Bose is redefining the portable audio market with the SoundLink Plus, a Bluetooth speaker that fits seamlessly between the SoundLink Flex and Max models. Priced at $269, this speaker aims to deliver a more powerful experience than the usual portable companions for beach outings, all while retaining portability.
This positions the SoundLink Plus uniquely within the market. It’s not exactly a boombox, yet it’s priced higher and boasts better sound than the standard portable speakers you’d typically find at a pool gathering. For reference, options like the Beats Pill, Sonos Roam 2, and Bose’s own SoundLink Flex hover around $150, and that’s not accounting for any potential sales, like the current Prime Day discount offered on the Beats Pill.
This raises a crucial question: Is there a demand for a portable Bluetooth speaker at this price range? After several months with the Beats Pill, I recently made the switch to the SoundLink Plus. Initially, I was skeptical, but I quickly discovered that the SoundLink Plus truly provides more value than the Beats Pill.
Ultimately, you’ll need to weigh whether the enhancements in bass and volume justify paying about $120 more than the Pill. With the speaker available on sale during Amazon Prime Day, it’s even harder to dismiss the appealing look of the Beats Pill.
Bose’s SoundLink Plus delivers impressive sound quality
Bose highlights that the SoundLink Plus is engineered to emphasize bass, and it certainly lives up to that claim. Some individuals I played the speaker for even found the bass overwhelming. However, considering this speaker is tailored for beach and party use, that’s likely the intention. The further you stand from the speaker, the less dominating the bass feels.
It’s not solely about the speaker’s tuning, though. In comparison with the Beats Pill, the SoundLink Plus offers a more comprehensive sound across the entire soundstage. While this is particularly noticeable with pop, hip hop, or R&B, the difference can also be heard across genres like alternative, jazz, and indie.
Listening to the SoundLink Plus feels akin to transporting my desktop speakers in a compact format, whereas the Pill serves more as an upgrade from my smartphone speakers. Both speakers perform well while on the move, yet the Bose SoundLink Plus capitalizes on its larger size.
The SoundLink Plus consistently outperforms the Pill in sound quality at all volume levels, but I was surprised by just how much greater the volume of Bose’s speaker can get compared to the Beats option. I tested both speakers with the same tracks at 50% volume consecutively, and the Pill was considerably quieter. I’d probably need to push the Pill to 80-100% volume to adequately fill a room, while the SoundLink Plus already sounded more than sufficient at just 50%.
Portability considerations
Determining which speaker is superior for portability is challenging. Instinctively, the choice would be the Beats Pill, weighing in at around 1.5 pounds. However, the Bose SoundLink Plus is more than double that at 3.4 pounds, though it doesn’t feel as cumbersome in hand. In terms of design, the Pill subtly angles the audio drivers upward towards your ears for improved listening clarity, while the SoundLink Plus has a more rectangular shape.
My preference for the SoundLink regarding portability stems from its lanyard loop. It features a built-in “utility rope loop” that is smaller than the one on the Beats Pill but is significantly more robust. Here, I believe Bose’s shorter, thicker loop proves to be more functional than Beats’ thinner, elongated version.
Having grown up near a beach town, I can easily envision users attaching the SoundLink Plus to a bike, beach chair, or backpack using a carabiner. It’s durable enough for such usage, and the shorter loop minimizes the swinging motion compared to the Beats Pill when used similarly. Conversely, the Pill is compact enough to fit into a water bottle holder, giving both speakers distinct benefits based on what you need for daily carry.
Fortunately, both speakers come with IP67 certification, providing sand and splash resistance for those beach days.
Bose offers a superior app and controls
The SoundLink Plus rectifies one of the most significant drawbacks of the Beats Pill — the Pill features a frustratingly poor set of hardware buttons. Too many functions are assigned to a single button — the power button also controls powering on and off, checking battery status, and entering pairing mode. It’s overly complex and can be quite maddening.
Transitioning to the SoundLink Plus was refreshing in this aspect. It includes six hardware buttons that manage all necessary functions, minimizing confusion. This straightforward approach alone enhances the perception of the Bose speaker as being more premium and practical compared to the Beats model.
While neither speaker boasts an exceptional companion app, the Bose app does at least include an EQ function and allows
