Bose LifeStyle Ultra collection

Bose

Bose discontinued its Lifestyle branding in 2022, but it is reviving the lineup with three new products in 2026, including the Lifestyle Ultra Speaker, Lifestyle Ultra Subwoofer and Lifestyle Ultra Soundbar. The new audio products feature a fabric-wrapped grille for a cozier look in living spaces.

Starting with the Bose Lifestyle Ultra Speaker, it sits between the $219 Sonos Era 100 and the $479 Era 300. The new speaker is Bose’s most versatile product in the collection. It uses a reimagined version of Bose’s Direct/Reflecting speaker technology with three drivers (two front-facing and one up-firing).

This setup projects sound towards the ceiling and walls and back toward the listener, and theoretically creates a broader soundstage than what you’d expect from a single speaker. It can create Dolby Atmos-like content with multiple channels from non-Dolby Atmos content. You can also pair multiple units to create a more immersive experience.

The Bose Lifestyle Ultra Speaker is a Bluetooth/Wi-Fi speaker, but it isn’t portable because there’s no independent battery. It supports a proprietary QuietPort acoustic opening and “advanced digital signal processing to deliver deep, controlled low-frequency sound” that, according to Bose, “is difficult to achieve in speakers of this size.”

On the other hand, the Bose Lifestyle Ultra Soundbar has an entirely new acoustic architecture, which is engineered to deliver “cinematic performance from a single enclosure.” It features six full-range drivers (two up-firing and four front-facing), a center tweeter, and two additional Bose proprietary PhaseGuide drivers, which place sound to the right and left where there are no actual speakers. It is ready for Dolby Atmos content and can play three-dimensional sound with “lifelike realism and a convincing sense of height.”

Bose has also upgraded the previous AI Dialogue Mode to the SpeechClarity settings, which will give you more control of this setting. It can raise vocals without eliminating the sounds of other on-screen elements. This soundbar will cost you $1,099 and can be paired with the new $899 Bose Lifestyle Ultra Subwoofer and two additional Lifestyle Ultra Speakers for a full 7.1.4 multichannel home theater system.

While Bose is also updating its app to help you manage multiroom setups, I’m glad there’s support for AirPlay 2, Google Cast, and Spotify Connect, so you won’t be required to open an app every time you need to select the speakers in a multiroom setup.

The new Bose Lifestyle collection comes in Black or White Smoke colors and will be available starting May 15. It can be preordered today at Bose.com. There’s a limited-edition Driftwood Sand variant of the Lifestyle Ultra Speaker that has a soft beige finish and will sell for $349.

“With the Lifestyle Collection, we wanted every detail to serve a singular purpose: making exceptional sound easy to enjoy,” said Raza Haider, president, premium consumer audio, Bose Corporation. “The flexibility, refined aesthetic, and experience are all built to fit into life at home, delivering on the one central promise that has defined Bose for decades: that sound matters.”