Bose’s new SoundLink Max has a little handle and big sound

Say what you will about Bose’s more ambitious developments – I appreciate it taking them in the first place – but today the company is launching a new product in a category in which it has always been rather excellent: speakers. Bluetooth speakers. Bose is more or less expanding its SoundLink Flex into a new, larger model called SoundLink Max. Considering how Bose’s acoustic processing has been making it possible to get impressive sound from relatively small hardware for years, I’m eager to see what a bigger device is capable of.

Available May 16 for $399, the new speaker features three custom-designed transducers and two passive radiators. So there you are already about to benefit from a considerable improvement over the SoundLink Flex mono.

Now I can get pretty annoyed when tech companies charge a lot of money for Bluetooth speakers that only do Bluetooth, so I’m happy to see that Bose has equipped the SoundLink Max with a good old auxiliary input. A button on the speaker can be assigned to either Spotify Tap or whatever is plugged into the aux jack.

But in reality, most people are going to go wireless more often than not, and the company has thankfully included support for the AptX adaptive codec for higher bitrate streaming than standard AAC and SBC as the speaker also supports. Battery life is rated at around 20 hours, and like many other portable speakers today, it has a USB-C port that can be used to charge your phone when you’re away. a take.

Measuring 10.42 inches wide, 4.73 inches high, and 4.13 inches deep, the SoundLink Max weighs just under five pounds, which was enough for Bose to include a (removable) rope handle. The company also sells a larger rope carrying strap if you want to sling the speaker over your shoulder. Just like the SoundLink Flex, Bose offers the Max in black or light blue, and it’s IP67 rated to withstand the elements.

Stay tuned for reviews of the Bose SoundLink Max in the coming weeks. The new season of Bluetooth speakers is upon us. I also recently tested Sony’s $500 ULT Field 7, and let me tell you, this device is more speaker than most people might need for the warmer months. But it’s also in a completely different size class than the SoundLink Max. I hope Bose’s secret sauce allows its latest speaker to defy expectations.