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Bose’s new home theater system is optimized for your various TV setups – but can it beat Sony?


Bose Lifestyle Ultra collection

Bose/ZDNET

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ZDNET’s key takeaways

  • Bose debuts its new Lifestyle Ultra collection.
  • The collection consists of the Lifestyle Ultra Soundbar, Speaker, and Subwoofer.
  • Despite no backward compatibility, the built-in Google Cast is a plus.

Modular home theater systems are gaining popularity, encouraging consumers to purchase products at their own pace rather than being tied down to a complete system in a one-time purchase. Bose is the latest to upgrade its modular home theater offerings, with its new Lifestyle Ultra lineup comprising a soundbar, a smart speaker, and a subwoofer.

Also: I upgraded my Bluetooth speakers instead of replacing them – 5 creative ways

Though modularity is all the rage, Bose isn’t fully committing to giving consumers endless options for configuring their home theater. Still, the new products debut with several notable upgrades, and the Lifestyle Ultra Speaker marks new territory for Bose.

Here’s what to know about them.

1. Lifestyle Ultra Soundbar

Bose Lifestyle Ultra Soundbar in Black

Bose/ZDNET

The Lifestyle Ultra Soundbar features nine drivers: two upfiring, four front-facing, a center tweeter, and two additional horizontal drivers. This speaker array mirrors Bose’s older Smart Ultra Soundbar, but the Lifestyle Ultra debuts with more advanced Bose audio technologies.

Bose borrowed several of its premium headphones‘ audio technologies and implemented them in the Lifestyle Ultra, including CustomTune, which uses your iOS or Android device’s microphones to automatically adjust the soundbar’s output based on room dimensions, furniture, and seating. 

Also: I finally tried pairing headphones to my TV streaming stick, and I’m not going back

Previously, Bose used its AdaptIQ technology to achieve soundbar room correction. AdaptIQ required users to use a headset included with their soundbar purchase, plug it into the soundbar, and wear it as they moved around the room. This headset communicated with the soundbar and could account for room correction in five seating locations. It was an outdated method of room correction, so I’m glad to see Bose catching up to today’s industry standard.

The Lifestyle Ultra also features Bose TrueSpatial, which digitally upmixes stereo content into spatial audio. Still, the Lifestyle Ultra soundbar is compatible with Dolby Atmos. Finally, SpeechClarity is on deck, which is Bose’s proprietary AI-powered dialogue enhancement. 

Like the 2023 Smart Ultra soundbar, the Lifestyle Ultra features Bose’s PhaseGuide technology, which should direct audio horizontally to the farthest points in a room, simulating the presence of speakers that aren’t there. Also, Bose updated its QuietPort technology on the Lifestyle Ultra to include a physical opening, which should allow for a more controlled bass response.

Also: Sonos Play vs. Sonos Move 2: Why I’d go with the $200 cheaper Bluetooth speaker

Bose’s latest soundbar has wired connections limited to HDMI for ARC and eARC, while wireless connectivity includes Google Cast, Apple AirPlay, and Spotify Connect.

The Lifestyle Ultra Soundbar will be available in Black and White for $1,099 beginning May 15.

2. Lifestyle Ultra Speaker

Bose Lifestyle Ultra Speaker in Black

Bose/ZDNET

The Lifestyle Ultra Speaker is Bose’s most interesting and versatile product in the lineup, as its arrival comes shortly after Bose sunsetted its older SoundTouch smart speakers. On its own, the Lifestyle Ultra Speaker behaves like a traditional smart speaker, delivering audio through its two front-facing and one upfiring driver. A wired power source is required, and the Lifestyle Ultra Speaker supports Bluetooth 5.3, Wi-Fi, and a 3.5mm auxiliary port for connection to your analog devices, such as a turntable. 

Like Sonos’s Era-branded smart speakers, two Bose Lifestyle Ultra Speakers can serve as rear speakers when paired with the Lifestyle Ultra Soundbar. Unlike Sonos, Bose’s smart speakers have native Google Cast support, allowing Android users to stream entertainment from their devices to the speakers.

