I went hands-on with the Bose Lifestyle Ultra Speaker — and Sonos should be worried

It's taken a minute, but Bose is finally coming out with a smart speaker that will rival the likes of the Sonos Era 100 and Apple HomePod 2. Last week, I had the opportunity to listen to the Bose LifeStyle Ultra Speaker, a new device that will not only let you stream music from Spotify, Apple Music and more, but also connect to your home theater system — including your record player.

But how does Bose's new product compare to the best smart speakers? I checked out the Bose LifeStyle Ultra Speaker; here's my early impression of a device that could be the next addition to your entertainment system.

TL;DR

• What is it? A new smart speaker from Bose
• How much will it cost? $299 for the black or white model
• What does it work with? Any streaming service that supports Google Cast, Apple AirPlay, Spotify Connect, Wi-Fi, or Bluetooth

Price and availability

The Bose LifeStyle Ultra Speaker goes on sale today (May 5) at Bose.com — we can only imagine that it will be available at other retailers shortly after. The Lifestyle Ultra Speaker will come in three colors: the black and white models will cost $299, while a limited-edition Sandstone model will cost $349.

At launch, Bose's speaker will cost $80 more than the Sonos Era 100 and Amazon Echo Studio, but is the same price as the Apple HomePod 2.

Also going on sale today is the Bose Lifestyle Ultra Soundbar ($1,099) as well as the Bose Lifestyle Ultra Subwoofer ($899). Unfortunately, the soundbar is only available in black or white, so you can't get one to match your Sandstone-colored Speaker.

Design

Bose's smart speaker is roughly the same size as its main competition, but has some nice design flourishes to set it apart. As viewed from the top, it has an oval shape, with a fabric wrapping around the front and sides, to give it a softer look. The majority of the rest of the speaker is made of plastic, but the base of the Sandstone model is made of white oak, which looks most visually distinctive.

On the top are the speaker's touch-sensitive controls; there's a large circular indentation for volume controls, which you can adjust either by tapping or spinning your finger around.

Also on the top, you'll see a grille for an upward-firing speaker, which Bose says will help give your music more vertical depth.

Around back is the power plug, as well as a 3.5mm audio jack; the bottom of the speaker has a screw mount should you wish to place it on a pedestal.

Audio

Inside the Lifestyle Ultra Speaker are three drivers; a forward-facing woofer and tweeter, and one more tweeter that's directed upwards. There's also a rather large resonance chamber that exits out the rear of the speaker, to add additional passive bass to your music.

During my hands-on session with the speaker, the music I heard ("Man I Need by Olivia Dean, "Bad as I Used to Be" by Chris Stapleton, "Peaceful Place" by Leon Bridges," and "Hey Nineteen" by Steely Dan) was definitely impressive for its size. Bass was powerful without being overwhelming, and vocals came through crisply.

I will say that the highs sounded a bit too bright for my tastes, but I'll have to listen to it more before I can render an official verdict.

The upward-firing speaker definitely added height to the tracks I listened to, but this is a speaker you'll want to have placed fairly close to a wall, so that the music has something to bounce off. However, keep in mind that unlike the HomePod 2, it does not support Dolby Atmos.

Home theater capabilities

Like most other smart speakers, you can pair two of Bose's together for stereo, and you can also create a multi-room setup.

Similar to the Sonos Era 100, the Bose Lifestyle Ultra Speaker can be used as rear-channel satellites with the Bose Lifestyle Ultra Soundbar, should you want to create a more fully immersive home theater setup. However, the Ultra Speakers struggle to interface directly with a TV, unless you were to run RCA cables from your TV to each speaker.

The Bose Lifestyle Ultra Speaker has a 3.5mm jack, which lets you connect it directly to a turntable — a nice touch for those who want to listen to records with as little fuss as possible. (With the Sonos, you need to purchase a USB-C adapter, and the HomePod and Echo Studio lack this capability entirely.)

Smart functions

Bose takes a very light approach when it comes to the app that controls the speaker. While you need the app to set it up, connect it to your Wi-Fi network, and adjust things such as treble and bass, you won't use the app to when using your music streaming service of choice.

Rather, you'll go through that company's app — be it Apple Music, Spotify, or whatever — and select the Bose speaker there. The speaker supports Google Cast, Apple AirPlay, and Spotify Connect, so you should be well-covered.

In the U.S., the Bose speaker will also support Alexa+, and in fact will be the first third-party speaker to support Amazon's upgraded smart assistant. (The Sonos Era 100 supports the older Alexa, but not the newer version.)

Outlook

Bose finally has a smart speaker that rivals those of its biggest competitors: The Bose Lifestyle Ultra Speaker certainly ticks all the necessary boxes with strong audio capabilities, as well as support for the major streaming protocols — and it has an audio jack in the back.

At $299, it's priced to compete with the established names out there, so we can't wait to get one in to test out and see how it fares in our home.