I tested Bose's new smart speaker beside my Sonos Era 100 - it was better in several ways

Bose Lifestyle Ultra Speaker

pros and cons

Pros

• Great sound
• Native Android and iOS casting
• Sleek, modern design

Cons

• Pricier than immoderate competitors
• Favors Bose's in-house spatial audio implicit Atmos

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The latest from Bose is the Lifestyle Ultra family, which includes a soundbar, a subwoofer, and a astute speaker, and I find the astute talker to beryllium the astir absorbing merchandise successful the lineup. Smart speakers for the location are expanding successful popularity, and much consumers are funny successful whole-home audio products with astute location features -- Bose is close connected time.

Also: Sonos Play review: This portable Wi-Fi talker whitethorn beryllium Sonos' top deed yet

I spent a week with the Lifestyle Ultra Speaker, and though it's $50 to $100+ much than its counterparts from Apple, Sonos, and Amazon, it has 1 sizeable boost implicit the rest. Let's dive in.

Out with the old, successful with the new

The Lifestyle Ultra Speaker is the smartest talker successful Bose's existent catalog, promising Wi-Fi streaming, Bluetooth connectivity, AirPlay and Google Cast compatibility, Alexa built-in, and stereo pairing, wrapped successful a sleek, modern design.

As a existent Wi-Fi astute speaker, the Lifestyle Ultra Speaker requires transportation to a powerfulness source, truthful it's not portable. With a three-speaker configuration, including 2 front-facing and 1 upfiring speaker, the Lifestyle Ultra Speaker gets plentifulness loud. The upfiring talker isn't a dedicated Atmos tallness channel, and a azygous talker isn't Atmos-compatible. 

Also: 15+ champion Alexa commands to marque your location enactment smarter (Prime not required)

Instead, the talker uses Bose's proprietary TrueSpatial exertion for further extent and space; I'm indifferent astir it. Fortunately, TrueSpatial doesn't dependable arsenic artificially upmixed arsenic the company's Immersive Audio successful its headphones and earbuds, but a singular upfiring talker isn't capable for existent immersion. 

However, with an further Lifestyle Ultra Speaker offering different upfiring talker and the Soundbar offering 2 more, I'm assured you'd get a fuller tallness experience.

Still, adjacent connected its ain arsenic a azygous astute speaker, there's deep, punchy bass and noticeable highs and mids. At higher volumes, the bass tin get muddy, but a speedy EQ accommodation successful the Bose companion app is an casual fix. Overall, the dependable illustration is precise akin to Sonos's Era 100: an enjoyable, lively, lukewarm dependable with the V-shaped audio illustration astir radical prefer. 

Versatility for the win

The Lifestyle Ultra Speaker works large connected its own, not solely for its enjoyable sound, but besides for its ecosystem-agnostic design, which has ever been 1 of Bose's strengths. The company's deficiency of an affinity for a azygous bundle ecosystem means its devices acceptable easy into your existing ecosystem. I see that a large upside.

Jada Jones/ZDNET

Alexa built-in, Google Cast, and Apple AirPlay are connected deck, truthful if you person respective Wi-Fi speakers with Android and/or Apple-friendly casting, you tin radical them together. While checking disconnected tasks connected my after-work chores list, I grouped my kitchen's Sonos Era 100 and the Bose Lifestyle Ultra successful my upstairs bureau for multi-room audio. It worked similar a charm.

The Lifestyle Ultra besides features a 3.5mm aux-in larboard for wired connectivity with analog devices, specified arsenic a turntable. In a pair, 2 of these speakers behave likewise to Sonos's offerings; you tin alteration them from standalone astute speakers into rear speakers successful a location theatre configuration oregon usage them arsenic idiosyncratic left- and right-channel audio sources. Or, you tin spot respective astir the location for multi-room audio.

ZDNET's buying advice

Bose's products are large for radical who privation thing that volition enactment good close retired of the box, with an adjacent appreciation for simplicity and modern design. You tin usage astir immoderate marque of phone, laptop, oregon tablet with the Lifestyle Ultra Speaker, and it volition easy integrate into your location audio ecosystem, which is Bose's top strength.

Also: Sony vs. Bose: My buying proposal aft listening to flagship headphones from some brands

The Lifestyle Ultra Speaker is simply a coagulated astute talker for radical with mixed-device ecosystems, particularly those who aren't immense fans of dependable assistants. Only Alexa and Alexa+ are disposable connected the Lifestyle Ultra Speaker to US consumers. Though an Apple HomePod oregon a Sonos Era 100 is cheaper, these speakers person respective hardware and bundle limitations and run wrong closed ecosystems.