Also: I traded my Sonos Era 300 for Denon’s new home speaker – and see no reason to go back

The Lifestyle Ultra Speaker also supports Apple AirPlay, allowing Android and iOS users to enjoy multiroom audio with speakers from separate manufacturers. 

The Lifestyle Ultra Speaker will be available in Black, White, and limited-edition Driftwood Sand for $299 beginning May 15.

3. Lifestyle Ultra Subwoofer

Bose Lifestyle Ultra Subwoofer in Black

Bose/ZDNET

The Lifestyle Ultra Subwoofer is the last piece of Bose’s latest lineup, featuring Bose’s CleanBass, QuietPort, and CustomTune technologies found in the Lifestyle Ultra Soundbar and Speaker. The Lifestyle Ultra Subwoofer takes a traditional subwoofer design: a cubic shape meant for upright positioning. However, Bose’s standout design touch is a glass panel on the cabinet’s topside. 

The Lifestyle Ultra Subwoofer will be available in Black and White for $899 beginning May 15.

Which devices work with the Lifestyle Ultra?

According to Bose, there is no backward compatibility between the new Lifestyle Ultra products and previous Bose home theater products. The company says you can wire the older Bose Bass Module 700 to the Lifestyle Ultra Soundbar, but that’s the extent of interoperability between generations.

However, users can group their older Bose home theater products with the Lifestyle Ultra collections via AirPlay or Google Cast. 

How does the Lifestyle Ultra compare to Sony and Sonos?

The largest difference between Bose and its competitors, Sony and Sonos, is that the latter companies have several more home theater products to choose from. With that, Sony and Sonos offer more opportunities to mix and match home theater products to better fit your room size and budget.

Also: Sony’s new theater system lets you upgrade your TV setup gradually – how it works

Sony’s new Bravia home theater lineup consists of three subwoofers, all of which are compatible with seven Sony soundbars. Sonos’s current lineup includes two subwoofers, which are compatible with three of the company’s soundbars, along with five other home theater products it no longer sells.

However, Bose is the only one of the three to support native Google Cast, allowing Android users to cast audio from their devices to Bose speakers and group it with other Google Cast-enabled speakers in their space. The result is breaking down a small piece of the ecosystem walls that many home theater companies use to confine consumers. 





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Your single router is why Wi-Fi dies in your bedroom—why a mesh network is the only real fix


The first time I encountered mesh Wi-Fi was when I went to university. One Wi-Fi password, but no matter where you roamed on campus you’ll stay connected. I’ve always thought of mesh networks as enterprise technology that you need an IT department to handle, but then router makers figured out how to make mesh easy enough for mere mortals.

Now I consider a mesh network the default for everyone, and if you’re still using a single non-mesh router you might want to know why. So let me explain.



















Quiz
8 Questions · Test Your Knowledge

Home Networking & Wi-Fi

Think you know your routers from your repeaters — put your home networking know-how to the ultimate test.

Wi-FiRoutersSecurityHardwareProtocols

What does the ‘5 GHz’ band in Wi-Fi offer compared to the ‘2.4 GHz’ band?

That’s right! The 5 GHz band delivers faster data rates but loses signal strength more quickly over distance and through walls. It’s ideal for devices close to the router that need maximum throughput, like streaming 4K video.

Not quite — the 5 GHz band actually offers faster speeds at the cost of range. The 2.4 GHz band travels farther and penetrates obstacles better, which is why smart home devices and older gadgets often prefer it.

Which Wi-Fi standard, introduced in 2021, is also known as Wi-Fi 6E and extends into a new frequency band?

Correct! 802.11ax is the technical name for Wi-Fi 6 and Wi-Fi 6E. The ‘E’ variant extends the standard into the 6 GHz band, offering a massive swath of new, less-congested spectrum for faster and more reliable connections.

