you, the LG xboom Grab won’t leave you disappointed.

LG xboom Grab review: Price and release date

• Announced at CES in January 2025
• Officially priced at $149.99 / £129.98 / around AU$175

LG unveiled the xboom Grab at CES in January 2025. Part of the ‘xboom by will.i.am’ range, it debuted alongside the larger xboom Bounce and party-ready Stage 301. All three hit shelves in April.

Ticketed at $149.99 / £129.98 (around AU$175), the Grab is pitched directly against the JBL Flip 7, which currently occupies the top spot in our list of the best Bluetooth speakers.

At that price point, the Grab enters a crowded and competitive market. The Sonos Roam 2, another portable speaker that sits happily in our best wireless speakers roundup owing to its Wi-Fi streaming capability, has recently been discounted to a similar asking fee.

Because it doesn’t undercut its rivals, the Grab instead needs to deliver a superior experience to win listeners. And, as you’ll read below, it does a thoroughly good job of trying, offering a plethora of features for the money.

LG xboom Grab review: Specs

LG xboom Grab review: Design

• Built-in elasticated straps
• IP67 waterproof and dust-proof
• Seven-button interface with customizable shortcut

In many ways, the LG xboom Grab borrows from every Bluetooth speaker that’s gone before it. It’s a solid cylinder clad in fabric mesh, with reinforced ends where the passive radiators reside. It combines the clean lines of the Ultimate Ears Boom 3 with the tidy dimensions of the JBL Flip 7. That’s a strong starting point, which LG has embellished with neat details and a dash of flair.

It wouldn’t look out of place in a modern apartment, yet the Grab is also ready for the beach. Like most of its contemporaries, it benefits from an IP67 water-resistance rating. LG’s also had it certified to military standard 810H. If you’re not up to speed with military testing codes (that's absolutely fine, by the way), that means it can easily shake off shocks, sand and salt water spray. In short, the Grab is built to last.

It certainly feels that way. At 700g, the Grab is weightier than other speakers of a similar size, which gives it a real sense of solidity. From the grooves on the bumpers to the metal plate where the straps attach, its construction is sturdy. The aesthetic might channel urban understatement, but there’s no cause for hesitation when lashing it to a bike or stashing it in a bottle holder.

In fact, the built-in straps mean you can mount the Grab just about anywhere. Far from a gimmick, they give you real flexibility for positioning the speaker outdoors. One end of each strap can unhook from the mount, allowing you to thread them through gaps in a fence, over handlebars and bike frames, even around tree branches. Or you can just hook one for a dangling disco.

Because they’re elasticated, you can stretch the straps for a secure fit and tighten things up by threading the bands back through their brackets. When not in use, they loop neatly around the compact body of the speaker. It’s a simple but clever setup that’s genuinely useful, whether flat surfaces are in short supply or you want to mount the Grab on the move.

If you do position the Grab on a shelf or table, little feet underneath will stop it rolling, while the light strip casts an ambient glow. This sliver of saturation runs in a thin line along the front of the speaker, pulsing in sync to your music with hues you can choose in the app. This won’t be to every taste, but it’s less naff than it sounds. As integrated lighting goes, it’s the subtlest and slickest I’ve seen. You can also turn it off entirely, if you prefer a low-profile approach.

Along the top of the cylinder sits a row of seven buttons. Complementing the standard set of power, volume and play/pause controls is a dedicated key for Auracast pairing, plus a heart button which can be set as a shortcut for Apple Music or LG Radio+. In practice, this last button feels unnecessary. Omitting just one key would’ve made the interface that bit simpler to navigate at a glance.

It doesn’t help that the buttons aren’t illuminated. The black outline design means they fly under the radar, but you have to feel your way around the shapes after dark. The buttons are also easy to press accidentally when handling the Grab or looping the straps. I unintentionally turned the speaker off several times. It’s a minor niggle, but the one that stands in the way of a five-star rating for the design.

• Design score: 4.5/5

LG xboom Grab review: Features

• 20-hour battery life, USB-C charging
• ThinQ app connectivity for light and sound control
• Full-color adaptive lighting strip

In an arena that’s bustling with Bluetooth speakers, LG’s pulled off a rare feat with the xboom Grab: packing a product with features and making almost all of them feel like meaningful additions. Look past the will.i.am tie-up – although I’m sure the Black Eyed Pea leant a helpful hand in the Grab’s development – and you’ll find a speaker that offers a lot of substance for the money.

Admittedly, I didn’t get off to a flying start with the Grab’s app connectivity: I downloaded the wrong one. You’d be forgiven for assuming the xboom Grab would use the xboom app, but it’s actually the LG ThinQ one you need to install. That’s followed by a mandatory sign-up process which demands too much time and information for pairing with a Bluetooth speaker.

A faff? Yes. It’s worth the effort though. Connecting the app unlocks a catalog of control and configuration options, including the ability to remotely turn the speaker on and off. It’s where you’ll find the settings for the light strip (see above), with a palette of pulse and color modes to choose from. And it’s also where you can fine-tune the sound output to suit your ears and space.

Part of that toolkit is AI room calibration. This analyzes the area where you’re listening and adjusts the audio accordingly. It would take a keen ear to detect the exact changes made to the output, but recalibrated from living room to bathroom to back garden, the Grab never sounded out of place. There are sounds modes to choose between too, but more on that below.

According to LG, will.i.am’s influence isn’t limited to the sound signature. He’s also had a hand in shaping the sound UI – the beeps and noises you hear when using the Grab. Now, this might sound like more marketing schtick, but it does actually make a difference over time. If you’ve ever used a speaker with low-grade sound effects, you’ll know how budget audio design can cheapen the experience when used every day.

