Ultimate Ears has revealed its new BOOM 3 and MEGABOOM 3 Bluetooth speakers, making them more rugged, longer-lasting, and more affordable than the old pair. It's also taken the opportunity to give the two new speakers an aesthetic revamp, with the result being a cleaner and more modern-looking design.
These days, it's not hip for a wireless speaker not to have some form of music streaming feature or a smart assistant. The best ones have both even. When we reviewed both the Ultimate Ears Blast and Megablast last year, were indeed disappointed in not seeing features like Spotify over WiFi included in these Alexa-powered speakers. Half a year later, Logitech is announcing that exact feature and is bringing even more to liven up your party.
Bluetooth speakers may be a commodity at this point, but Ultimate Ears wants to set the new Blast and Megablast apart with Amazon's Alexa. Joining Bluetooth is WiFi, and the ability to speak to Amazon's virtual assistant: whether that be for requesting music, giving your connected home instructions, or asking questions to help the kids with homework. It's an obvious pairing, but has Logitech-owned UE quite got the recipe right?
For many, Ultimate Ears has been the go-to for portable Bluetooth speakers; now, the company is making Amazon Alexa its go-to assistant. Announced today, the Ultimate Ears MEGABLAST and BLAST give UE's speakers a smart upgrade, adding WiFi to the Bluetooth. Meanwhile, though they may not be the first battery-powered Alexa speakers on the market, they do last a lot longer than the rest.
Ultimate Ears has announced the arrival of Amazon Alexa support for its UE BOOM 2 and UE MEGABOOM speakers, enabling both to be used as smart speakers in conjunction with an Android smartphone. The new functionality arrives in the form of app and firmware updates, all of which are free, of course. Once updated, using Alexa with the speaker is as simple as tapping a button.
Finding a good Bluetooth speaker at an affordable price is a hassle, and it becomes an even more difficult endeavor when you need that in a portable package. Ultimate Ears thinks it may have a solution to this conundrum with its new Wonderboom speaker, promising good sound, portability, and some degree of durability in a package that costs $99. Is it too good to be true, or does the Wonderboom actually deliver on the claims Ultimate Ears has made?
Pairing two Bluetooth speakers for a stereo pair is tablestakes these days, so Ultimate Ears is cranking music to the next level with PartyUp, for more than 50 speakers in a single group. The new feature, being released today as a firmware update for some of the Logitech-owned company's most popular models, relies on some Bluetooth trickery and a revamped app to make managing large crowds of BOOM speakers straightforward.
In a world of square or cylindrical Bluetooth speakers, Ultimate Ears' circular Roll 2 stands out, freshly updated for 2016 for music-lovers on the move. The form-factor is the same, a saucer-sized disk of tough fabric and rubber with a handy bungee cord loop on the back, it's still waterproof to IPX7, and so is the price, $99.99. Inside, therefore, are where the main changes have happened.
Portable Bluetooth speakers may already be social ways to enjoy music, but an Ultimate Ears update now gives those impromptu groups a way to get involved in the playlist. Block Party, a new addition to the UE app for iOS and Android, opens the company's wireless speakers up to multiple streaming sources, meaning that no longer can one person force 80s power ballads onto everybody else.
In a world where Bluetooth speakers are practically giveaway items, you have to do something special to command a $200 sticker, and Ultimate Ears believes it has the answer. The new UE BOOM 2 takes the cylindrical BOOM of 2013 and gives it a refresh, cranking up the volume by 25-percent while delivering a promised fifteen hours of wireless battery life.
The world is not short on Bluetooth speakers, but Ultimate Ears believes it's risen to the challenge with the new UE Roll. Smaller - not to mention circular - sibling to the UE Boom and Mega Boom, its boldly embroidered front and bungee-cord toting back may conspire to look casual, but there's some serious thought behind it. I summoned my most enthusiastic playlist and took a listen.
Ultimate Ears has been cranking out earphones and other audio accessories for a long time and has announced the addition of a new product to its line. The new product is called the UE Megaboom portable wireless speaker. The speaker promises more bass, sound, and power than other portable speakers on the market today and it is an improvement over the original UE Boom wireless speaker.