Verdict
This is a great little all-rounder for anyone after a compact speaker with all the features you’d expect from larger models. It has impressive sound, a featherweight size, waterproofing, a built-in clip, a microphone and app support. There aren’t many downsides, although Tozo may be over-promising on the battery life a little bit.
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Super-portable size and weight
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Built-in clip is handy
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Waterproof
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Enjoyable sound quality
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Battery isn’t as extensive as promised
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Lacks protection for the charging port
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Can get distorted at high volumes
Key Features
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Review Price:
£29.99
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Integrated carabiner
Like the JBL Clip series, the Tozo includes a clip integrated into the speaker itself for extra security, so that you can attach it to a belt or bag and take it anywhere
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IPX8 waterproofing
The PE1 is thoroughly waterproof, so it’ll withstand full immersion in water up to one metre deep for 30 minutes
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Companion app with EQ
The Tozo app gives you a fully customisable EQ, with loads of presets and user-shared EQ profiles
Introduction
You don’t have to overspend to get a great little Bluetooth speaker anymore. But, navigating the budget end of the market can be tricky when all the listings are dominated by brand names you haven’t heard before!
Tozo was one such brand for me, but I’ve found the PE1 packs in a lot of functionality for something with a £30 price tag, and will leave you questioning why Bose and Marshall charge more than three times as much as this.
The Tozo PE1 is the most compact Bluetooth speaker I’ve used to date, weighing just 180g and offering a full set of features without some of the compromises you might expect at this price point. It promises 32 hours of use on a single charge, IPX8 waterproofing, and a built-in carabiner to help you tote it around.
At this ultra-portable size and weight, it’s competing with the likes of the JBL Go 4, Soundcore Select 4 Go and Majority Move M1, but it’s lighter and more pocket-friendly than those options. Is it the best tiny Bluetooth speaker you can buy right now? I’ve been testing it out for the past four weeks to find out.
Design
- One of the smallest and lightest speakers
- Comes in black, blue or red
- Built-in clip and waterproofing
This petite belter comes in three colours: black, blue or the red of my review unit. It has a simple design with a non-slip material on its base, grippy-textured fabric-covered front featuring the Tozo logo, controls on the side, and a sturdy carabiner built-in to the top. This is ideal if you want to hang it from your backpack, put it up in the shower or dangle it from a railing.
On test, I’ve found this clip highly reliable and easy-to-use; I brought the speaker on holiday with me, barely noticing its weight in my bag and being able to hang it in the hotel room upon arrival. It’s worth saying that if you wanted a rival speaker with a built-in carabiner you’d probably be looking at the JBL Clip 5, which is great but costs about twice as much and is a little bulkier.
If you want to use the Tozo in the shower or at the poolside, it’s worth knowing that the IPX8 rating means it’s durable enough to survive submersion in water. It doesn’t have a dust-proofing rating (hence the X in its IP rating) but that doesn’t mean you couldn’t bring it to the beach, I’d just be a little more careful with it!
The X just means that the PE1 hasn’t been specifically tested for dust protection, not that it’s definitely not dust-sealed.
I find the main appeal of this speaker is just how lightweight it is, but it hasn’t skimped on control like some portable models do. You get four buttons for control on the side, covering on/off, play/pause (all on the same button), a pairing button, and volume up and down. Those volume buttons can also be held for skipping backwards and forwards in your playlists, and the only odd thing is that the volume “minus” button is above the “plus” one. That’s a tiny bit confusing, but hardly a deal-breaker.
The speaker does also have a built-in microphone for calls and a double-press of the power button calls up your phone’s voice assistant. The voice pickup for calls is solid, too, and even if that’s not one of the main uses of a Bluetooth speaker, it’ll work well.
Features
- Bluetooth 5.4 with stereo pairing and multipoint
- Companion app with EQ, firmware updates and ambient sounds
- Battery life is impressive, but probably not 32 hours
The Tozo PE1 connects via Bluetooth 5.4 and works with the Tozo app, where you can update firmware, view the precise battery percentage, the last known location, and access an equaliser that offers you a wide range of presets along with a custom 10-band EQ tool too.
It’s pretty comprehensive, especially as some rival speakers will either come with no app at all or barely any features. I noticed the app also includes AI features that you need to set up an account to access, and a free library of over 100 relaxing ambient sounds – I quite liked “Forest With Small River Birds And Nature Field”.
Parts of the app actually feel designed for earbuds – the location tracking feature is actually called “Find my earbuds” not “Find my speaker” but it overall feels very functional. One setting can optionally keep track of the unit’s last known location, while the poorly-named “Find my earbuds” can make it emit a loud beep, if you’re connected to your speaker but don’t know where it is. This, admittedly, seems pretty niche given you could surely simply play some music to locate it, in that eventuality?
