There’s a little handle on Bose’s new SoundLink Max with big sound

Whatever you think of Bose’s bolder moves-I’m glad it makes them in the first place—the business is launching a new product today in the Bluetooth speaker market, which is a segment in which it has always thrived. Bose is essentially supersizing the SoundLink Flex into the SoundLink Max, a new, larger version. Bose’s acoustic processing has been able to produce amazing sound from very modest gear for years, so I’m interested to see what a larger device can do.

The new speaker, which will price for $399 and be available on May 16th, is equipped with two specially made passive radiators and three transducers. You’re going to be getting a lot better than the mono SoundLink Flex right there.

Now that tech firms are charging a lot of money for Bluetooth speakers that only work with Bluetooth, I can get a little annoyed so I’m happy to find that Bose included an aux connector in the SoundLink Max. You can set up a button on the speaker to switch between Spotify Tap and the device that is plugged into the aux jack.

However, in execution, the majority of users will almost always use wireless, and the business has gratefully included support for the AptX Adaptive codec, which allows for higher bandwidth streaming than the usual AAC and SBC that the speaker also supports. Its battery life is said to be about 20 hours, and like many other modern portable speakers, it has a USB-C connector for charging your phone when you’re not near an outlet.

With dimensions of 10.42 inches in width, 4.73 inches in height, and 4.13 inches in depth, the SoundLink Max weighs just less than five pounds, which was sufficient for Bose to incorporate a rope handle that can be removed. If you want to throw the speaker over your shoulder, the company also sells a larger rope carrying strap. Bose offers the Max in black or light blue, and it’s rated IP67 to withstand weather, just as the SoundLink Flex.

In the coming weeks, keep an eye out for our impressions on Bose’s SoundLink Max. The season for new Bluetooth speakers is here. Additionally, I’ve been trying Sony’s $500 ULT Field 7, and let me tell you, for the warmer months, that thing is more speaker than most people could possible need. However, it belongs to an entirely another size class when compared to the SoundLink Max. I’m hoping that Bose’s unique blend will enable its newest speaker to surpass expectations.