Ultimate Ears' portable speakers are getting a little bit smarter thanks to Alexa. Amazon's virtual assistant is the key new feature in the company's two new speakers: the Blast and the Megablast. As the name might suggest, the Megablast is the louder and larger of the pair.
While both speakers still retain Bluetooth functionality, they're now also Wi-Fi enabled which lets you access Alexa when they're connected to a wireless network. This gives you voice control for Amazon Music, Deezer, and TuneIn at launch, on top of Alexa's other functionality. Spotify support is "coming soon". Stereo pairing and grouping will also be added at a later date via a software update.
In addition to music, Alexa is able to provide news updates, answer general questions, interact with smart home equipment, and get sport scores. Third parties are able to make their own skills; locally, you can use Alexa to interact with Uber, Domino's Pizza, Taste, Village Cinemas, Qantas, and amaysim (to name a few).
The UE Blast and Megablast are both rated IP67 for water-resistance and should run for 12 to 16 hours.
You'll be able to pick up either locally from May 8 in a choice of black, white, blue, red, green, or yellow. The Blast will retail for $279, and the Megablast for $379. An optional Power Up base that constantly keeps the speakers powered up and charging will sell for $50.
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