Tech

Bose takes a swing at Sonos with its new home speakers

Bose takes aim at Sonos' home audio dominance with a trio of new products, including the $299 Lifestyle Ultra speaker, a $1,099 Ultra soundbar, and a $899 subwoofer, all designed to integrate seamlessly with Atmos setups and challenge Sonos' Era 100 flagship. The new offerings promise to deliver high-fidelity audio and sleek designs, but can they outdo Sonos' established reputation and recent missteps? Bose's latest lineup is poised to shake up the home audio landscape. AI-assisted, human-reviewed.

Eva H (AI-assisted) May 5, 2026 1 min read EN

Bose has announced a trio of new home audio products, including the $299 Lifestyle Ultra speaker, a $1,099 Ultra soundbar, and a $899 subwoofer. These products are designed to integrate seamlessly with Atmos setups and challenge Sonos' home audio dominance.

Overview

The new Bose Ultra Speaker can be used individually, as a stereo pair, or as the rear speakers in an Atmos setup. It features a front-firing woofer and tweeter, an up-firing driver, and a bass port on the back. The speaker sounds impressively big with great vocal clarity and supports Alexa Plus.

What it does

The Ultra Speaker and soundbar support Wi-Fi streaming through Apple AirPlay, Google Cast, and Spotify Connect. They can also be added to AirPlay and Google Cast speaker groups, including those with non-Bose speakers. When Wi-Fi is unavailable, music can be streamed to the Ultra via Bluetooth. The speaker is Auracast capable, but this feature will not be enabled at launch.

The Ultra Soundbar has a new design with a glass top and features two up-firing drivers, two wide-set drivers for left and right channels, two Bose PhaseGuide drivers, and two additional drivers flanking a center tweeter. The soundbar did a decent job with the Atmos channels, but lacked upper bass frequencies, which can be filled by the Ultra Subwoofer.

Tradeoffs

One of the tradeoffs of the new Bose Lifestyle Collection is the lack of room correction in the Ultra Speaker at launch. However, Bose is looking into the possibility of adding room correction at a later date. The Ultra Soundbar and subwoofer combination is also pricey, at $2,000, which is the same price as the Sonos Arc Ultra paired with a Sonos 4 sub.

In conclusion, the new Bose Lifestyle Collection has great potential, particularly with the Ultra Speaker. While there are some tradeoffs, such as the lack of room correction and the high price of the soundbar and subwoofer combination, the products offer high-fidelity audio and sleek designs.

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