Bose’s speaker lineup gets another sequel in the Bose SoundLink Mini II

By Kris Wouk June 4, 2015

Bose SoundLink Mini II — Image used with permission by copyright holder

Last year we reviewed the Bose SoundLink Mini, and while there was a lot to like about it, not everything was perfect. Now Bose has announced a sequel to that speaker that keeps everything good about the original in addition to stepping up and improving the weak spots.

Our two main issues with the original SoundLink Mini were the relatively short battery life, and the lack of speakerphone. Both of these problems are being addressed in the Bose SoundLink Mini II. Speakerphone has been added, and the battery life has been bumped from 7 to 10 hours, making it much more likely to last a full day.

The older model could be charged either with an included cradle or via an AC jack. The SoundLink Mini II keeps those options, though it also adds USB charging, which brings it up to speed with the majority of Bluetooth speakers out there.

What hasn’t changed are the dimensions. The SoundLink Mini II weighs just 1.5 lbs and measures 7.1-inches wide, 2.3-inches deep, and just 2-inches tall. This doesn’t mean that the speaker is identical to the original in appearance — the Mini II is a slightly refined design.

“The original SoundLink Mini did something remarkable,” product manager for Bose SoundLink speakers Jack Yu said. “There was nothing else like it, and it continues to amaze people with its sound. Our engineers kept all that performance — and added new ways to use it and love it.”

This includes revamped pairing. While this was always relatively simple, voice prompts now guide the user through the pairing process, a boon if you’re buying one of these for a less then tech-savvy relative. Two devices can now be connected at the same time as well, which is handy for splitting party DJ duties.

While the original SoundLink was only available in silver, the SoundLink Mini II is available in Carbon and Pearl varieties. To keep it safe, soft covers in Gray, Charcoal Black, Deep Red, Energy Green, and Navy Blue are sold separately for $25 each.

The Bose SoundLink Mini II will sell for the same price as the original at $200, and will be available on June 21. Pre-orders are available now via the Bose website.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics

Former Digital Trends Contributor

Kris Wouk is a tech writer, gadget reviewer, blogger, and whatever it's called when someone makes videos for the web. In his…

Music

How to download music from Spotify for offline listening

How to download music and podcasts from Spotify: The downloads folder.

If you're a Spotify Premium user paying that premium Spotify fee, chances are you've taken at least some time curating playlists, liking songs, and using the platform's easy-to-use (and recently revamped) user interface to discover new and old music.

But sometimes all that music or your favorite podcasts aren't available if you find yourself without an internet connection to stream them from — like on a long plane ride or weekend camping trip in the sticks. That's where Spotify's offline listening feature comes in handy, allowing you to download playlists, albums, and podcasts through its desktop and mobile apps so you can still rock out while you're off the grid.

Audio / Video

How to switch from Spotify to Apple Music

Spotify and Apple Music transfer on a smartphone.

Spotify is the world's most popular music streaming service for a reason. It has a massive catalog of music and podcasts, is full of cool music discovery and sharing features, and is really easy to use.
However, with its recent price increase and the fact that it still hasn't joined most of its peers in offering a hi-res audio quality option, you may be considering jumping ship for its closest competitor, Apple Music, which counts lossless hi-res tracks, mind-bending spatial audio, Dolby Atmos Music tracks, and a catalog that rivals Spotify's among the many attractive reasons to switch.

But there's one problem: you’ve spent a lot of time creating playlists and marking songs and albums as your favorites in Spotify. Is it worth the switch? Will all that hard work be lost in translation?

Computing

The best laptops for music production, chosen by experts

best laptops for music production

The world has gone pretty far when it comes to the processing power that we carry around with us, and if you're big into music production, then you're the luckiest of all. Some of the best laptops on the market have high-end CPUs for relatively low prices, which means that if you want to do music production on a laptop, you have a huge number of choices. Of course, that does also mean that it can be hard to navigate and pick the best laptop for your budget and needs, which is why we've done the legwork for you. We've collected our favorite picks below in various categories so that you can pick them with ease. Plus, we've even thrown in a quick guide on what to look for so that if you don't find what you want here, you can check out these other laptop deals for alternatives.
The Best Laptops for Music Production

Best overall laptop for music production:
Best Windows device for music production:
Best portable laptop for music production:
Best large-screen laptop for music production:
Best for 2-in-1 laptop for music production: