Bose Announces AirPlay 2-Equipped Portable Home Speaker

[MacRumors]

Bose today announced the launch of a new speaker, the Bose Portable Home Speaker, which is designed to work with Apple's AirPlay 2 protocol.

The Bluetooth-enabled Portable Home Speaker is designed to be compact, and it's got a rather HomePod-like design with a cylindrical body that features speaker mesh at the bottom and an aluminum shell at the top to deliver 360 degree sound. It measures in at 7.5 inches high and 4 inches across.

The Portable Home Speaker has a handle so you can move it from room to room, and it weighs just 2.3 pounds. There's also a built-in battery with 12 hours of battery life, so it can go where you go. It has an IPX4 water resistance rating, so it can survive minor spills and splashes of rain.

Bose says that the Portable Home Speaker delivers deeper bass than any other portable speaker in its size. With Bluetooth, you can stream music from your phone or tablet while on the go, and while at home, you can use AirPlay 2, Google Assistant, and Amazon Alexa.

With AirPlay 2 support, you can play any music you like from an iOS device, and it can be paired up with other AirPlay 2-enabled speakers for a whole home audio experience. You can also pair it up with other Bose products using the Bose Music app.

Buttons on the top of the Portable Home Speaker allow manual control over power, volume, play/pause, and skipping tracks, plus there is a proprietary privacy-focused "mic-off" feature that disables power to the microphone so you can make sure you're not being recorded.

Inside, the speaker features three passive radiators, a high-excursion driver, and what Bose says is a proprietary deflector to distribute "clear, lifelike sound evenly in every direction."

Bose's new Portable Home Speaker is priced at $349, which is what Apple used to charge for the HomePod before dropping the price down to $299 earlier this year. It will be available for purchase starting on September 19.

Article Link: Bose Announces AirPlay 2-Equipped Portable Home Speaker

 

[Skyblve]

My soundlink mini I is still holding up tho...

 

[trainwrecka]

I have the Soundlink Revolve+ (similar to this, but lacks Wi-Fi). I've had it for about 2 years and absolutely love it. Wonderful sound, easy to connect multiple devices to, and very portable.

 

[Aidyn's X]

When are they going to release the software update to make ALL of their sound touch speakers Airplay 2 enabled????!!!

 

[KrisLord]

Sonos are launching their portable next week, it looks much nicer than this which seems to have been based on a bucket.

 

[whyamihere]

Beating Sonos to the punch!

 

[Will.O.Bie]

Yeah, they really thought about this when they designed this. Someone's gonna come up to the speaker and try to pour out some coffee only to find out that it's playing music instead. Brilliant!!

 

[Fried Chicken]

This looks like something a bear would shove up its behind before going into hibernation

 

[Tivoli_]

Looks like "Thermos Lunch Container".
ok "Will.O.Bie" beat me to it.

 

[B.A.T]

Sonos FTW.....

 

[Unity451]

Yeah, they really thought about this when they designed this. Someone's gonna come up to the speaker and try to pour out some coffee only to find out that it's playing music instead.

I thought the same thing. It's the "working man's" $350 speaker.

 

[itsmilo]

Looks like my camping lamp just a little more expensive

 

[69Mustang]

@jclo
Juli you kinda sorta skipped over the key features of this speaker. This is a WiFi portable speaker that happens to have BT capabilities. This quote is only partially right:

With Bluetooth, you can stream music from your phone or tablet while on the go, and while at home, you can use AirPlay 2, Google Assistant, and Amazon Alexa.

The ability to use Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa are a function of the speaker's WiFi capabilities, not BT. The WiFi capabilities also allow users to stream music without the use of a phone or tablet.

Bose even describes the speaker as their first ever WiFi portable(rechargeable) speaker. BT is an ancillary function, not the primary.

 

[joeblough]

man i hope this thing works better than the bose sleepbuds... those things are 100% defective.

 

[vipergts2207]

This is exactly what I need, except made by someone other than Blows.

 

[FairlyKors]

When are they going to release the software update to make ALL of their sound touch speakers Airplay 2 enabled????!!!

That’s one of the benefits of paying $350 for a $150 speaker—early access to proprietary protocols.

 

[-DMN-]

No Highs no Lows must be Bose!!!

 

[GadgetBen]

Just because it’s small (portable) doesn’t mean it has to have a handle. It looks like a bucket!

Jony Ive would sack these designers.

 

[LiveM]

Just because it’s small (portable) doesn’t mean it has to have a handle. It looks like a bucket!

Jony Ive would sack these designers.

Ive would’ve put the handle on the bottom.

 

[Mimiron]

I have the Soundlink Revolve+ (similar to this, but lacks Wi-Fi). I've had it for about 2 years and absolutely love it. Wonderful sound, easy to connect multiple devices to, and very portable.

Me to man! The best bluetooth speaker out there for sure! Mine even survived some beating .

Is this device an upgrade to Revolve+ or does it fall into a completely different category?

 

[69Mustang]

Me to man! The best bluetooth speaker out there for sure! Mine even survived some beating .

Is this device an upgrade to Revolve+ or does it fall into a completely different category?

Different category. This is a WiFi speaker. If you're on WiFi, you don't need an accompanying device -phone or tablet- to stream.

 

[tridley68]

Reminds me of the camping lantern I had as a kid.

 

[LiveM]

Different category. This is a WiFi speaker. If you're on WiFi, you don't need an accompanying device -phone or tablet- to stream.

?? Yes, you do.

With AirPlay 2 support, you can play any music you like from an iOS device

 

[GadgetBen]

You can tell how bad Bose are as a Company by the fact they’ve paid for a marketing shot of someone holding the handle - just in case you were confused about what portable means.

 

[jerryk]

$349 today, $149 after Christmas at your nearest Bose Outlet store.