Bose takes a swing at Sonos with its new home speakers

Key Points:

• Bose unveiled three new home audio products targeting Sonos, including the $299 Lifestyle Ultra smart speaker, a $1,099 Ultra soundbar, and an $899 Ultra subwoofer, all designed to deliver high-quality sound with modern features.
• The Lifestyle Ultra speaker features a unique design with a front-firing woofer and tweeter, an up-firing driver, and capacitive touch controls; it supports Alexa Plus and streams via Wi-Fi using Apple AirPlay, Google Cast, and Spotify Connect, with Bluetooth as a fallback.
• Sound quality impressed with clear vocals and big sound, although the speaker can sound punchy on certain tracks and currently lacks room correction, which Bose plans to add in future updates.
• Bose’s new system emphasizes openness by integrating with existing streaming apps rather than relying on a proprietary app, allowing for flexible speaker grouping and multi-brand compatibility, with plans to enable Auracast and possibly add more streaming services.
• The Ultra Soundbar and Subwoofer deliver immersive Atmos sound, with the subwoofer addressing bass gaps in the soundbar; a full Atmos setup can include two Ultra Speakers as rear channels, featuring room calibration for optimal audio performance.