Maverick Hybrid 2 Review – Dynamic Dual Speaker/Powerbank
Summary: Take it on a picnic, out camping, or just use it on your bedside table. It’s versatile, space-efficient, and generally a great user experience.
4
Unique & Useful
Though we all worship at the altar of the modern smartphone, there are a handful of features that the magnificent multitool doesn’t have: It can’t play loud enough for a party, it can’t pair with other speakers, and it can’t charge itself (yet). So, that’s exactly what the Maverick Hybrid 2 aims to do. More than a speaker or a powerbank, it’s both and manages to be quite good at both. I wouldn’t go so far as to call it a masterpiece of engineering, but it’s certainly a charming piece of tech that solves two issues at once.
One the audio side, it’s packing a pretty standard 45mm dynamic driver. Nothing flashy for the audiophiles, but just as good as everything else in its weight class. For pure pleasure of sound, the UE Miniroll wins out with its bass, volume, and radiators, but that’s just a speaker and it loses out on portability. The Maverick Hybrid 2 fits in your pocket. It’s bulky but compact and beats out carrying both a speaker and a powerbank anyday.
On the powerbank side of things, it’s a great little machine. The charging works through a standard, non-magsafe case and it fills my iPhone 12 in under an hour (though it’s advertised as two-hour charge for bigger batteries). That said, you can certainly find powerbanks with more battery capacity at smaller sizes, so the appeal primarily lies in the combination of being both a speaker and a spare battery.
As a dual-use item, it’s doubly useful. Take it out on a hike, charge your phone, and maybe you find a nice spot to play some tunes too. Or vice versa, bring a speaker to the beach with you and your friends, and impress them with the fact that it’s a batterybank when someone needs a charge.
The biggest complaint I have about the Maverick is surprisingly minor. It’s the Power On/Off sounds. Instead of the more pleasant music chimes to signal different modes, it uses a robotic voice. Power on! Bluetooth connected! Power off! It’s literally a meme at this point, so it messes with the stylish aesthetic of the rest of the box. That said, there’s no noise when you’re using it as a powerbank, so it’s not an all-the-time issue.
So the Maverick Hybrid 2 isn’t without its flaws (perhaps the 3 will perfect it), but it does fit its niche nicely. Take it on a picnic, out camping, or just use it on your bedside table. It’s versatile, space-efficient, and generally a great user experience. The asking price is a little steep if you compare it to buying both a speaker and a powerbank separately, so you will have to be charmed by the style and innovation of the dual product, but if you are, then you’ll love it.
Tech Specs
- Powerful 10W speaker
- 45mm drivers
- Link up to 50 UNISYNC™ compatible speakers
- Up to 26 hours playback at 50% volume
- 37Wh powerbank (3 x 3.7V⎓3350mAh)
- 2-hour fast recharge
- Qi2 certified wireless charger with up to 15W wireless charging
- 2x USB outputs (1x 30W PD USB-C + 1x 12W USB-A)
- Bluetooth: V5.4
- Dimensions: 190 x 80 x 32mm
- Net weight: 412g
- 24-month warranty
About the Author
Branden Zavaleta Based in Perth, Branden writes on the arts for a handful of Australian outlets. He's also a street & creative portrait photographer, who's work can be found @brandenzp on Instagram.
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