I’ve already mentioned waterproofing in the section above so I won’t dwell on that as one of the features here. This speaker uses a 43.5mm dynamic driver to produce sound, and offers Bluetooth multipoint for dual connections that you won’t find on a lot of rivals. I tested this out by connecting to both my iPhone 17 Pro and Google Pixel 10 Pro, and it was seamless and hopping between them for playback. Multipoint isn’t an essential feature, but it’s nice to have. And, if you’ve got two PE1s, you can also pair them together for stereo audio.
When it comes to battery life, there’s a claimed 32 hours of playback time from this speaker. But that’s going to be highly dependent on volume levels, as it would be with any alternative. On test, I played tracks from Apple Music for two hours at 50% volume and noticed 14% battery drain reported in the app. This suggests that the speaker might last for closer to 14-15 hours, although I did have it connected to two devices via multipoint, which will have some impact.
Sound Quality
- Well-balanced sound for the size
- Good bass punch and vocal clarity
- Customisable with the EQ settings
Many portable speakers are tuned “fun-first” rather than “clarity-first”, which is fine when the priority is party-ready sound. Impressively, the Tozo PE1 offers a bigger sound than you’d expect from something so compact, and it’s an enjoyable and full sound by default.
When playing Awake My Soul by Mumford and Sons, I found the vocals distinct and background instrumentation detailed and immersive. It’s a pleasant surprise for something so small, and Tozo has gone for a sound that’s slightly more balanced, rather than leaning into a bass-boosted approach.
In direct comparison to the Bose SoundLink Micro Gen 2, I found that the Bose offers more texture and richness, but that they’re not as far apart in quality as the huge price difference would suggest. Next to something in its price tier, the Majority Move M1, the Tozo is the clear winner, with the Majority sounding small and compressed in comparison. If you increase the volume on the Tozo, you will hear tinniness and distortion – so blasting the speaker above 70% is best avoided.
The default sound is well-judged: it’s got a fair bit of bass impact without sounding bloated, and it stays clean and controlled through the midrange and vocals. It’s suited to pop right out of the box, and I played Dua Lipa’s Physical to confirm that it has the kind of dynamism and energy you’d hope for.
A nice benefit is that you can change the equaliser, too, I tried the “Bass+” and “Crazy” presets while playing Billie Elish’s bad guy, and both send it right into bloated territory. Many of the presets are a little heavy-handed, but you also get the 10-band option to tweak it yourself, if there’s something specific you’d like to change about the sound.
Should you buy it?
If you want a convenient little speaker
This is one of the handiest speakers you can buy, thanks to its compact and light form factor, entertaining sound, useful app, waterproofing, built-in clip and intuitive controls. If you’re on a budget, it’s one of the best options out there.
If you want loads of battery life
The Tozo PE1 doesn’t appear to deliver the kind of battery life that the brand promises, falling short of its claims in a battery drain test. While it’s still good, it isn’t going to beat all of its key rivals.
Final Thoughts
This is the best tiny Bluetooth speaker out there if your priorities are a super-small size and light weight, because it has a built-in carabiner, great controls, customisation via an app, impressive sound for its form factor and waterproofing.
There’s a fair amount of competition at this size and price, but Tozo has done a very good job of including all the most essential features here, making the PE1 a well-rounded option.
Something else I’d consider in this tier is the Soundcore Select Go 4, which has a slightly better-looking app and the ability to float, and has cost as little as £16.99 when on sale. Both are great, though, with both supporting multipoint, stereo pairing, sounding pretty similar and offering similar weatherproofing.
Given how good the options are at this low price (JBL and Tribit also make compelling options), I’d think carefully before stretching the budget to something like the £119 Bose SoundLink Micro (2nd Gen), which is also excellent, but much pricier.
How We Test
We test every wireless speaker we review thoroughly over an extended period of time. We use industry-standard tests to compare features properly. We’ll always tell you what we find.
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Find out more about how we test in our ethics policy.
- Tested for two weeks
- Tested with real world use
FAQs
Yes. It comes with an IPX8 rating, which means that it’s built to survive splashes, jets of water, and even submersion in water. However, as it has an X for the first number, which means that it hasn’t specifically been tested for dustproofing.
No, there’s no light on the body of the speaker itself to show you how much battery it has. Your best options are to turn it on and check the battery reported in either your phone’s Bluetooth settings menu or in the Tozo app.
Full Specs
| Tozo PE1 Review | |
|---|---|
| Manufacturer | – |
| IP rating | IPX8 |
| Battery Hours | 32 |
| Size (Dimensions) | 90 x 44 x 129 MM |
| Weight | 180 G |
| ASIN | B0DFH1V13J |
| Release Date | 2025 |
| Ports | USB-C |
| Audio (Power output) | 10 W |
| Connectivity | Bluetooth 5.4 |
| Colours | Black, Blue, Red |
| Frequency Range | 70 20000 – Hz |
| Speaker Type | Portable Speaker |
| UK RRP | £29.99 |
| USA RRP | $34 |
