Bose launches a new wireless Smart Speaker and two new smart soundbars – the Bose Home Speaker 500 for music, and the Bose Soundbar 700 and Soundbar 500 for music and home cinema.
The new speaker and soundbars come enabled with Amazon Alexa with other voice assistants to follow and Apple’s AirPlay 2 coming in early 2019. The devices use the same proprietary microphone technology found in Bose headsets and headphones to hear commands better over louder listening levels. And with Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and Alexa built in, they deliver easy access to millions of songs and smart home control. Both speaker and soundbars can work alone or together as a multi-room system.
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‘Voice-controlled speakers aren’t new, and there are plenty of great options to choose from. But we had a different vision for ours, inspired by what we could uniquely do to make the experience better,’ said Doug Cunningham, category manager in the Bose Consumer Electronics Division. ‘All of our new smart speakers double up on functionality. It takes just one Home Speaker 500 to deliver true stereo separation – there’s no need to pair two. Our Soundbar 700 and 500 are thin and discreet with jaw dropping surround sound – whether you’re streaming Spotify, or watching a movie. They combine Bluetooth and Wi-Fi for unbeatable ease of use, can be mixed and matched to play in sync or separately, and with new Alexa functionality and more VPAs on the way, they’ll only get better over time.’
Both the Home Speaker and Soundbars use a custom-designed eight microphone array positioned for accurate near-field and far-field voice pickup. When it’s quiet, noisy, or your music is playing loudly they’ll hear you the first time ensuring effective voice control.
Bose Home Speaker 500
The Bose Home Speaker 500 wrapped in seamless anodised aluminium, is a mere 20.3cm high x 16.9cm wide x 10.9cm deep and has the widest soundstage of any currently available smart speaker. It uses two custom drivers pointed in opposite directions, so sound reflects off surrounding walls, separating instruments to the far left and right, and placing vocals where the artist did. Touch control is also provided with buttons for basic functionality located right on top.
Bose Soundbar 700 and Soundbar 500
The Bose Soundbar 700 is just over 5.7cm high by 10.8cm deep and 98cm long and has curved clean lines, a wraparound metal grille and a tempered glass top. The soundbar comes with a number of unique Bose technologies:
- Bose PhaseGuides which send multiple channels of a soundtrack or song throughout a space, placing discrete sound in places where there are no speakers
- Bose DSP (Digital Signal Processor)
- Custom low-profile transducers
- QuietPort technology which delivers exceptional detail and depth for your favourite tracks, crystal clear dialogue for Netflix, and dramatic realism for sports
To manage the TV or other connected equipment, the Bose Soundbar 700 also comes with an intelligent universal remote.
The Bose Soundbar 500 is 4.4cm high x 10.2cm deep and just over 81cm long. It is smaller, thinner than the Soundbar 500 and features a matte finish which makes it unobtrusive under a television screen.
Both new soundbars use ADAPTiQ, a Bose proprietary technology, which allows the them to acoustically adjust to their surroundings, and HDMI Audio Return Channel (ARC) for compatibility with future technology. They also can be wall-mounted or expanded with a wireless bass module and rear speakers for a full 5.1 experience.
Available from the beginning of October the Home Speaker 500 will retail for £399.95, the Soundbar 500 and 700 will retail for £499.95 and £799.95 respectively.
