There are a few things you can count on from Bose: a certain standard of build quality, a warm and expansive sound signature, and, increasingly, a willingness to charge a premium for it. The new SoundLink Plus, priced at $269, is the brand’s latest attempt to slot into that sweet spot between the ultra-portable SoundLink Flex and the room-filling SoundLink Max. It mostly succeeds. Mostly.
The SoundLink Plus is a familiar formula — premium materials, no-nonsense design, weatherproof everything — with just enough updates to make it feel like a fresh entry. And it sounds, in true Bose fashion, fantastic. But for all its audio strength, this speaker is held back by something that feels almost too basic to still be a problem in 2025: battery life and charging speed. Yes, really.
Built like a brick. And almost as heavy.
At 1.45kg, the SoundLink Plus isn’t exactly travel-light, but its size feels purposeful. The combination of soft-touch silicone and a powder-coated steel grille gives the speaker a premium, rugged presence. It’s rated IP67, meaning it can survive a dunk in water, a spill of beer, and most things you’ll throw at it on a beach trip or hike.
There’s a sturdy nylon rope loop, a few physical buttons up top, and a USB-C port that does double duty as a charging input and an output for topping off your phone. It’s thoughtfully built. And yes, it even floats.
The Bose sound you know — mostly for better
Fire it up, and it’s instantly clear this is a Bose speaker. The SoundLink Plus projects an impressively wide soundstage, with a smooth tonal balance that makes everything from podcasts to lossless FLAC tracks sound great. Vocals come through clean and centered, the top end sparkles without harshness, and there’s a rich warmth to the overall presentation.
Volume? It’ll go plenty loud. Loud enough for a backyard party, and arguably too loud for your apartment. The speaker manages dynamic shifts with confidence — Radiohead’s The National Anthem sounded massive, with just enough separation to make sense of its chaos.
But… there’s bass. And not always the good kind.
The bass hits hard, but not always right
Bose packed the SoundLink Plus with a subwoofer, tweeter, and four passive radiators, and it shows. The low end is deep and punchy, but less refined than you’d expect at this price. There’s a looseness to the bass — especially at higher volumes — that can feel out of step with the tight mids and treble. On beat-heavy tracks, the rhythm stumbles, lacking the grip needed to carry dance or hip-hop with real authority.
It’s not a deal-breaker for casual listening. But if rhythmic accuracy matters, there are better-tuned alternatives in this price range.
Battery life: technically 20 hours, practically… not
Here’s the deal: Bose claims up to 20 hours of battery. That’s technically true — if you’re listening at whisper volume. In real-world use, especially north of 60% volume, you’re looking at five to six hours before it taps out. Worse? Charging it back to 100% takes a glacial five hours.
Let that sink in. In 2025, when flagship phones fast-charge to full in under an hour, this speaker needs an afternoon nap before it’s ready to go again.
That kind of downtime undermines what is otherwise a speaker built for on-the-go convenience. It’s the biggest knock against the SoundLink Plus — not the audio, not the design — just the fact that it doesn’t stay ready when you are.
The Bose SoundLink Plus is a paradox
This is a speaker that checks nearly every box: It’s gorgeous, durable, and great-sounding. But it also has one glaring flaw that makes it hard to recommend without hesitation. If Bose had figured out fast charging or given us a more efficient battery system, this would be one of the easiest buys in its class.
Instead, the SoundLink Plus is stuck in a weird place: a speaker that sounds like a party but demands you plan for it like a camping trip.
Buy it if:
- You love Bose’s sound signature and want a premium speaker that can take a beating.
- You prefer your tech to look (and feel) good doing its job.
- You’re patient, and don’t mind slow charging or moderate battery drain.
Don’t buy it if:
- You like your music loud, spontaneous, and frequent.
- You expect 2025-level power management from your gadgets.
- You’re serious about rhythmic precision — especially in bass-driven genres.
Final verdict: Almost brilliant — but frustratingly flawed
The SoundLink Plus is a wonderfully made speaker with a big, confident sound, but it’s let down by its weak stamina. In the ever-competitive world of portable audio, it gets so many things right… only to stumble at the finish line. You’ll either learn to live with the compromises, or you’ll end up returning it the first time you forget to charge it before leaving the house.
Score: 3.75/5
