Celebrating a rather successful push into the portable speaker space with products like the SoundLink Mini, Bose has set its sights on the home streaming market.
Competing directly against Sonos and its recently leaked Play:1 speaker, the new SoundTouch range from Bose consists of three new speakers that connect to a user's home wireless network to stream music, either from a computer or an internet music streaming service.
The SoundTouch Portable (AU$549, US$399, £350), SoundTouch 20 (AU$549, US$399, £350) and SoundTouch 30 (AU$899, US$699, £600) all use a standard collection of six preset buttons on top of the device which can be used to store playlists, internet radio stations or albums from across all your compatible services.
The preset buttons are linked to a single Bose account, which means they are consistent throughout all the devices in your home, making it easier to automatically select your favourite stream no matter which device you want to use.
Find your 'appy place
To coincide with the new products, Bose has launched a new app for iOS and Android that offers control and navigation over an entire house's SoundTouch-enabled products.
The app allows users to find and control the music they want to listen to from a variety of sources, set and change the six preset buttons on each of the devices, and control multiple devices at once.
With the new speakers all enjoying Airplay compatibility, it's easy to stream your favourite albums directly from your computers as well.
Can we get some services?
At launch, the new Bose systems will support internet radio stations from around the world, as well as streaming radio platform Pandora.
Bose promises an update within six months to bring additional music streaming services like Spotify, Deezer and iHeartRadio to the service.
In the meantime, Bose is making up for the lack of variety in streaming services by completely refreshing its product lineup to add SoundTouch capability to its range.
Everything from its Lifestyle systems to Wave solutions are getting an update, with the refreshed lineup set to launch early next year.
- Not sure if Bose is for you? Why not check out the other main streaming platform, Sonos Play:3?
