The Bose Portable Home Speaker is a fairly small speaker with outstanding voice assistant capabilities. It has Alexa and Google Assistant built in, and it has no trouble understanding you, even if you're far away or in a noisy room. It's incredibly portable, thanks to its lightweight design and carrying handle. However, its battery lasts only about 5 hours, and it doesn't get very loud. Out of the box, its sound profile is fairly boomy, though its companion app includes bass and treble sliders to tweak it. This versatile speaker is suitable for playing most audio content and can be a good addition to your home.
Our Verdict
The Bose Portable Home Speaker is okay for music. Its sound profile is boomy, but it has a well-balanced mid-range, so vocals and lead instruments sound clear and present. Its companion app has bass and treble adjustments, so you can tweak its sound to your liking. Although it has to downmix stereo content to mono, it has good directivity thanks to its 360-degree design, resulting in a wide, spacious soundstage. Unfortunately, it doesn't get very loud, and there's some compression present at max volume.
- Bass and treble adjustments in its companion app.
- Balanced mid-range.
- Lacks low-bass.
- Has to downmix stereo content into mono.
- Doesn't get very loud.
The Bose Portable Home Speaker is reasonable for watching videos and movies. It has low latency over Bluetooth and Apple AirPlay, although some apps compensate for this differently. It has good directivity, resulting in a wide and open soundstage. Unfortunately, it lacks low bass, so you don't feel the deep thump and rumble in action-packed movie scenes. It also doesn't get very loud.
- Low latency over Bluetooth and Apple AirPlay.
- Bass and treble adjustments in its companion app.
- Balanced mid-range.
- Lacks low-bass.
- Doesn't get very loud.
The Bose Portable Home Speaker is very good for podcasts. It has a well-balanced mid-range, so dialogue is reproduced clearly. It's also exceptionally portable, so you can listen to podcasts while on the go. Unfortunately, its battery lasts only about 5 hours, and you can pair only one device at a time, which might be disappointing if you frequently switch your audio source.
- Exceptionally portable.
- Balanced mid-range.
- Doesn't get very loud.
The Bose Portable Home Speaker is incredible for voice assistants. It has Alexa and Google Assistant built in. It has no trouble understanding you, even if you're far away or in a noisy room. You can also mute the microphone if you don't want the speaker to hear you.
- Alexa and Google Assistant built-in.
- Short battery life.
The Bose Portable Home Speaker is fair for outdoor use. It's lightweight and incredibly portable, so you can easily bring it with you on the go. Thanks to its 360-degree design, it has good directivity, resulting in an open and spacious soundstage. Unfortunately, it doesn't get very loud, and there's a lot of compression present at max volume. Also, its battery lasts only 5 hours, which may not be enough for long listening sessions.
- IPX4 rating for water resistance.
- Exceptionally portable.
- Has to downmix stereo content into mono.
- Doesn't get very loud.
- Short battery life.
Changelog
- Updated Aug 11, 2026: This review has been updated to Test Bench 1.0, which includes new results for all of our Sound tests: Frequency Response Accuracy, Raw Frequency Response, Directivity, and Loudness. There have also been text changes made throughout the review, including to the usages and product comparisons, to match these results. You can read more about these changes in our changelog.
- Updated Jul 12, 2024: We've added a comparison between this speaker and the Bose SoundLink Max in Soundstage.
- Updated Aug 21, 2023: Updated the Portability picture for greater clarity and consistency between reviews.
- Updated May 19, 2023: Thanks to user feedback, we identified that a firmware update adds Chromecast audio capabilities in the Wi-Fi box.
Check Price
Differences Between Sizes And Variants
The Bose Portable Smart Speaker comes in two color variants: 'Triple Black' and 'Luxe Silver'. We tested the 'Luxe Silver' variant, and you can see the label for the model we tested here. We expect both variants to perform similarly.
If you come across a variant not listed here, let us know in the comments so we can update our review.
Popular Speaker Comparisons
The Bose Portable Home Speaker is a lightweight and portable speaker with outstanding voice assistant capabilities. Like the Bose Home Speaker 300, it has Alexa and Google Assistant built in, and it's compatible with the Bose Music app. However, its battery-powered design makes it more portable. Its soundstage is somewhat boomy, but it has a well-balanced mid-range that can clearly reproduce vocals and lead instruments. Unfortunately, it doesn't get as loud as some other Bose speakers, like the Bose S1 Pro System.
See also our recommendations for the best waterproof Bluetooth speakers, the best home speakers, and the best Bluetooth speakers.
The Bose Portable Smart Speaker is designed for a slightly different use than the Bose SoundLink Max. While the SoundLink Max is a better choice for entertaining, the Portable Smart Speaker features excellent built-in voice integration and Wi-Fi compatibility, which sets it apart. The SoundLink Max has a longer battery life, can playback stereo content, and gets louder with less compression at max volume. It's also better built, and its IP67 rating protects it well against the elements. That said, if you're looking for a versatile smart speaker that integrates well with your home ecosystem and can also be taken on trips out of the house, the Portable Smart Speaker is still a great choice.
The Bose Portable Smart Speaker is a better speaker than the Bose SoundLink Revolve+ II. The Smart Speaker offers a more customizable sound profile via the bass and treble sliders in its companion app, so you can tweak it to your liking. It also has fantastic voice assistant performance, with Alexa and Google Assistant built in. That said, the Revolve+ is better built and has a longer battery life, which some users may prefer.
The Ultimate Ears HYPERBOOM is a better speaker than the Bose Portable Smart Speaker. The Ultimate Ears has a much longer battery life, and it can get louder without much compression at max volume. It also has a full graphic EQ and presets in its companion app, while the Bose just comes with bass and treble sliders. However, only the Bose is compatible with voice assistants, and it comes with Alexa and Google Assistant built in.
The Bose Portable Smart Speaker is a better speaker than the Sony SRS-XB43. The Bose has Alexa and Google Assistant built in, which can easily understand you, whereas the Sony relies on the voice assistant from your paired smartphone and struggles to understand you. The Bose is also smaller and more portable. However, the Sony has a full graphic EQ, while the Bose only comes with bass and treble sliders. The Sony's battery also lasts for fifteen hours, while the Bose has about a five-hour battery life.
Test Results
for pictures & test results
for pictures & test results
for pictures & test results
for pictures & test results
