In late August, Bose announced a new wireless smart speaker and two new smart soundbars—the Bose Home Speaker 500 for music, the Bose Soundbar 700, and the Bose Soundbar 500 for music and home theater.
Bose says, “Each crushes the limitations of spaciousness from a single enclosure, combining size-defying performance with superior voice pickup and the power of Amazon Alexa now, other voice assistants to follow, and AirPlay 2 for simple streaming from Apple devices added in early 2019,” according to a press release.
The new Bose smart speaker and soundbars use the proprietary mic technology found in Bose headsets and headphones to hear commands better over louder listening levels.
With Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and Alexa built-in, the company says they can deliver instant, easy access to millions of songs and tens of thousands of skills for information, entertainment, smart home control, and more.
They can also work alone or together as a multi-room system, and are available beginning this October.
“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,” says 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.”
Smart Speakers Understand What You Say
The new Bose Home Speaker and Soundbars use Bose microphone technology developed over years of research for commercial headsets, consumer headphones, and other applications. They each feature a custom-designed eight-microphone array positioned for accurate near-field and far-field voice pickup — when it’s quiet, noisy, or when music is playing loudly.
Bose says whether you’re close by or across the room, the speakers will hear you the first time.
The Bose Home Speaker 500 is wrapped in anodized aluminum, is 8-inches high x 6-inches wide x 4-inches deep, and 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.
Bose says the results are powerful and lifelike — without artificial effects or distortion. When touch control is preferred or the phone is out of reach, there are buttons for basic functionality located on top.
Bose Adds Two Soundbars
The Bose Soundbar 700 is just over 2-inches high by 4-inches deep and 38-inches long, has curved clean lines, a wraparound metal grille, and a tempered glass top. Inside, it’s packed with proprietary technology, including Bose PhaseGuides, which send multiple channels of a soundtrack or song throughout a space, placing discrete sound in places where there are no speakers.
The soundbar also features Bose DSP, custom low-profile transducers, and Bose QuietPort technology to deliver additional detail and depth to tracks, clear dialogue for Netflix, and realism for sports. To manage the TV or other connected equipment, the soundbar also comes with an intelligent universal remote.
Like the Soundbar 700, the Soundbar 500 lets customers switch seamlessly from audio for video to music. At 1.75-inches high x 4-inches deep and just over 31-inches long, it’s smaller, thinner, and features a subtle matte finish to fit neatly under a television screen.
Both new soundbars use proprietary Bose ADAPTiQ—a technology pioneered by Bose and refined over several years 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.