2018 has very much been the year of launching the voice-activated soundbar, and Bose is the latest manufacturer to join the party.
Bose has hopped on the bandwagon and launched its own soundbars for 2018 – with Alexa built-in, with more assistant support (and Airplay 2) expected to follow.
The manufacturer’s latest ‘smart’ line consists of the Home Speaker 500 (yes, that’s another ‘Home’ speaker to add to the list) and two soundbars (the 31-in Soundbar 500 and 38-in Soundbar 700).
Bose states its Speaker 500 (8x6x4-in) is capable of delivering “true stereo separation” on its own, as its design features two drivers pointed in opposite directions (instead of a single cone, plus software). There’s a fair amount of propriety software packed in to simulate surround sound in different rooms to boot.
The soundbar market recently saw the launch of the Dolby Atmos and DTS:X HW-N950 and HW-N850 from Samsung/Harman, as well as the release of the Sonos Beam – incorporating both Siri and Alexa support. So, what makes Bose’s offerings different? The manufacturer say the fact that it’s carried its mic technology over from its popular smart headphone range, which supports both Alexa and Google Assistant to date.
Bose is confident its mic array can cope the best when giving voice command even when owners have the volume up high (just in case shouting in public is your thing).
Bose will release its Home speaker and 500 and 700 soundbars in October, with prices ranging from $400 to $800 in the US.