Comparison

Bose SoundTouch vs HEOS

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Bose SoundTouch

Control your wireless home speakers to play music throughout your house or in different rooms. Access streaming services, internet radio, and your personal music library with ease. Personalize presets for instant access to your favorite content.

Highlights
  • Stream music from multiple services
  • Personalized one-touch presets
  • Access over 100,000 radio stations
  • Play music from local libraries
  • Control multiple speakers
  • Play music everywhere or in different rooms
Features
Read full description

Experience your favorite music from one or many SoundTouch® speakers, with the SoundTouch® app. SoundTouch® is a family of wireless speakers for your home that play the same music throughout, or different music in different rooms. SPEED TO MUSIC It’s faster than ever to browse and play the music you love from Spotify®, Pandora®, Amazon Music, TuneIn, SiriusXM, iHeartRadio™, Deezer and more, all from within the new SoundTouch® app. ONE-TOUCH DISCOVERY Personalize your home with “living” presets like Spotify’s “Discover Weekly” or Pandora’s “Thumbprint Radio.” Always have a fresh list of favorites a touch away, without having to even find your phone. MORE STATIONS, MORE FUN Effortlessly stream more than 100,000 radio stations from around the world with TuneIn. Check out tastemaker-curated playlists, live sports, concerts, 24/7 news coverage and great podcasts in every genre. YOUR OLD STANDARDS Have a library of your favorite albums and artists? Connect your laptop or NAS drive to have access to your stored music libraries. TOTAL CONTROL Play the same music throughout your home with “Play Everywhere,” or listen to different music in different areas, it’s up to you. The SoundTouch® app lets you control one or multiple SoundTouch® speakers in your home, from any room. Privacy Policy https://worldwide.bose.com/privacypolicy California Privacy Notice of Collection https://www.bose.com/en_us/legal/california_privacy_notice_of_collection.html

About

HEOS

Control a wide range of connected audio devices from Denon, Marantz, and Definitive Technology. Stream music from online services or local storage, and enjoy true multi-room audio with easy setup and intuitive control.

Highlights
  • True multi-room audio
  • Quick and easy setup
  • Access online music services
  • Search across multiple music sources
  • Control playback remotely
  • Access locally stored music
Features
Read full description

HEOS is the controller app for the world’s biggest and best range of connected audio gear. It is a smart music streaming technology found in all devices Powered by HEOS from Denon, Marantz, and Definitive Technology. HEOS is for music lovers who want a beautiful and intuitive way to enjoy the latest advances in connected audio. You can find HEOS built into great sounding AV receivers, Hi-Fi equipment, sound bars, speakers, mini systems and specialty multi-room models. Features: True multi-room audio: play different songs in different rooms or the same song in multiple rooms. Quick and easy setup: add all your speakers with step-by-step instructions. Instant access to your favorite music: play from your favorite online music services, like Spotify, Amazon Music, TIDAL, and more. Search your music in one place: use one search function to browse across multiple music sources. See what’s playing any time: play, pause, and skip music from anywhere in the app. Access locally stored music: play music saved to your phone, USB, analog inputs, computers, and NAS drives. Share with your friends and family: support for multiple users and multiple music service accounts.

Screenshots

Bose SoundTouch4 screens
HEOS4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Bose SoundTouch at 56% against HEOS's 29%. Bose SoundTouch also leads on rating (4.7 vs 4.4) and monetization model (free vs ad-supported). HEOS's advantage is update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 2 months). On price, ads and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Bose SoundTouch holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.4. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 121K and 27K respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 56% of Bose SoundTouch's written reviews are positive against 29% of HEOS's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Bose SoundTouch ships an update every 2 months, HEOS every 3 weeks. Both last shipped on October 26, 2026.

Scorecard7 real differences · 3 level
Bose SoundTouch versus HEOS: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterBose SoundTouchHEOS
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (121K ratings) — better4.4 (27K ratings)
Positive reviews55.7% of reviews — better29.5% of reviews
Number of ratings121K — better27K
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsEvery 3 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree — betterAd-supported
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple Watch — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS10.0 — better16.0
Further details — not scored
Size84 MB328 MB
Age rating12+4+
DeveloperBose CorporationD&M Holdings

Customer experience

Bose SoundTouch

All ratings120,538 ratings
Positive95.2%
Neutral2.6%
Negative2.2%
Written reviews2,161 reviews
Positive55.7%
Neutral6.8%
Negative37.5%

HEOS

All ratings27,124 ratings
Positive84.7%
Neutral4.2%
Negative11.1%
Written reviews1,574 reviews
Positive29.5%
Neutral15.1%
Negative55.4%

User reviews

Bose SoundTouch

From 121K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🎉 Great sound quality
  • 👍 Easy to use app
  • 💯 Excellent product
  • 🔥 Awesome speakers
  • 🌟 Superior audio experience

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Connectivity issues
  • 😤 Unreliable app performance
  • 🤯 Frustrating setup process
  • 🤔 Lacking features compared to competitors
  • 😞 Disappointing user experience

HEOS

From 27K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Excellent sound quality
  • 🔒 Robust wireless connectivity
  • 👍 Convenient app control
  • 💡 Integrates with various music services

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Buggy and unstable app
  • 👎 Poor user interface and navigation
  • 🔌 Connectivity issues and frequent disconnects
  • 💤 Slow app performance and loading times

Bugs and requests

Bose SoundTouch

Reported bugs

5 issues
  • App frequently loses connection to speakers
  • Speakers randomly drop out during playback
  • Firmware updates cause more problems than they solve
  • App unable to locate music libraries on network devices
  • Inconsistent volume control between app and hardware

Requested features

5 requests
  • More presets/favorites in the app
  • Ability to control subwoofer volume from the app
  • Seamless integration between app and hardware controls
  • Support for additional music services (e.g. Pandora Premium)
  • Improved multi-room synchronization

HEOS

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • App crashes and freezes frequently
  • Speakers randomly disappear from the network
  • Volume controls are inconsistent and unreliable
  • Sync issues between grouped speakers

Requested features

4 requests
  • Add support for Apple Music
  • Improve playlist management and queue functionality
  • Provide better customization options for rooms and speakers
  • Implement a more intuitive and user-friendly app design

In-app purchases

None

Bose SoundTouch

No in-app purchases

None

HEOS

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Bose SoundTouch free?
Bose SoundTouch is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is HEOS free?
HEOS is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Bose SoundTouch or HEOS?
Bose SoundTouch is rated higher. Bose SoundTouch averages 4.7 out of 5 from 121K ratings, while HEOS averages 4.4 from 27K ratings.
Do Bose SoundTouch or HEOS have ads?
Neither Bose SoundTouch nor HEOS shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Bose SoundTouch or HEOS?
Bose SoundTouch ships an update every 2 months, and HEOS every 3 weeks. Most recently, Bose SoundTouch was updated on October 26, 2026 and HEOS on October 26, 2026.

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