New Bose portable speaker plays smarter with AirPlay 2

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Bose Portable Home Speaker
Bose Portable Home Speaker is ready to be used on the go.
Photo: Bose

The just-announced Bose Portable Home Speaker isn’t an everyday Bluetooth device. It also has Wi-Fi and, even better, supports AirPlay 2, making it cooperate much more closely with Apple devices.

This speaker offers 360 degree sound, and is designed for portability, with a built-in handle.

The timing of this announcement seems to have been chosen to compete with the Sonos Move, a rival portable speaker also with AirPlay 2. It’s still rumor but an unveiling is expected soon.

Bose Portable Home Speaker has all the bells and whistles

“Every Bose smart speaker is Bluetooth and Wi-Fi enabled, but the Portable is the first to offer a rechargeable battery — along with a short list of features everyone wants and loves,” said Ben Burns, senior product manager for Bose speakers. “We lived with it like anyone else would — with our families and friends, away from work — to make sure it was the kind of product we wanted to use, day after day.”

AirPlay 2 gives it capabilities far beyond simple Bluetooth speakers. It can be part of a whole-house setup, with the same song playing on multiple speakers. Or a user can cast a song to one speaker and a podcast to another.

And Siri has complete control. Users can say what and where to play: “Hey Siri, play Apple Music in the bedroom.”

The Bose Portable Home Speaker is cylindrical, measuring 7.5 inches tall and just over 4 in. across. It’s wrapped in an anodized aluminum enclosure with an IPX4 rating to resist water.

On the inside are three passive radiators, a high-excursion driver, and a proprietary deflector to distribute sound in every direction.

Bose doesn’t make any promises about battery life, but says the built-in battery can be recharged through USB-C or a charging cradle ($29.)

The Bose Portable Home Speaker will debut in black or silver on September 19 for $349.

Source: Bose

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