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Bose was one of the very first firms to make a hugely impressive portable Bluetooth speaker, the 2013 SoundLink Mini: I had mine for the best part of a decade and it consistently outperformed its newer rivals with its surprisingly powerful and deep sound. Its bombproof construction meant it shrugged off years of terrible treatment too. It was the Nokia 3310 of Bluetooth speakers, so I'm intrigued to see that there's a new addition to the SoundLink family, the Bose SoundLink Home.
The SoundLink Home is a little larger than the Mini, coming in at 8.5 inches wide, 4.4 inches high and 2.3 inches deep. But it's still small – roughly the size of a paperback book – and it weighs just under two pounds. That and a rechargeable battery means it's easy to move around. And I don't doubt that this speaker will sound good: Bose is great at making small speakers sound massive.
Bose SoundLink Home: key features and pricing
As you can see from the image, the SoundLink Home is a good-looking thing. It's available in two finishes, silver or gray; the gray's more of a pewter. Both models also have a built-in stand and a microphone for calls and voice control.
Inside there is a full-range transducer and twin passive radiators that, according to Bose, provide deep bass and "a sensorial experience defying its size".
Connectivity is via Bluetooth 5.3 and battery life is a promised nine hours, which is very short – this clearly isn't designed to be taken away for a weekend in the way that many of the best portable speakers can, but rather just around the home. Charging is via the obligatory USB-C and takes four hours for a full charge. The same USB-C connector can be used to connect the Bose speaker to your laptop or other music source, and you can pair two SoundLink Home speakers together for a stereo soundtrack.
The Bose SoundLink Home is available now in the US for $219 (about £165 / AU$315) – we don't have confirmation of a worldwide launch, but we expect it to follow.