Anker Motion X600 offers portable spatial audio at an affordable price (2024)

If you look at our list of the best Bluetooth speakers we’ve tested, you’ll see names such as Sonos and Apple — but you’ll also see Anker. Anker has been making excellent portable Bluetooth speakers — like the Anker Soundcore 3 — for a while now, but its newest offering brings a serious upgrade.

The Anker Motion X600 is a brand-new portable Bluetooth speaker and it claims to be “the world’s first portable high-fidelity Bluetooth speaker”. The big feature behind this claim? “Sky Channel” spatial audio.

If spatial audio sounds familiar to you, that’s because it’s becoming an incredibly popular feature in higher-end audio hardware. It uses a combination of hardware and software to create 360-degree sound and makes audio significantly more immersive. It’s becoming a more common feature in wireless earbuds and Bluetooth speakers, with both the Apple HomePod (2nd Generation) and new Sonos Era 300 having support for spatial audio.

On the Anker Motion X600, Anker combines five drivers — including an upward-facing driver that gives “Sky Channel” its name — and its Soundcore algorithm to create 3-channel 50W spatial audio. It also supports Sony’s wireless audio codec LDAC, which offers a maximum streaming bitrate of 900kpbs for excellent Bluetooth audio quality (note: LDAC is Android-only). It also offers a 9-band Pro EQ through Anker’s Soundcore app (iOS and Android).

And high-quality spatial audio isn’t the only premium feature on the Motion X600’s spec sheet. The portable speaker features an incredibly sleek design that is IPX7 waterproof-rated in three colors: Polar Gray, Aurora Green and Lunar Blue. It also has an auxiliary input and has a promised battery life of up to 12 hours at 50% volume. If you really want the most Sky Channel spatial audio has to offer, you can even pair two Motion X600s to create an even wider soundstage.

Get the Anker Motion X600 now for $50 off

The real kicker though, is that Anker promises all of this for just $200. The Anker Motion X600 officially launches on May 6 for $199.99 / £199.99 / €199.99. That’s a significant difference from the $299 price tag for the HomePod 2 and the $449 price point for the Era 300 — neither of which is portable. And right now, you can get an even better deal, with Anker offering the Motion X600 for $50 off for a limited time.

A quick note — there is a catch to this promotion. It requires a $1 deposit that is non-refundable, though if you know you want to get the Motion X600 then that $1 is a small price to pay for $50 off. To get the $50 off, go to Anker’s promotional page for the X600 and then click the offer button to “Get $50 off now.” This will allow you to purchase the $50 discount code for $1. A discount code will then be emailed to your inbox for use between May 9 and May 24 at Anker’s Soundcore store or Amazon.

Do I think that the Anker Motion X600 will match the Apple HomePod 2 or Sonos Era 300 for sound quality? It doesn't seem likely. Plus, the Anker Motion notably lacks the smart speaker features of those higher-end speakers. But for $100 to $250 less with added portability and still great-sounding audio, I may not care.

So if you want ultra-portable spatial audio at a relatively affordable price, this may be the speaker for you. Get it now before the price goes up.

More from Tom's Guide

• 5 best Apple Music tracks to try spatial audio on speakers and headphones
• I just tried this free Netflix spatial audio upgrade — and it blew me away
• Ammersive's 3D audio app made me feel like I was buried alive