(Credit: Bose)
Bose has completely redesigned its core home audio products, updated its mobile app, and at the same time set a new course for its path to your home theater.
You can assemble the Lifestyle Ultra Smart Speaker, Soundbar, and Subwoofer in multiple configurations to suit your home music needs or home theater preferences. All three are available for preorder today and reach stores on May 15. Here's what you need to know before hitting that button.
A System Designed From the Ground Up
Bose says its new LifeStyle Collection is "a reimagined approach to home audio designed to elevate the listening experience without sacrificing convenience."
The company engineered the products to work together thanks to revised audio tech that relies on fresh internal designs, new bass ports, and recalculated algorithms to ensure everything sounds its best. Perhaps most importantly, Bose is putting customers ahead of its own interests when it comes to connecting with and controlling the new speakers.
(Credit: Bose)Bose has updated its mobile app for Android and iOS, making it easier to set up and manage the speakers. In fact, the app goes so far as to rely on your mobile device to serve as the mic for adjusting audio in your living room. Further, the app adds a third band to its EQ for fine-tuning the audio. But the Bose app will no longer be needed for pushing audio from your phone to the speakers. Instead, you'll use Apple Music, Spotify, or another music app to control the speakers directly. This makes it easier for people to send audio using AirPlay 2, Google Cast, or other protocols over Wi-Fi. You can also connect directly via Bluetooth, of course, for a more local listening experience.
The Smart Speaker, which can be used as surrounds, the Soundbar, and the Subwoofer can all process audio as a single unit for spatial audio, Dolby Atmos, and other movie content.
A Speaker, a Soundbar, a Subwoofer
The Lifestyle Ultra Speaker is the most important and most flexible part of the new system. It can be a standalone speaker, paired with another for a stereo pair, or grouped in fours (or more) for expanded home theater systems. It has a three-driver system, touch controls, and Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and AUX inputs. Bose says it ditched the sound port it has used in previous speakers for a new curved port system to avoid problemmatic booming and resonance. It comes in black and white ($299) and a limited-edition "driftwood" option ($349).
The Ultra Soundbar represents a complete rethink in audio design, says Bose. The soundbar has a nine-driver array, including two new phaseguide-angled drivers, that make up a seven-channel system. It has tactile controls, a glass top, and a hidden LED light that provides visual clues about its settings and status. The soundbar includes revised controls for managing dialog, letting you fine-tune how they cut through the mix. It costs $1,099 and will be available in black and white.
The Ultra Subwoofer uses the same 10.5-inch woofer as the older Sub 700 series, but adds new processing to work seamlessly with the soundbar and smart speaker. It is also available in black and white and costts $899.
The entire system will be available via most of Bose's typical retail channels beginning May 15.