Bose’s Latest Bluetooth Speaker Appears to Be a Great Way to Irritate Everyone at the Beach

The only thing I love more than foisting my music on other people at the park is doing it with a speaker that delivers solid or above-average sound quality. While I haven’t had a chance to use Bose’s new portable Bluetooth speaker, it seems like it could be a great option for doing just that.

Bose’s SoundLink Plus is a midrange Bluetooth speaker that is very clearly designed for outdoor excursions since it can float and has an IP67 rating that makes it damn near waterproof and dustproof. Per Bose, the portable speaker is “ready for anything” and is small enough to fit comfortably in a backpack or a duffel bag. I’d agree with that assessment—the speaker is nine inches wide and weighs a manageable 3.29 pounds. Despite that compact size, it still has a subwoofer, a tweeter, four passive radiators, and an estimated 20 hours of battery life, though that depends on how loud your beach neighbors’ competing music is and whether you need to crank the volume or not.

It also has a nylon strap attached, which isn’t exactly the most high-tech feature for a wireless speaker, but is pretty nice if you’re carrying this thing around or want to attach it to your backpack or something. There’s a new color, too, which Bose calls Citrus Yellow and gives what would otherwise be a pretty boring-looking speaker a nice pop. It falls pretty solidly in the midrange price category at $269, which sits between Bose’s SoundLink Flex and the Max. Preorders launch June 12, with general availability coming June 26.

While the SoundLink Plus is the newest thing Bose is introducing today, there are also second-gen updates to a couple of other audio products: the QuietComfort Ultra wireless earbuds and the SoundLink Micro Bluetooth speaker. Highlights for the QuietComfort Ultra earbuds include new and improved algorithms for adaptive noise cancellation and call quality, better battery life, and also a case that charges wirelessly. The SoundLink Micro gets some major quality-of-life upgrades with the addition of USB-C charging, a major battery life bump from 6 hours to 12 hours, and, according to Bose, “improved sound performance.” Both are expected to be released later this summer at $299 and $129, respectively.

As for the new SoundLink Plus speaker, we’ll have our hands on one soon enough, so make sure you report back for my full review about whether Bose’s newest Bluetooth speaker is worth the price. Apologies in advance to all my park neighbors; I’m annoying you for science.