Pros & Cons
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- Premium materials and build quality
- Pleasing mids and highs
- Dust and waterproof design
- Good Bluetooth codec support
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- Lacks low bass response
- Basic app and EQ
Bose SoundLink Plus Specs
| Bluetooth | |
| Built-In Voice Assistant | None |
| Channels | Mono |
| Physical Connections | USB-C |
| Portable | |
| Water-Resistant |
The Bose SoundLink Plus ($269) sits between the SoundLink Flex ($149) and the SoundLink Max ($399) in the company's lineup of outdoor-friendly Bluetooth speakers. It combines a premium design and a high-quality build with rich, detailed audio. We appreciate its long battery life, good Bluetooth codec support, and protection from splashes, though, like many speakers this size, it struggles with deep bass. If you like the Bose sound and aesthetic, the SoundLink Plus is easy to recommend. If you're looking to save some money, the $199.99 Anker Soundcore Motion X600 offers most of the same features with deeper bass response, so it remains our Editors' Choice winner.
Design: A Thick Brick
The brick-shaped design of the Bose SoundLink Plus is similar to that of the other speakers in the SoundLink lineup. It measures 3.9 by 9.1 by 3.4 inches (HWD) and weighs 3.3 pounds, which is a little heavy to carry around in a bag. The Flex is smaller and lighter at 3.6 by 7.9 by 2.1 inches and 1.3 pounds, while the Max is larger and heavier at 4.7 by 10.4 by 4.1 inches and 4.7 pounds.
Bose assembles the speaker from a combination of powder-coated steel and soft silicone. The SoundLink Plus is available in three colors: Black, Blue Dusk, or Citrus Yellow. I reviewed the Blue Dusk model for review, which I think looks the best of the three.
(Credit: Christian de Looper)Physical controls line the top surface and include a power button, a Bluetooth pairing button, volume and media controls, and a customizable Shortcut button. You can use the button to activate Speaker Link (which lets you connect multiple Bose speakers together) or to trigger Spotify Tap, but that's about it.
There's a single USB-C port on the back of the speaker. It is for charging the speaker itself, but can also deliver power, so you can also use the internal battery to charge a device like your phone at 15W. The USB port doesn't support audio. On the right side, there is a loop made of nylon rope that you can use to hang the speaker on hooks or other objects. The speaker has an IP67 rating, which means you can drop it in up to three feet of water for up to 30 minutes, making it perfect for use by the pool.
Internally, the speaker houses one woofer, one tweeter, and four passive radiators. Bose doesn't disclose the drivers' dimensions or frequency range. The SoundLink Plus is compatible with Bluetooth 5.4 and supports the AAC, AptX Adaptive, and SBC codecs. This is good, though the Soundcore Motion X600 also offers LDAC. The SoundLink Plus supports Google Fast Pair and Bluetooth multipoint for up to two simultaneous connections.
(Credit: Christian de Looper)The box includes just the speaker and a USB-C cable for charging. The speaker's battery life is rated for 20 hours of playback time, and when depleted, it takes about five hours to recharge. That's pretty sluggish, so be sure to plan ahead before you head out with it.
The SoundLink Plus can't act as a speakerphone and thus doesn't include a microphone.
App Experience: Leaves You Wanting More
The Bose SoundLink Plus connects to the Bose app (available for Android and iOS), which is well-designed, though minimalistic and not exactly packed with features. After pairing the speaker with your phone, you can control the volume, configure the shortcut button, set up auto-off settings and voice prompts, and perform firmware updates.
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(Credit: Bose/PCMag)Unfortunately, the EQ is the same simplistic one you get with other Bose speakers and headphones. It includes a handful of EQ presets and you can customize your own curve, but with only three bands labeled simply Bass, Mid, and Treble. There's no indication as to which frequencies these bands adjust, so you have to tune by ear alone. Anker offers far more control in this regard, including a nine-band EQ.
Sound: Leans Toward Mids and Highs
The SoundLink Plus’ mono audio arrangement may not be the most immersive, and its audio profile may not be the most customizable, but the speaker nonetheless sounds rich and detailed out of the box with the default settings in place.
(Credit: Christian de Looper)Because of its relatively compact size, the speaker can't produce ultra-deep sub-bass frequencies, but that's not unique to Bose or this speaker.
On a track like The Knife's "Silent Shout," it produces decent bass response, but the track relies on sub-bass content—low frequencies that the speaker struggles to generate. The problem is most obvious when listening at lower volumes and distracts from the mids and highs. Turning the volume up a little balanced things out to a degree.
Kendrick Lamar's "Loyalty" also relies on sub-bass in the verses and choruses. The speaker is unable to produce most of these frequencies, too, which means the bass line pops up when it reaches frequencies it can produce and drops out when it can't. I found this distracting, but other speakers face the same struggle. The remaining frequencies sound fine. Lamar and Rihanna’s vocals have plenty of depth, and percussion sounds crisp.
(Credit: Christian de Looper)“Drover” by Bill Callahan fares much better. This track doesn't rely on sub-bass content, and the speaker is able to produce decent thump in the kick drum and body in the bass guitar. The high-end response is excellent, helping the acoustic guitar cut through the mix. Don't expect studio-quality detail, but as far as portable Bluetooth speakers go, it's quite clean and present.
The mono audio signature does impact busier tracks, though, particularly ones that have left and right channel mixing. In the opening scene of John Adams' The Gospel According to the Other Mary, everything sort of overlaps, making the track feel a little cluttered. Nonetheless, the strings sound natural, and the brass is bright.
(Credit: Christian de Looper)I'm being picky here. Overall, the Bose SoundLink Plus sounds excellent for its size and basic design. Its bass response is thin at times, but strong bass is rare from speakers this size. If you want deep, rumbling bass, you'll have to spend more on something bigger, like the SoundLink Max.