The answer is 802.11ax — that’s Wi-Fi 6 and Wi-Fi 6E. Wi-Fi 6E adds support for the 6 GHz band, giving it far less congestion than the crowded 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz bands. 802.11be is actually the upcoming Wi-Fi 7 standard.

What is the default IP address most commonly used to access a home router’s admin interface?

Spot on! The vast majority of consumer routers use either 192.168.0.1 or 192.168.1.1 as the default gateway address. Typing either into your browser’s address bar will bring up the router’s login page — just make sure you’ve changed the default password!

The correct answer is 192.168.0.1 or 192.168.1.1. These are the most common default gateway addresses for home routers. The 255.x.x.x addresses are subnet masks, and 127.0.0.1 is your own machine’s loopback address, not a router.

Which Wi-Fi security protocol is considered most secure for home networks as of 2024?

Excellent! WPA3 is the latest and most robust Wi-Fi security protocol, introduced in 2018. It uses Simultaneous Authentication of Equals (SAE) to replace the older Pre-Shared Key handshake, making it far more resistant to brute-force attacks.

The answer is WPA3. WEP is completely broken and should never be used, WPA is outdated, and WPA2 with TKIP has known vulnerabilities. WPA3 offers the strongest protection, and if your router supports it, you should enable it right away.

What is the primary difference between a mesh Wi-Fi system and a traditional Wi-Fi range extender?

Exactly right! Mesh systems use multiple nodes that talk to each other intelligently, handing off your device seamlessly as you move around your home under one SSID. Traditional range extenders typically broadcast a separate network and can cut bandwidth in half as they relay the signal.

The correct answer is that mesh nodes form one intelligent, seamless network. Range extenders are actually the ones that often create separate SSIDs (like ‘MyNetwork_EXT’) and can significantly reduce speeds. Mesh systems are far superior for large homes with many devices.

What does DHCP stand for, and what is its main function on a home network?

Perfect! DHCP (Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol) is the unsung hero of home networking. Every time a device joins your network, your router’s DHCP server automatically hands it a unique IP address, subnet mask, and gateway info so it can communicate without manual configuration.

DHCP stands for Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol, and its job is to automatically assign IP addresses to devices on your network. Without it, you’d have to manually configure a unique IP address on every single phone, laptop, and smart device — a tedious nightmare!

What is ‘QoS’ (Quality of Service) used for in a home router?

That’s correct! QoS lets you tell your router which traffic gets priority. For example, you can prioritize video calls or gaming over a family member’s file download, ensuring your Zoom meeting doesn’t freeze just because someone is downloading a large update.

QoS — Quality of Service — is actually about traffic prioritization. By tagging certain data types (like VoIP calls or gaming packets) as high priority, your router ensures latency-sensitive applications get bandwidth first, even when the network is congested.

What does the ‘WAN’ port on a home router connect to?

Correct! WAN stands for Wide Area Network, and the WAN port is where your router connects to the outside world — typically to your cable modem, DSL modem, or ISP gateway. The LAN ports on the other side connect to devices inside your home network.

The WAN (Wide Area Network) port connects your router to your ISP’s modem or gateway — essentially your entry point to the internet. The LAN (Local Area Network) ports are for connecting devices inside your home. Mixing them up can cause your network to not function at all!

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Mesh Wi-Fi solves a problem most homes already have

The internet is no longer confined to one spot in your home

In the early days of home internet, there was no real reason to have Wi-Fi coverage all over your home. You installed the router in your home office, or near the living room, and that was enough. People didn’t have smartphones, tablets, or smart home devices that all needed access to the LAN.

As Wi-Fi devices proliferated, that central router became a problem. There’s only so much power you can push into the antennas, and the inverse square law drains that signal of power in very short order.

It was a problem that had many suboptimal solutions. Wi-Fi repeaters destroy performance, access points need long Ethernet runs, and Powerline Ethernet only works well in ideal conditions. Most older homes can’t provide that with their aging wiring. In short, trying to expand a central router’s reach has usually involved some janky mishmash of solutions.

