Will Greenwald reviewed the UE BOOM for "PC Magazine", remarking favorably on its design, volume and stereo pairing function. He noted that there was emphasis on the low-midrange tones. Greenwald also noted that the UE BOOM "doesn't exactly impress" in terms of low frequency sound. In testing the claim that the UE BOOM produced "360-degree sound", he noted that the speaker's imaging did not suffer with different placement or listening position. A reviewer for the "New Zealand Herald" praised it for ease-of-use and quality of sound. In 2014, UE BOOM received an iF product design award in the audio category.