The Polaroid Music Player 1- or P1 for short- is a Bluetooth speaker. Polaroid are best-known for their instant cameras, so an in-house audio product from them is something a bit different. Is it any good? Let's take a look!
Related: Top 10 Bluetooth Speakers of 2024
Design & build
When it comes to the design of the entire Music Player range, Polaroid have clearly drawn inspiration from what they are best known for: their cameras. As the smallest in the range, the P1 looks a little different from its bigger siblings, and more akin to the brand's Polaroid Now range. Square in shape, it's roughly the size of an apple (Polaroid's comparison, not ours!) It comes in four colours: red, yellow, blue, and black. The main body of the P1 and the speaker grille are this main colour, but each also boasts a white front panel around that grille to give a splash of that signature Polaroid style.
Also on the front is the battery indicator. This is fairly unobtrusive, so it doesn't detract from the overall look of the P1. It lights up in different colours to tell you the status of the speaker. When low on power, it flashes red. While charging, it flashes green. And when it flashes white, it's telling you that the speaker is in pairing mode.
As with a lot of Bluetooth speakers, the Polaroid P1 has some built-in controls. On the top, you've got a big red power button, which also acts as play/pause, along with forward and backward buttons. On the corner is the volume control, which is a wheel rather than buttons- something our reviewers generally prefer.
Then on the side, there's a little flap that opens up to reveal the charging port, which is USB-C. There's also an aux-in port under there, too, so you can play music from devices without Bluetooth. The reason why the power supply is underneath this flap is because the Polaroid P1 is IPX5-rated. This means it's waterproof- not enough that you could drop it in the pool and it would still work, but enough that you can take it out and about with you a bit of rain won't damage it.
Finally, the P1 has a little belt clip on it, which allows you to attach it to your clothing or bag. The loop has that classic Polaroid multicolour look to it, but alternatively you can swap it out for a full-size Polaroid strap.
Sound performance
Design is all well and good- after all, we already know that Polaroid are capable of creating iconic designs. But while these speakers are intended to be something of a fashion statement, they also need to perform as, well, speakers. Polaroid say that they have put a lot of care and attention into sound performance with this range, with a team of audio experts precisely engineering them to give the best possible sound.
In practise, we found this to be largely true. Admittedly, with a £50 speaker, you're never going to get the kind of sound quality that you would expect from a much more expensive model. However, give the price- and size- our experts were impressed by the P1. In terms of volume it can go pretty loud indeed, and it's only when you reach the very highest volumes that any audible distortion starts to creep in. On the whole, the sound has a good balance too it, not leaning too heavily on bass or treble but hitting a nice sweet spot in between.
One final note on sound performance: the P1 is only a mono speaker. However, if you've got two of them to hand, you can pair them up for full stereo sound. This is incredibly simple to do. You simply hold the two speakers back-to-back for a few seconds until they both beep.
Polaroid Music Player 1: The Verdict
While Polaroid might not be your first thought when it comes to audio brands, the P1 is definitely worth considering. Not only does it offer solid value for money at around the £50 mark, but it's also one of the nicest-looking speakers we've tested full stop!