A modern mesh router kit just solved that problem without any fuss. The biggest problem you’ll have is how to position them. Everything else is usually just handled automatically.

Brand

eero

Range

1,500 sq. ft.

Mesh Network Compatible

Yes

The eero 6 mesh Wi-Fi router allows you to upgrade your home network without breaking the bank. Compatible with the wider eero ecosystem, you’ll find that this node can either start or expand your wireless network with ease.


Mesh systems prioritize consistency over peak speed

Good enough internet everywhere

Top view of the contents of the Netgear Nighthawk MK93S mesh system. Credit: Jordan Gloor / How-To Geek

I think it’s important to point out that with Wi-Fi it’s much more important to get consistent and reliable performance wherever you are in your home than to hit crazy peak speeds. Sure, if you buy an expensive router, you can blast data when you’ve got line of sight and are a few feet away, but then you might as well just connect to it with an Ethernet cable.

For the price of one very fast centralized router, you can buy an entry-level mesh router kit and have fast enough internet everywhere, and never have to think about it again. I’m still running a Wi-Fi 5 mesh system in my two-storey rental home and I get 200+ Mbps minimum anywhere. If I need more speed than that on a single device, it’s going on Ethernet.

As prices come down on Wi-Fi 6 and 7 mesh systems, we’ll all eventually get access to that gigabit or better wireless tier, but I’d rather have a few hundred Mbps everywhere rather than a few Gbps in just one place and zero internet elsewhere.

Setup and management are finally user-friendly

Your dog could do it if it had thumbs

TP-Link Deco Mesh Wi-Fi Puck sitting on a desk beside two stacked books Credit: TP-Link

It’s hard to overstate just how easy modern mesh routers are to set up. After you’ve got the first unit up, usually by using a mobile app, adding more is generally just a matter of turning them on close to any previously activated router and waiting a few seconds.

As for the actual management of the network, on my TP-Link system you can see the topology of your network, how the pods are doing in terms of bandwidth, and you can automatically optimize for network interference and signal strength. The days of cryptic and largely manual router configuration are over. Even port forwarding, which has always tripped me up on old routers, now just works with a few taps on my phone screen.

The price argument doesn’t hold up anymore

There’s something for every budget

The biggest reason I think people have avoided mesh systems is cost. That’s perfectly fair, because mesh systems are more expensive than a single router. The thing is, prices have come down significantly, especially for mesh on older Wi-Fi standards.

But, even if you want newer Wi-Fi like 6E or 7, you don’t have to start your mesh journey with a full kit. You can buy a single mesh router, use that as your primary, and then add more as you can afford it. Even better, if you’ve bought a new router recently, there’s a chance it already supports mesh technology. It doesn’t even have to be that recent, since some older routers have gained mesh capability thanks to firmware updates.

If you already have a router that’s mesh-capable, then extending your home network any other way would be silly. Also, keep in mind that all the routers in your mesh network don’t have to be identical. That’s a common misconception, but the only thing they need to have in common is support for the same mesh technology. Just keep in mind that your performance will only be as good as the slowest device in the chain.

Mesh is for everyone

The bottom line is that mesh network technology is now cheap enough, mature enough, and easy enough that I honestly think everyone should have a good reason not to use it rather than looking for reason to use it. Wi-Fi should be like water or electricity. You want everyone in your home to have easy access to it no matter where they are. Mesh will do that for you.

The Unifi Dream Router 7.

9/10

Brand

Unifi

Range

1,750 square feet

The Unifi Dream Router 7 is a full-fledged network appliance offering NVR capabilities, fully managed switching,a built-in firewall, VLANs, and more. With four 2.5G Ethernet ports (one with PoE+) and a 10G SFP+ port, the Unifi Dream Router 7 also features dual WAN capabilities should you have two ISP connections. It includes a 64GB microSD card for IP camera storage, but can be upgraded for more storage if needed. With Wi-Fi 7, you’ll be able to reach up to a theoretical 5.7 Gbps network speed when using the 10G SFP+ port, or 2.5 Gbps when using Ethernet. 




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