Bose's new Alexa-powered sound devices to be dispensed in October

Hardware partners keep Amazon’s Echo technology alive and vibrant to compete with Apple’s HomePod head-on. Bose is the latest in the list of IoT devices and is certainly making a compelling implication of Echo in its Home Speaker 500. Bose, for the first time, announces a $400 home smart speaker and two soundbars, all integrated with the Alexa voice support.

The Home Speaker is a compact device, measuring 8 x 6 x 4 inches, with an eight-microphone array for far-field voice recognition. The device also has a small display in the front that shows the album art of the playing music.

While many users are skeptical about its look, all that matters is the sound. The Home Speaker 500, according to Bose, will deliver the broadest soundstage than any other smart speakers in the market today.

The aluminum-wrapped device has 6 preset buttons on the top that help access your favorite playlists, internal radio stations, and other stuff you listen to very frequently. Additionally, there are two soundbars – a slightly heavier $800 Bose Soundbar 700, and a matt, smaller and thinner $550 Soundbar 500. Both sound bars include the HDMI ARC support, and also features Bose’s ADAPTiQ technology for automatic audio-optimization given a room’s sound characteristics. It can also “be wall-mounted or expanded with a wireless bass module and rear speakers for a full 5.1 experience,” says the company.