Bose soundbars aren't usually up there with the very best soundbars, but they're often still worth considering. Its latest model, simply called the Bose Smart Soundbar, will be looking to go further than that. It's a Dolby Atmos model with an AI Dialogue mode, app control and wireless skills, and it's priced a fair bit lower than the Bose Smart Ultra Soundbar.
This latter model earned three stars in our review earlier this year. While we praised its expansive presentation, it fell down against stiff competition from rival brands. You might assume that this cheaper model will logically be worse, but that's not an assumption that we would make: we rate on a performance-per-pound (bang-for-buck) basis, and we often find that by stripping out some features and reducing the price, a brand can make its more affordable models more appealing than its flagship.
Will that be the case here? We'll need to wait until we've had the new Bose Smart Soundbar in for a full, comparatative test before we can say for sure but, in the meantime, let's break down how it compares on paper.
Bose Smart Ultra Soundbar vs Smart Soundbar: price
The Smart Ultra is the higher-specced soundbar, and as such, it commands a higher price. It currently sells for £899 / $899 / AU$1499, though it has dropped from time to time in recent months. Keep a look out for a deal.
At £599 / $499 / AU$TBC, the Smart Soundbar is a fair bit cheaper than the Ultra. It's not even on sale yet – shipping starts around 9th October – so there's not much chance of a discount. Not yet, anyway.
Bose Smart Ultra Soundbar vs Smart Soundbar: design
The Smart Ultra is Bose's flagship soundbar, and it certainly feels like it. It's suitably solid and reassuringly weighty, and feels robust enough to outlast flimsier units. Its design elements are a little familiar, with the same grille, polished tempered glass top and colour schemes (black or white) as the previous-gen model. It measures 105cm in width and 5.8cm in height – remember to measure up before you buy to make sure it doesn't obscure your TV's screen.
Inside are nine drivers: three tweeters, plus six ‘racetrack’ full-range units, two of which fire upwards to create the Dolby Atmos effect.
The ports – HDMI eARC, optical and ethernet – are sensibly spaced out on the rear of the unit so they're all easily accessible (it's amazing how many firms can't manage this). You don't get HDMI passthrough as on some (but by no means all) rival devices. You also get some 3.5mm sockets for hooking up a subwoofer, a bundled headset and an infrared receiver (sold separately).
There's a button to summon the Amazon Alexa assistant and one to mute the mic, while the LED light bar shows the bar's status and notifications such as wi-fi and Bluetooth connections.
We haven't seen the Bose Smart Soundbar in the flesh, but it looks as though it has a similar grille to the Ultra. It replaces the lower-end Smart Soundbar 600, so doesn't have the same design flourishes as the Ultra – there's no LED light bar, for example. It's smaller than the Ultra too, measuring 5.6cm tall and 69cm long.
Inside are five transducers: two side-firing racetrack transducers, a centre-channel tweeter and dual upward-firing drivers for Dolby Atmos height effects. So it has less power than the Ultra.
HDMI eARC and optical connections are present and correct, and there's a port for hooking up a subwoofer, but it lacks the extras for connecting a headset and infrared sensor.
Bose Smart Ultra Soundbar vs Smart Soundbar: features
You can control both soundbars using either their remote controls or the Bose mobile app. The remotes are simple, no-frills affairs that give you source and playback controls, while the Bose app gives you more options – you can play music via AirPlay or Chromecast, select radio stations, and adjust the bass and treble and the volume of the centre and height channels to suit the room.
The Ultra Soundbar can adjust its audio to match the room using ADAPTiQ calibration, which you access through the app and perform using the included headset (you have to wear this in various spots around the room). The standard Smart Soundbar lacks this feature, but it does have Bose Personal Surround Sound – this uses the Bose Ultra Open Earbuds as rear surround sound speakers. Because of the earbuds' open design, you can still hear audio coming from the soundbar in addition to that which you hear through the earbuds. This feature sounds incredibly odd and we're very much looking forward to testing it. It is coming to the Ultra Soundbar, too, via a firmware update that us due later in the autumn.
Both have Bose's AI Dialogue mode, which enhances dialogue in the mix so you can make out what the actors are saying. And both work with Spotify Connect, Deezer, and Amazon Music.
Bose Smart Ultra Soundbar vs Smart Soundbar: sound
We haven't tested the Smart Soundbar yet, so can't comment on its sound quality. But we can tell you that the Smart Ultra left us a little disappointed.
While it has impressive height and width, giving scenes plenty of scale, and is able to place individual sounds precisely, the midrange is too congested and the highs too harsh to really engross you in what's on screen. It tends to smother the dialogue somewhat, and while the inclusion of the AI Dialogue mode is welcome, it throws off the sound balance too much, so you're better off leaving it off.
There's not that much difference between loud and quiet moments either, so the audio lacks impact, and that's despite the decent low end.
Here's hoping the Smart Soundbar fares a little better in the audio department.
Bose Smart Ultra Soundbar vs Smart Soundbar: early verdict
Until we've tested the Smart Soundbar we can't recommend either soundbar over the other. But it looks to offer a lot of the Smart Ultra's features at a slightly reduced price. In fact, it even offers the Personal Surround Sound feature ahead of the Smart Ultra (though the latter model will get it via a firmware update).
We'll bring you a review of the Bose Smart Soundbar as soon as we can, and update this article promptly after.
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