Speakers

Subdued lighting and good music can help set a relaxing tone for the porch party or campout, but instead of having to break out separate devices, Sony has launched a portable lamp/speaker that offers 360-degree sound and puts out a candle-like glow.

A new version of Roland's hugely popular portable combo amp first introduced in 2007 has been announced. The Cube Street II now wears a Boss logo on the grille, comes with twice the output oomph and has had a few pounds shaved off its weight.

Ikea has teamed up with Sonos to add another product to the Symfonisk range that debuted in 2019 with a table lamp/speaker combo and a standalone streaming speaker. This time the collaboration has merged a picture frame with a Wi-Fi speaker.

A premium audio startup from an ex-Apple design veteran has launched a striking streaming speaker called the Cell Alpha, which uses three drivers and two woofers to immerse listeners in room-filling spatial sound.

Bang & Olufsen shrugs off the blocky old persona of the average bookshelf speaker, and has instead launched a slim full-range model called the Beosound Emerge that can take its place well among the hardbacks and paperbacks on your library shelf.

Sony offered a glimpse of its first 360-degree audio speakers back at the online-only CES 2021 expo in January, with two units based around the company's 360 Reality Audio tech. Now the SRS-RA5000 and SRS-RA3000 are up for pre-order.

The newest Sonos speaker is the brand's most compact and most portable yet – the Sonos Roam is designed to be carried anywhere, supports Bluetooth and Wi-Fi connections, is fully waterproof and can be yours for US$169.

Bang & Olufsen has added a stylish new wireless speaker to its Beosound range. The Level puts out over 100 watts of sonic power, has a built-in battery for portability and can automatically change its sound profile depending on how it's positioned.

The audio visual arm of tech company Substanbo Inc has hit Indiegogo with a 4K UST laser projector that's gunning for your living-room TV. The Polaris is reported capable of throwing up to 200 inches and includes a Dolby Audio sound system.

At its hardware launch event today – where we also saw new iPhone 12 handsets – Apple introduced the HomePod mini, a smaller and more affordable follow-up to the first HomePod that launched back in 2017.

Voice-activated smart speakers can be handy around the house, but they come with a privacy trade-off. Appropriately named start-up Paranoid has unveiled a set of devices that can make sure smart speakers are only listening when you want them to.

An innovative system is suggesting white noise from a smart speaker can monitor breathing and movement in sleeping babies. So far, the prototype device can detect infant respiratory rates with accuracy matching standard vital sign monitors.