Bose Lifestyle Ultra Speaker vs. Sonos Era 100: I compared both models, and here's the winner

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Sonos has cemented itself arsenic the king of multi-room audio, but much and much companies are joining successful connected the trend, immoderate offering features that Sonos doesn't. 

Also: Forget the soundbar: How I upgraded my TV audio with spare Bluetooth speakers

Bose precocious joined successful connected the fun, unveiling its Lifestyle Ultra Speaker, which operates successful a mode that's acquainted to Sonos's astute speakers. Both companies connection separately sold astute speakers that tin basal connected their ain astir the house, radical unneurotic for left/right audio, oregon brace with a compatible soundbar to execute arsenic rear speakers.

Yet, speech from a hard-to-miss $130 terms difference, determination are different differences to see regarding ecosystem integration, astute features, and dependable assistants. Let's interruption them down.

Specifications

You should bargain the Bose Lifestyle Ultra Speaker if...

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1. You person Android devices

Bose fitted the Lifestyle Ultra Speaker with autochthonal Google Cast, which is simply a positive for radical with Android devices oregon a mixed-device ecosystem. I've tested respective caller astute speakers this year, and fewer are equipped with Google Cast built-in. 

Review: Bose Lifestyle Ultra Speaker

Google Cast works similar Apple AirPlay, allowing users to watercourse audio from their root instrumentality to the speaker, arsenic agelong arsenic some are connected to the aforesaid Wi-Fi network. I usage AirPlay to rapidly watercourse a YouTube video to a speaker, and it lone takes a fewer seconds to power the audio backmost to my phone.

Note that portion the Lifestyle Ultra Speaker has Google Cast, it does not enactment Google Assistant oregon Gemini.

2. You don't similar euphony power apps

Many astute talker companies similar to run their speakers connected a proprietary bundle ecosystem -- deliberation Sonos's S2 platform, Denon's Heos, oregon Apple's closed ecosystem. Bose took a antithetic approach, offering susceptible hardware that works good with iOS and Android operating systems.

Instead of offering an all-in-one euphony streaming app, Bose's app serves lone to alteration the speaker's audio source, configuration, and EQ settings. To watercourse music, users should watercourse straight from their root instrumentality via Apple AirPlay, Spotify Connect, oregon Google Cast. As a result, users tin radical Bose's Lifestyle Ultra Speaker with AirPlay oregon Google Cast-enabled speakers from different manufacturers for multi-room playback.

You should bargain the Sonos Era 100 if...

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1. You privation to physique a location theatre 1 time

One of Sonos's strengths is its scope of speakers successful varying sizes, capabilities, and prices, giving you much options to physique a location theatre that fits your needs. Sonos's existent catalog consists of 3 soundbars, 2 subwoofers, 2 rear speakers, and a brace of headphones that integrate with the soundbars.

Additionally, determination are older Sonos products that are nary longer sold but are inactive supported by the existent software.

Review: Sonos Play

As a result, you tin commencement with a soundbar and a azygous Era 100 for listening successful different room. Once you're acceptable to bargain different Era 100, you tin configure the 2 Era 100s arsenic rear speakers. Though Bose's Lifestyle Ultra lineup operates similarly, lone the 3 products successful the lineup are compatible with 1 another.

Bose's latest location theatre products are not backward compatible with its erstwhile ones; for example, you can't usage your existent brace of Bose Surround Speakers with the Lifestyle Ultra Soundbar.

2. You unrecorded successful Apple's ecosystem

Sonos's products favour Apple's ecosystem implicit Android's, offering AirPlay and entree to the Apple Music app done the Sonos app. Sonos doesn't enactment Google Cast, and alternatively encourages users to watercourse euphony done its companion app.

However, if you person an Apple Music subscription, playing euphony done Sonos's app unlocks Dolby Atmos. Though Apple announced successful 2024 that iOS 18 would enactment third-party speakers with Dolby Atmos via AirPlay, the diagnostic is inactive not implemented connected Sonos hardware. At the clip of penning this article, I cannot watercourse successful Dolby Atmos to an Arc Ultra soundbar.

Writer's choice

Not to dependable ambivalent, but determination are lone 2 reasons to take 1 of these speakers implicit the other: terms and ecosystem. Both speakers present a akin V-shaped dependable illustration and enactment astute features done the Amazon Alexa dependable assistant. However, if paying a little terms is your biggest concern, spell with the Sonos Era 100. If an unfastened ecosystem is astatine the apical of your wishlist, take Bose.

I similar the Era 100 due to the fact that I unrecorded successful a Sonos household. The Era 100 connected my room antagonistic responds to my Sonos Voice Assistant commands and integrates with my different Sonos speakers astir my house.