This Android phone has the most ridiculous speaker, and I (mostly) love it

I’m usually indifferent about the speakers on my phone. If I use them for anything other than a few calls or voice messages, it’s for spoken word or quick social clips. Anything more, and I’ll get my headphones.

The Poco F9 Ultra has been the exception. It’s the brand’s second partnership with audio experts Bose, and the sound from the speaker system is fantastic. I want you to experience it too, but when you do listen, I’ve got one simple request: Keep it to yourself.

What makes the phone’s speaker system different

Andy Boxall / Android Authority

Poco has experimented with various ways to make its F-series phones stand out from the crowd for a while now. Whether it’s bright colors, racy designs, big batteries, or even gaming-specific shoulder buttons, Poco has never been afraid to try new things.

By partnering with Bose, Poco has shown its seriousness about the audio capabilities of the F9 Ultra, and it’s fantastic to see it didn’t abandon the feature that debuted on its predecessor, the F8 Ultra. Of all the features Poco has tried over the years, this feels like the most unique, as few others place any emphasis on audio at all.

The F9 Ultra has dual 1115D symmetrical stereo speakers and an independent subwoofer, creating a 2.1 audio system. Bose has tuned the sound; there’s an EQ and various profiles, plus a gimmicky glowing light around the speaker on the back that pulses in time with your music.

Does the speaker really sound that good?

Andy Boxall / Android Authority

The F9 Ultra doesn’t sound like a phone; it sounds like a small Bluetooth speaker. There’s a depth and precision to its sound that’s missing from other phones. There’s genuine audio separation too. Vocals never get lost in the mids, the bass response is sufficient, and due to the speaker placement, you can hear stereo effects too.

I found I was happy listening to actual music through the F9 Ultra’s speakers. Usually, I listen to spoken word only, but the Poco phone’s performance is right up there with mini wireless speakers, encouraging me to listen to songs. It doesn’t even distort at maximum volume, even in complex tracks.

Andy Boxall / Android Authority

It does benefit from manual adjustment of the EQ, though. I find the Balanced mode too bright, and prefer the Dynamic mode. Additionally, choosing the Rock EQ setting or customizing it myself produced the best results. The very fact that you can do all this and make actual changes to the sound is a big bonus in itself.

Asus was the last brand to make a big deal about phone audio, and its partnership with Dirac was very successful. LG also worked hard on audio, using specialized DACs, and also partnering with Bose for a module to go with the LG G5.

Unfortunately, neither Asus nor LG makes smartphones anymore, leaving us with standard, average-performing speakers on our phones. That is, until Poco embraced phone audio again. The speaker system is a genuine reason to consider the F9 Ultra over another phone, particularly if you watch a lot of video or play games.

Don’t be a loudcaster

Andy Boxall / Android Authority

I think you’ll love the Poco F9 Ultra’s speaker system, and I want you to hear it. But there’s a problem. When I was testing it, I often thought about where the F9 Ultra’s speakers would be used, and I know there will be times when they are blasting TikTok in public.

There’s a name for the phenomenon. It’s loudcasting, which is where someone plays audio of any kind through their phone’s speakers in public. It’s not a new phenomenon either. Loudcasting shows up in searches from around 2022, but articles from the mid-2000s discuss the irritating practice, where at the time in the UK it was called ‘sodcasting,’ an amusing mix of ‘sod’ (referring to the person) and ‘podcast.’

We’ve almost all experienced it, and unless you’re the one doing the loudcasting, we’ve probably all hated it

A petition from 2006 called for ‘Music Free Buses’ in the UK, prompting the London travel department to run various campaigns to discourage the practice. Despite it being antisocial, very few places have laws that specifically target loudcasting, outside of a few local rules in cities like Toronto and Paris.

We’ve almost all experienced it, and unless you’re the one doing the loudcasting, we’ve probably all hated it too. While doing my research, I couldn’t find any legitimately positive reactions, or any genuine reason from a passive listener claiming to enjoy hearing someone else’s music, social feed, or conversation.

Is the Poco F9 Ultra the most acceptable antisocial phone yet?

Andy Boxall / Android Authority

Also, when researching, I noticed that many of the negative comments focused on the tinny sound produced by phone speakers, and on how the harsh treble, lack of bass, and screeching vocals made the audible intrusions even worse. It’s understandable, and I certainly don’t want to leave any public space with my ears bleeding.

The Poco F9 Ultra isn’t like other phones. The speakers produce a deep, vibrant sound that avoids the issues affecting practically all other smartphones on the market today. I don’t want to hear any sound from other people’s phones, and I’m sure you don’t either, but if I absolutely must because the phone’s owner is so oblivious, I’d rather it was from the Poco F9 Ultra.

I’m sure no one reading this is a loudcaster (right?), and will listen responsibly. When you do, you’ll quickly understand why the Poco F9 Ultra’s Bose speaker system is the best you can get on a phone right now. Just don’t demonstrate it on the bus, please.