It's time for a Block Party with Ultimate Ears speakers
Back in January, Ultimate Ears introduced the UE Megaboom Bluetooth speaker. As its name suggests, the $299 device is larger than the flagship UE Boom, which was first introduced in 2013. In September, a second-generation UE Boom arrived. The UE Boom 2 was the first speaker from Ultimate Ears to feature gesture controls. Thanks to a new firmware update released today, Oct. 20, those gesture controls are now available on the UE Megaboom. Also today, Ultimate Ears has introduced a new Block Party feature for the company’s entire lineup of current-generation speakers, the UE Boom 2, UE Roll, and UE Megaboom.
Block Party
The new Block Party feature is available on the UE Boom 2, UE Roll, and UE Megaboom. It offers users a new way to share and experience music. Through any UE app, the Block Party feature lets three friends connect to a single speaker and use your favorite music services to share songs through the same speaker. Best of all, your friends don’t need a UE app to do so. Instead, they simply need to connect to the speaker using the Bluetooth feature found on an iPhone/iPod touch or iPad.
Once the speaker is connected, you can select any song from your mobile device. The host decides which songs to play using the UE app found on their device.
Block Party
According to Rory Dooley, general manager of Ultimate Ears:
With Block Party, we’ve made it as simple and as easy as possible for you to share your music. Through the app, we make our already awesome speakers better over time as we continue to unlock more ways for you to get the most from your speaker.
To host a Block Party with your UE speaker, you’ll need to install the latest UE Boom, UE Roll, or UE Megaboom app. Each is found on the App Store.
Gesture controls
With gestures, you can leave your phone in your pocket and play, pause, and skip songs directly through your UE Boom 2 or UE Megaboom, simply by tapping the top of the speaker. To perform a gesture, first pick up your speaker and hold it upright. Then, tap the top of the device once to play music from your mobile device. Tapping again will pause the music. Finally, perform two quick taps to skip to the next song.
To get the gesture controls on your UE Megaboom, you’ll need to upgrade its firmware. To do so, visit this page and follow the directions.
Verdict
We’ve been testing the Block Party feature on a UE Megaboom for a few days. We love it for its ease of use. It comes highly recommended, especially for folks planning to host a holiday celebration in the coming weeks.
For more information on the UE Boom 2, UE Roll, and UE Megaboom, please visit the Ultimate Ears website.
