Ultimate Ears launches first speakers with Amazon Alexa

Loudest and most powerful.

Ultimate Ears has introduced the Blast and Megablast Wi-Fi and Bluetooth speakers with Amazon Alexa built-in at a recent industry event in Sydney. The new speakers claim to be the “loudest, most powerful and best sounding” speaker to date for Ultimate Ears, with a more powerful mid-range, deeper bass, clearer vocals and instruments.

The Ultimate Ears Blast is 40% louder than the Ultimate Ears Megaboom with a maximum sound pressure level of 93 dBC. The design is also smaller and slimmer in shape but still offers the same 360 degree sound as the UE Boom 2. The speakers are also IP67 rated so they are dustproof and waterproof.

Thanks to Wi-Fi capabilities, the Blast and Megablast can stream audio, and text messages can be sent and calls can be made without interrupting the music. Both speakers have a Bluetooth range of 45 metres.

With Amazon Alexa built-in, users can ask Alexa to play a song, turn up the volume, cue their favourite playlist, control smart home devices or take advantage of other skills available. Voice control is available for Amazon Music, Deezer, iHeartRadio and TuneIn, with more music services to come in the future. On Bluetooth, users can enjoy music from any music service.

Ultimate Ears general manager, Charlotte Johs said, “With Megablast and Blast, we want to take the mobile music experience to the next level with this new range, adding Wi-Fi and far-field voice recognition with Amazon Alexa. We believe Megablast is the best sounding portable, smart speaker available today, and with its waterproof design, users can take their music from the kitchen to the backyard, to the beach or the mountain.”

Ultimate Ears also announced the launch of its Power Up charging dock for music to continue to play while the speaker is charging and Alexa Voice control is always available.

The Blast will RRP for $279 and the Megablast will RRP for $379, and they will be available in six colours – graphite (black), blizzard (white), blue steel, merlot (red), mojito (green) and lemonade (yellow) from May 8, 2018.