Bose tries to drown out Apple’s HomePod with its first smart speaker
The Alexa-powered speaker packs a screen and arrives alongside smart soundbars
The Bose name carries a lot of weight in the high-end audio world, but can it thrive in an increasingly crowded smart speaker market? That’s what Bose aims to find out with the Home Speaker 500, an Alexa-powered device that promises the “widest soundstage” of any smart speaker today, thanks to two custom drivers that point in opposite directions. It even has a little screen on the front to display album art and will bring in additional voice assistant options and Apple AirPlay 2 support in the future – but it had better sound spectacular at a HomePod-topping £399. Bose also has a pair of Alexa-packing soundbars, the Soundbar 700 (shown) and the smaller 500, that likewise claim to deliver sterling output. They’ll sell for £799 and £499, respectively, and all three devices drop on 20 September.