Bose SoundLink Home is a small and stylish portable speaker

Bose has added another Bluetooth speaker to its SoundLink portable lineup. The SoundLink Home speaker is a sleek, slim unit that doubles as a speakerphone and can be stereo-paired with a second SoundLink Home for more immersive sound. It can be ordered starting October 1, in Light Silver or Cool Gray, for $219. If you live in China, there is also a “Hot Wood” option. For now, the speaker is sold exclusively on the Bose website.

Unlike other SoundLink speakers from Bose, SoundLink Home is designed as an app-free experience: simply turn on the speaker and pair it with your favorite smartphone. In fact, with Bluetooth Multipoint, you can pair it to two phones simultaneously, but you’ll have to referee fights between phone owners.

However, the lack of app compatibility means this is the only Bose SoundLink speaker that cannot be wirelessly connected to another Bose product (like its new Bose Smart Soundbar) via SimpleSync, or to multiple Bluetooth speakers via party mode.

The speaker is very compact at just 8.5 inches wide, 4.4 inches high, and 2.3 inches thick. At just a hair under 2 pounds, it should also prove easy to move. It’s framed in brushed anodized aluminum, with a set of physical control buttons on the top surface for power, volume, and Bluetooth pairing, as well as a multifunction playback button.

A mesh fabric grille covers the front and back. Bose claims that underneath that fabric is a full-range transducer with two passive radiators that produce “deep bass that fills any room.”

You charge the speaker via the side USB-C port. A four-hour charge will fill the internal battery, after which Bose says you’ll have around nine hours of battery life. However, this assumes you keep the volume at 50% or less. Play at full volume and you’ll have a lot less time – just 2.5 hours according to the official specs.

This USB-C port can also be used to connect wired digital sources like a computer or phone equipped with a USB-C port. Strangely, there’s no analog input, which Bose includes on most of its other SoundLink speakers, including the recently added SoundLink Max. A built-in mic lets you use the speaker to make calls or access your phone’s voice assistant.

As the name suggests, Bose seems to view the SoundLink Home as a speaker that you’ll move from one room in your house to another, but not outside. It has no official protection against water or dust, and a Bose spokesperson warned Digital Trends that it probably shouldn’t be used in a bathroom or anywhere else where high humidity is likely to be common.