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Bose’s Lifestyle Ultra Line Hits Stores With Open Streaming to Take On Sonos

The move elevates open protocols over proprietary apps to reduce lock-in for multiroom audio.

Overview

  • Bose’s Lifestyle Ultra Speaker (from $299), Ultra Soundbar ($1,099), and Ultra Subwoofer ($899) are now on sale from Bose, Amazon, and Best Buy.
  • Hands-on tests report the Dolby Atmos soundbar delivers clear dialogue and a broad stage, and the matching subwoofer supplies the low-end punch the bar lacks on its own.
  • The Ultra Speaker uses a front woofer and tweeter plus an up-firing driver, and early demos found bigger-than-expected output with crisp vocals for its size.
  • Streaming runs through Apple AirPlay, Spotify Connect, and Google Cast, and the speaker is the first third-party device to offer Amazon’s Alexa Plus voice features.
  • The new Ultra products work only with each other, which limits upgrades for existing Bose owners and shifts the choice toward ecosystem fit and price versus Sonos.