Review on Bose Portable Smart Speaker – Wireless Bluetooth Speaker with Built-In Alexa Voice Control, Silver: The Ultimate Smart Audio Companion by Adrian Summers

When I bought the Bose Portable Home Speaker (PHS) I wanted to know how it compared to the old Bluetooth-only Bose Revolve+. I've had it for a little over a year now and it's a significant step up from the Revolve+. Pros compared to Revolve+: a) Louder by 20-30% b) Better fidelity and louder bass but only slightly larger than Revolve+ (doesn't feel much heavier) Bose changed their sound signature a bit for this speaker, where it's almost at maximum volume it compresses the sound in a much, much better way compared to Micro, Revolve, Revolve+c) Higher quality streaming via Wi-Fi and Spotify Connected) Sound quality is similar to the Bose Home Speaker 300 ( which is not a portable speaker) e) 180 degree charging port on the bottom - as long as the speaker is with the handle facing up, you can mount it on the charging stand (not included) in any direction and it just works. Cons of Revolve+: a) No audio over USBb) No AUX portc) No tripod mount d) PHS has loud on/off, pairing, connecting/disconnecting tones that cannot be turned off *Voice prompts can still be turned on /turned off, but if you turn them off you won't know the battery level unless you check the Bose Music app (the power LED on the speaker stays white all the time until it hits 10% when it turns red) e) You can no longer activate the speaker via Bluetooth when the speaker is switched on. off, which is useful when the Revolve+ is mounted somewhere on a tripod, on a bookshelf, or in the garden. f) Bose seems to have designed this speaker for Wi-Fi first and then for Bluetooth. You can disable Wi-Fi and disable the mics on the speaker to only use it over Bluetooth, but unfortunately this resets every time you turn on the speaker, although the mics remain muted until you press the mic button. PHS doesn't work with the application via Bluetooth, it's Wi-Fi only. Among other things, there is no way to check the battery level with voice announcements and deactivated WLAN, for example to adjust the built-in equalizer of the speaker. g) (-1 star) Do not stereo pair with any of the Bose Wi-Fi. - Fi or Bluetooth speakers, not even with other PHS. It lets you mono-pair with other Bose Wi-Fi speakers, including their current-gen soundbars and other Wi-Fi home speakers, and even lets you pair with older-gen Bluetooth speakers (like the Revolve and Revolve+), just not in stereo. Generally, the reason people buy 360 mono speakers like this is because they sound louder and have more bass than their similarly sized stereo speakers – which is why other manufacturers have started making mono speakers like the JBL Flip 5. In exchange for normally you you can pair another speaker in your stereo for a much more powerful setup - unfortunately Bose has done away with that on PHS. e) (-1 star) Passive radiators can distort the sound. referred to as the "pressure trap" in the passive radiator system, which ensured that the passive radiators were distortion-free - which always resulted in clear and loud bass. It also greatly improved the design of the Soundlink Mini as it had a habit of distorting the sound at higher volumes. speakers) and the fact that they're set louder than ever, PHS can end up severely distorting some very popular songs, even though it's "only" noticeably above 50% volume. where 50% is the sweet spot. At this volume, it's already 30% louder than the Revolve+, while sounding significantly better, and it all balances out and sounds very natural, yet full and satisfying. Above 50% distortion problems start. Although the DSP kicks in around maximum volume and actually reduces the problem - so I think it's more of a rare Bose DSP bug, although unfortunately a year later the speaker still sounds the same so they probably won't change the sound signature for become this speaker generation. Other cons in general: a) Supports Apple Airplay but not Google Chromecast, i.e. although the Bose Music app supports Sirus XM it doesn't work with their channels Xtra the native Sirius XM app you download to your phone only supports Chromecast b ) Speaker still only has IPx4 waterproof rating. I would suggest that the Bose Soundlink system doesn't use depressurization but instead with the introduction of Bose's first waterproof IPx7 speaker (up to 1 meter for 30 minutes). Micro (launched a year earlier) I thought the PHS was more waterproof than the Revolve & Revolve+, but it's still only IPx4 waterproof. For the record, PHS' only competitor, the Sonos Move (which I have a feeling PHS rushed past its launch date) is IPx7 water-resistant (despite being a much larger and heavier speaker). Miscellaneous It should be noted that the speaker no longer has a hands-free function, although I have personally never used it with previous Bose speakers, so no losses here. Coupling or fidelity issues with passive radiators aren't a deal breaker for you (although I'd take a good look at them because PHS is still a lot weaker without them) - there just isn't much competition in this space. In conclusion, after using the speaker for over a year, I have the feeling that it is not a direct successor to the Revolve & Revolve+ due to the lack of two stars (fortunately). Their older generation speakers are getting old (still on micro USB, doesn't sound that great at high volume, see Pro section b)) so I'm hoping they'll be updated soon.