Bose's powerful Bluetooth speakers get big upgrades — without a higher price

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Bose SoundLink Revolve II speakers get battery and waterproofing upgrades

Bose SoundLink Revolve II
(Image credit: Bose)

Bose has quietly refreshed its SoundLink Revolve and SoundLink Revolve+ wireless speakers, promising to come choice design and battery upgrades without raising the price.

The SoundLink Revolve II and SoundLink Revolve+ II were both announced on the Bose community forums. While they look identical to the models they’re replacing, both offer longer battery life and IP55 waterproofing. That’s enough to endure the heaviest party-ruining rainfall or pile of beach sand, and should help the new versions compete better with the best Bluetooth speakers out there.

It’s a particularly big upgrade for the SoundLink Revolve II, as the original SoundLink Revolve was only weatherproof to the IPX4 standard: this meant it was merely splashproof and had no certified protection against dust and dirt ingress. An IP55 rating ensures better protection against both solids and liquids, though the SoundLink Revolve II isn’t fully waterproof to the extent of the highly rugged UE Megaboom 3.

Battery life is also rated for 13 hours of playback, up from 12 hours on the SoundLink Revolve. The bigger, louder SoundLink Revolve+ II gets a similar upgrade, now providing 17 hours from a single charge — up from 16 hours on the original SoundLink Revolve+.

Bose SoundLink Revolve+ II

(Image credit: Bose)

The SoundLink Revolve+ II also jumps from IPX4 weatherproofing to IP55. So regardless of which of these speakers you use, you can rest assured they’ll be better protected from the elements.

Otherwise, the design of both speakers remains unchanged. They still produce 360-degree sound from their cylindrical enclosures. And the SoundLink Revolve+ II still has the handy carry handle that helped keep its predecessor portable in spite of a larger frame.

Another thing that’s staying the same is the price. U.S. availability hasn’t been confirmed yet but in the U.K., the SoundLink Revolve II and SoundLink Revolve+ II are already on sale for £180 and £280 respectively. Those are identical to the MSRPs of their original counterparts, so expect the SoundLink Revolve II to cost $200 and the SoundLink Revolve+ II to cost $300 when they launch stateside.

James Archer
James Archer

James is currently Hardware Editor at Rock Paper Shotgun, but before that was Audio Editor at Tom’s Guide, where he covered headphones, speakers, soundbars and anything else that intentionally makes noise. A PC enthusiast, he also wrote computing and gaming news for TG, usually relating to how hard it is to find graphics card stock.