Bose has added another Bluetooth speaker to its SoundLink lineup of portables. The SoundLink Home Speaker is a sleek and slender unit that doubles as a speakerphone and can be stereo-paired with a second SoundLink Home for more immersive sound. It can be ordered starting October 1, in Light Silver or Cool Gray, for $219. If you live in China, there’s also a “Warm Wood” option. For now, the speaker is being sold exclusively through Bose’s website.
Unlike Bose’s other SoundLink speakers, the SoundLink Home is intended as an app-free experience — just power up the speaker and pair it with your favorite smartphone. Actually, with Bluetooth Multipoint, you can pair it to two phones simultaneously — but you’ll have to referee the fights between the phone owners.
However, the lack of app compatibility means this is the only Bose SoundLink speaker that can’t be wirelessly connected to another Bose product (like its new Bose Smart Soundbar) via SimpleSync, or to multiple Bluetooth speakers via party mode.
The speaker is very compact at only 8.5 inches wide, 4.4 inches tall, and 2.3 inches thick. At just a hair under 2 pounds, it should also prove easy to move around. It’s framed out in brushed anodized aluminum, with a set of physical control buttons on the top surface for power, volume, and Bluetooth pairing, plus a multifunction button playback.
A fabric mesh grille covers the front and back. Bose says that under that fabric lies a full-range transducer with dual passive radiators that produce “deep bass that fills any room.”
You charge the speaker via the side USB-C port. A four-hour charge will fill the internal battery, after which Bose says you’ll get about nine hours of playtime. However, that’s assuming you keep the volume set at 50% or less. Rock out at full volume and you’ll get far less time — just 2.5 hours according to the official specifications.
That USB-C port can also be used to connect wired digital sources like a computer or USB-C equipped phone. Strangely, there’s no analog input, something Bose includes on most of its other SoundLink speakers, including the recently added SoundLink Max. A built-in mic lets you use the speaker for calls, or to access your phone’s voice assistant.
As the name implies, Bose appears to see the SoundLink Home as a speaker you’ll move from one room in your home to another, but not outdoors. It has no official protection from water or dust, and a Bose spokesperson cautioned Digital Trends that it should probably not be used in a bathroom or anywhere else where high humidity is likely to be a regular thing.
Instagram is making its way to yet another screen, and this time, Apple TV is getting a taste of the Reels rabbit hole. The company has launched a dedicated Instagram app for Apple TV, bringing Reels, longer videos, and live shows to the big screen. So, if watching one quick clip on a phone somehow turns into an hour of scrolling, there's now a much larger screen for that.
Instagram brings Reels and more to Apple TV
Audio-Technica, a brand well known for making some of the best studio and professional headphones on the market, has just come out with the ATH-AWX7000, which the company itself claims to be its "finest headphones ever." The new flagship closed-back headphone has debuted at an eye-watering price of $3,799. It combines hand-finished Japanese woodwork with a newly developed 58mm driver.
The earcups are made from Kiso cypress, a prized wood historically used for Shinto shrines and Buddhist temples. Each housing is finished by hand with traditional Echizen lacquer, which brings out the grain and is expected to darken over time. The frame and sliders are finished in a deep navy kachi-iro shade traditionally associated with samurai.
This post is brought to you in paid partnership with Best Buy.
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