That’s not a problem which besets the Grab. From powering on to establishing a Bluetooth connection, the xboom’s noises are rich, weighty and well-defined. It’s a small touch but one that makes a difference the longer you spend with it. As with other components, this attention to sonic detail gives the impression that every element of the speaker has been thought about. And crucially, they don’t start to grate after a fortnight.

Neither does the battery life. After two weeks with the Grab, I came away hugely impressed with its staying power. Rated at 20 hours without lighting, trips to the wall were pleasingly infrequent. On a full charge, you’ll be covered for days of casual listening before you have to worry about charging it. It’s not the quickest to refill when you do, but that’s a small price to pay for longevity.

• Features score: 4.5/5

LG xboom Grab review: Sound quality

• 16mm tweeter, 80 x 45mm woofer, 2x passive radiators
• AI calibration and adaptive sound
• Party link pairing with xboom speakers

LG’s equipped the xboom grab with a promising sonic architecture. An 80 x 45mm racetrack driver does woofer duties, while a 16mm dome tweeter from Peerless handles the higher stuff. These both pump out from the front, with passive radiators at each end to help distribute the sound. It’s a setup that translates into a very engaging listening, once you’ve done some tweaking.

Out of the box, the LG xboom Grab is set to Bass Boost. This gives it plenty of low-end energy, as befits a will.i.am party banger. But it also has the effect of dominating the sound signature and crowding the mids. Fine if you you want a bit of boom in the room, but not the most refined performance.

Things are significantly enhanced by switching to the Standard setting. There’s still no shortage of bass, but it exists in much better balance with the mids and treble. Oomph from the lower frequencies is paired with brightness and detail higher up the range. The soundstage offers a surprising amount of separation, resulting in a dynamic and engaging listen.

Fed with Maribou State’s latest album, the Grab dealt deliciously with many layers of electronica, balancing rich synthesized bass with clarity in the mids. Vocal reproduction is expressive too, whether it’s Hozier and his backing choir or Phil Collins doing some Disney-sanctioned crooning.

Yes, the xboom Grab is still a portable Bluetooth speaker, so the pickiest audiophiles shouldn’t expect a miracle. But for its size, it gives a hugely impressive account of itself. Details are perhaps easier to detect indoors, but the fullness and warmth of the Grab’s output isn’t lost in an outdoor setting either. Only at the top end of its volume level does distortion risk creeping in, a level that few will ever have cause to explore. This really is a unit fit for all occasions.

Besides Bass Boost and Standard, there’s also a Voice Enhance mode that you can select in the app. Alternatively, you can leave it to AI to analyze the genre and choose a setting to suit. But to my ears, there’s little reason to stray from the Standard setting. This gives the most balanced rendition, whatever’s on your playlist.

I haven’t listened to the LG xboom Grab back-to-back with the JBL Flip 7, but based on what I’ve heard, I’d say it’s a close-run thing between the two. Given how highly the Flip 7 scored in our review, that’s praise indeed. Both use drivers of the same dimensions, so at least internally there’s little to differentiate between the two. It’s fair to say that buyers of the xboom Grab won’t be disappointed with what greets their ears.

• Sound quality: 4.5/5

LG xboom Grab review: Value

Value is a relative concept. In 2025, $150 / £130 / AU$175 has become the standard price for a portable Bluetooth speaker of this size. For that money, the LG xboom Grab offers a lot: you’re getting a product built for portability, with the added bonus of solid battery life, synchronized lighting and genuinely useful app connectivity. It sounds great, too.

But $150 / £130 / AU$175 isn’t small change. In pure value terms, there is an obvious argument that the xboom Grab would be more compelling if it came in cheaper than its rivals. And there are plenty of people who’d prefer to sacrifice some of its clever features and lighting frills for a saving of 20%.

The Ultimate Ears Wonderboom 4 is a good example of a speaker that takes a simpler, more affordable approach without compromising on audio quality or performance. Its value offering is one of the main reasons we rate it so highly. The xboom Grab might sound bigger and better, but it also costs a chunk more. There’s definitely a gap in the market for a simple, solid and reliable mid-size speaker that costs $130 / £100 / AU$150.

As it is, the LG xboom Grab justifies its price by maxing out on features. It gives a solid performance that ticks the key boxes, complemented by extra tricks that will feel like real benefits to the right buyer. Whether that’s you will depend on how much you appreciate carry straps, light strips and an app with AI sound calibration.

• Value score: 4.5/5

Should I buy the LG xboom Grab?

Buy it if…

Don’t buy it if…

LG xboom Grab review: Also consider

How I tested the LG xboom Grab

• Tested for a fortnight, indoors and out
• Streamed extensively via the Spotify app
• Played music spanning a range of genres

To test the xboom Grab, I used it as most listeners would: by living with it. LG only had a review sample available on a two-week loan, so I had to make the most of my time with it. That meant using the speaker for shower singalongs every morning, ambient background during the day and kitchen bangers in the evening.

Because the Grab’s designed for alfresco audio, I also spent plenty of time listening to it outdoors. Beyond the garden, I strapped the speaker to my bike and stashed it in my beach bag, to see how well it held up as a picnic companion – and how useful those elasticated straps are in the real world.

Musically, I challenged the Grab with a genre-spanning catalog of tracks, covering everything from Maribou State’s soulful electronica to the grungiest alternative rock that BBC Radio 6 Music had to offer. The test playlist also included the Phil Collins tracks on Disney’s 1999 Tarzan soundtrack, courtesy of a certain five-year-old.

Read more about how we test

• First reviewed: June 2025