Bose brings Google Assistant to speakers and soundbars

Image credit: Bose

Bose has announced that its current range of speakers and soundbars are getting support for Google Assistant, having previously only supported Amazon Alexa. 

Google's voice assistant will be introduced to the Bose Home Speaker 500, the Bose Soundbar 500, and Bose Soundbar 700 from today via an automatic software update.

The integration with Google Assistant means that Bose speaker owners will be able to ask their devices to play songs, give them the weather report, and even control compatible smart home devices that work with Google Assistant hands-free.

With Bose competitor Sonos also recently announcing Google Assistant integration for the Sonos One smart speaker and Sonos Beam soundbar, it seems that interoperability between different voice assistants is becoming increasingly important to audio manufacturers, perhaps due to customers wanting flexibility in their smart home products.

The Bose Home Speaker 500 (Image credit: Bose)

The Bose Home Speaker 500 (Image credit: Bose)

A brand new speaker

That's not the only thing Bose has announced today; the audio company has also revealed that it's launching a smaller version of the Bose Speaker 500 in the next couple of months.

The pint-sized smart speaker, called the Bose Speaker 300, should still deliver the "powerful bass and true 360-degree sound" of its bigger sibling, but eschews the 500's full color display – and it's high price. 

Aside from the lack of display, the Bose Speaker 300 looks pretty similar to its predecessor, with a seamless elliptical shape and attractive anodized aluminum casing – and it'll support voice control with both Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant built-in.

The Bose Home Speaker 300 will be available in the US from June 20 (with preorders starting June 4), for $259.95 – $140 less than the Home Speaker 500. In Australia, the new smart speaker will be available from the first week of August with a price tag of $399.95.

That works out at around £200 based on current conversion rates, however, Bose is yet to confirm pricing and availability in the UK. We have reached out to Bose for comment on its international release plans and will update this story as soon as we get a response.

Olivia Tambini

Olivia was previously TechRadar's Senior Editor - Home Entertainment, covering everything from headphones to TVs. Based in London, she's a popular music graduate who worked in the music industry before finding her calling in journalism. She's previously been interviewed on BBC Radio 5 Live on the subject of multi-room audio, chaired panel discussions on diversity in music festival lineups, and her bylines include T3, Stereoboard, What to Watch, Top Ten Reviews, Creative Bloq, and Croco Magazine. Olivia now has a career in PR.

Latest in Soundbars
Samsung HW-Q990D soundbar with Halloween theme over the top
Samsung promises to repair soundbars bricked by its disastrous software update for free – but it'll probably involve shipping
Samsung HW-Q990D soundbar, subwoofer and rear speakers
Samsung's best Dolby Atmos soundbar is being bricked by a new update – here's what we know so far
Sonos Arc Lowest Price deal image
You can now save $250 on one of the best Dolby Atmos soundbars from Sonos
The Sonos Arc Ultra in a living room, in front of plants and personal niknaks
Setting up the Sonos Arc Ultra soundbar was one of the worst tech experiences of my life, but damn it sounds incredible
Bose Solo Soundbar 2 and remote
Owning a soundbar has been a game-changer for me – here are 5 cheap options I’d recommend
Sony HT-S2000 lowest price deal image
Get Dolby Atmos on a budget: the Sony HT-S2000 soundbar is back to its lowest ever price
Latest in News
cheap Nintendo Switch game deals sales
Nintendo didn't anticipate that Mario Kart 8 Deluxe was 'going to be the juggernaut' for the Nintendo Switch when it was ported to the console, according to former employees
Three angles of the Apple MacBook Air 15-inch M4 laptop above a desk
Apple MacBook Air 15-inch (M4) review roundup – should you buy Apple's new lightweight laptop?
Witchbrook
Witchbrook, the life-sim I've been waiting years for, finally has a release window and it's sooner than you think
Amazon Echo Smart Speaker
Amazon is experimenting with renaming Echo speakers to Alexa speakers, and it's about time
Shigeru Miyamoto presents Nintendo Today app
Nintendo Today smartphone app is out now on iOS and Android devices – and here's what it does
iPhone 13 mini
The iPhone mini won't be returning, according to rumors – and you think that's a mistake