LG xboom Grab Portable Bluetooth Speaker (xboom by will.i.am)

Which model this is

This page covers the LG xboom Grab by will.i.am, US model numbers GRAB.AUSALBK (black) and GRAB.AUSALWG (warm grey); the Amazon listing is ASIN B0GFVZT9NB. Do not merge it with the cheaper xboom Grab Core, which uses a different model code, or with the larger xboom Bounce and the Mini, Rock and Stage models in the same line-up.

Sound and the EQ setting

Only one independent hands-on test was found: TechRadar’s, published 13 June 2025, which scored the Grab highly for design, features, sound quality and value. Its main finding is a settings issue. The speaker ships on Bass Boost, which gives low-end energy at the expense of clarity and crowds the mids; changing to the Standard preset in the app improves separation substantially while keeping the bass weight. That matters because the 20-hour battery claim is also measured in Standard mode, so the setting that maximises runtime is not the one the speaker starts in.

TechRadar found the speaker surprisingly full and spacious for its size, audible indoors or out, with distortion only creeping in at maximum volume. No instrumented frequency response, SPL or measured runtime was published by anyone, so those remain reviewer impressions rather than data.

Battery, charging and durability

Rated battery life is 20 hours, measured internally at 50% volume with Bluetooth on, EQ Standard and lighting off. LG’s regional pages word the same footnote differently, adding Voice Enhance on the UK, India and Egypt pages, so the US wording is the one to use. Charging takes 3 hours over USB-C. The unit is IP67, meaning dust-tight and tested in fresh water to 1 m for 30 minutes; LG says to dry it before use and not to charge it while wet. It also passed seven MIL-STD-810H durability methods at an independent US laboratory, certified 18 December 2024 — that is durability testing, not a drop or ingress rating. The 4,700 mAh figure that circulates in listing data was not confirmed on any LG page.

Controls and the app

The top panel has seven buttons, none illuminated, and the reviewer turned the speaker off accidentally several times while handling it or adjusting the straps. The app is LG ThinQ rather than a dedicated xboom app, and pairing requires an account, which the reviewer called unnecessarily long for a Bluetooth speaker. The app does provide real value once set up: EQ, the colour lighting palette, remote power and Space Calibration. That calibration adjusts output to the room, but the tester could not easily hear a difference, though the speaker never sounded out of place in the three spaces he tried.

Price and value

LG listed the Grab at $149.99 for both colours, matching its April 2025 launch price. TechRadar’s retailer widget showed Newegg at $99.99 and Best Buy at $104.99, which is where the feature set becomes clearly good value; the same widget showed the cheaper Grab Core at $89.99, a different trim that should not be confused with the Grab. TechRadar argues $150 is now the standard price for a speaker this size and that the Grab does not undercut its rivals, describing an unfilled gap around $130 for a simple, solid mid-size speaker.

Is it worth it?

The Grab is a well-built, feature-rich speaker whose sound improves once you leave Bass Boost for Standard. At $149.99 it is worth it for a buyer who wants the straps, lighting and app calibration; around $100 it becomes a strong buy. Price in that the ThinQ sign-up is mandatory, the out-of-box EQ is the weakest mode, and there is no aux-in. Buyers who want a plain speaker with no app will find it over-featured for the money.

Sources

Manufacturer:

• LG xboom Grab (GRAB.AUSALWG, warm grey) US product page
• LG xboom Grab (GRAB.AUSALBK, black) US product page
• LG xboom Grab specifications (LG Philippines)

Independent reviews:

• TechRadar LG xboom Grab review
• PCMag: LG xboom Bounce review (sibling model)