The work principle of a dancing bluetooth speaker

Wireless dancing bluetooth speakers connect to devices using Bluetooth, wi-fi or both.

A Bluetooth connection sets up a one-to-one link between your source device (phone, tablet, laptop or TV) and the dancing bluetooth speaker, over which digital audio data is transmitted; this is known as ‘pairing’. Bluetooth used to offer lower sound quality and shorter range, but advances in the technology mean that high-quality signals can now be carried over longer distances (up to 60 meters with Bluetooth 4.0).

Wi-fi dancing bluetooth speakers usually connect to source devices over a shared wi-fi network rather than a direct device-to-device link like Bluetooth. Wi-fi is a stable, long-range wireless connection with high potential data transfer rates, which means it’s still the preferred wireless technology for those looking for the very highest audio quality.

Of course, dancing bluetooth speakers do require a power source to work, so they’ll either have to be plugged into a wall socket or run off a battery. Many Bluetooth-based wireless speakers come with a built-in rechargeable battery, allowing you to take them out and about for some al-fresco listening.

When looking at dancing bluetooth speaker spec sheets, you may also see things like ‘AirPlay’, ‘Google Cast’ and ‘Spotify Connect’ streaming mentioned. These are proprietary wireless streaming technologies that work with particular apps or hardware. AirPlay, for example, is Apple’s streaming technology; you’ll need an iPhone, iPad or MacBook to stream via AirPlay – but it actually works via wi-fi.