Bowers & Wilkins Formation gets music service upgrade

Bowers & Wilkins has upgraded its Formation wireless technology platform with an improved music app, and will introduce support for Control4 and other smart platforms.

The brand’s new Bowers & Wilkins Music app significantly increases the number of music-streaming services accessible to owners of Formation-enabled Bowers & Wilkins products. Initially the app will offer support for Qobuz, Tidal, TuneIn, NTS Radio, SoundCloud and Dash Radio (where applicable). The company says more subscription services and streaming platforms will be added in the coming months. High-resolution 24-bit/96kHz audio is available, via Qobuz.

The Bowers & Wilkins Music App aggregates content from each available music service into a single interface to better access tracks, albums, playlists and radio stations.

Personalised recommendation features, and a selection of curated Bowers & Wilkins playlists, promise to enhance the user experience by simplifying and enhancing discoverability.

In the short term, the new app will operate alongside the existing Bowers & Wilkins Home App, which will continue to provide set-up functionality for Formation speakers, but later this year will see the two combined to create a unified set-up, control and streaming experience.

The Formation family retains support for AirPlay 2 and Bluetooth aptX HD, as well as compatibility with Spotify Connect and Roon. Speakers also have Works With Alexa certification.

Bowers & Wilkins says it has expanded its development resources and engineering team as part of a continuing investment in the Formation platform. One early upgrade integrators can expect is support for popular custom-installation control systems, including Control4.

“I’m delighted to announce this significant extension in the scope and capability of our class-leading Formation technology,” says Bowers & Wilkins Brand President Geoff Edwards. “The new Music App is a statement of our intent to further develop and improve our Formation-enabled product portfolio and I’m certain it will help us continue to set the gold standard for wireless speaker sound quality going forwards.”