Bluetooth Speakers

Asus has debuted the ZenBeam Latte L1 portable projector at the online-only CES 2021 expo. The mug-sized, battery powered unit with a built-in speaker is designed for streaming YouTube videos or games inside or outside the home.

Directed open audio seems to be enjoying its moment in the true wireless wearables spotlight at the moment, and JLab Audio is joining the party with connected personal audio throwers that attach to the frames of sunglasses or eyeglasses.

While there are now quite a few Bluetooth speakers that can be used in the shower, they all periodically need to be taken out and recharged. The Shower Power speaker is different, in that it's continuously powered by the running shower water.

Sweden's Teenage Engineering already has a bit of a rep for out-of-the-box-thinking, but is perhaps best known for its digital instruments. Now the firm has added a radio into the mix for the Ortho Book 4.

We've recently seen several different examples of high-tech portable cassette players, but is audio tape really making a comeback? Perhaps not, which is where Pl8ty comes in – it uses your smartphone as the cassette.

The Zound Industries/Marshall Amps collaboration has made a teeny addition to its Bluetooth speaker line. The Emberton is water-resistant, offers over 20 hours of playback and promises to throw out 360-degree sound "that only Marshall can deliver."

Due to launch on Kickstarter next month, the Duolink true wireless earphones come with a charging case with built-in speakers for the option of keeping the music to yourself or sharing with others.

Luxury hi-fi brand Bang & Olufsen has launched its second generation A1 Bluetooth speaker, which is a little slimmer than the 2016 original, is now waterproof, and comes with the Alexa voice-assistant built in. Kind of.

Sweden's Zound Industries, the company that manufactures headphones and speakers under license from Marshall Amps, has announced the release of a new Bluetooth speaker called the Uxbridge Voice, which has Alexa built in and supports AirPlay 2.

There are a good many options available if you want to talk to your streaming speaker, as well as listen to audio. And now there's another, for the well-heeled living room courtesy of Bang & Olufsen's stylish and powerful Beosound Balance.

More than two years ago, Ikea announced a collaboration with Sweden's teenage engineering to develop a range of lighting and speaker modules. The limited edition Frekvens collection will now go on sale from February.

Bluetooth speakers come in all shapes and sizes, from portables you can hold in your hand to mains-powered table-top belters. And then there are those from Denmark's Soundboks – suitcase-sized beasts with concert-level output.