https://www.theverge.com/circuitbreaker/2017/10/19/16499038/ultimate-ears-blast-megablast-alexa-bluetooth-speakers >It’s starting to feel like the biggest threat to Google Assistant establishing a presence around the home is simply being crowded out by a swarm of Alexa gadgets. Today, Ultimate Ears — maker of the very popular Boom line of Bluetooth speakers — announced a new series, the UE Blast, with far-field microphones for Amazon’s Alexa built right in. Both the Blast and its larger, louder sibling the Megablast will begin shipping in late October for $229.99 and $299.99 respectively. Those prices are significantly higher than the mainstream Boom products, which will remain available for consumers who simply want a take-anywhere Bluetooth speaker. >From the outside, the Blast and Megablast each look basically identical to the Booms before them. But there are some key hardware differences; they’re just not obvious. For one, both Blast speakers have Wi-Fi chips inside, and that’s how they’re able to get online and connect with Alexa. Also, each has multiple microphones running around the speaker underneath the fabric. And the Megablast is able to crank 40 percent louder than Megaboom, making it the most powerful speaker that Ultimate Ears has ever produced. In the US, both speakers will come in graphite (black), blizzard (white), merlot (red), or blue.