Speakers

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.

Sony has launched the SA-Z1 powered near-field speakers, and says that users will feel as though they'll be able to reach out and touch the sound.

Sonos is looking beyond the confines of the home with the introduction of the Move, which the company says "resets the bar for portable speakers."

Bang & Olufsen has upgraded its wireless Beoplay A9 speaker (again), retaining the tried and true form, but building significantly upon the technology, including adding Google Assistant integration and Adaptive Room Compensation. Oh, and the power cable is now fabric coated.

Boutique audio brand Bowers & Wilkins – which has pretty good form in wireless audio playback – has entered the high-end music streaming arena with the Formation suite, a five product collection that could well challenge the luxury market dominance of Sonos.​

Last month, Ikea and Sonos announced that they were collaborating on a new range of light and sound products. Now the Symfonisk range has debuted in Milan, and is made up of a table lamp with built-in wireless speaker and a small, versatile standalone streaming speaker.

​Most speaker enclosures are made from wood, though some come in concrete and plastic. The Ionic Sound System from the Czech Republic's Deeptime are something of a novelty, as the nature-inspired speakers and subwoofer are encased in a 3D-printed sand outer skin.​

​If you're looking for a speaker with Google Assistant cooked in, you have quite a few options. We were impressed by Panasonic's GA-10 earlier this year, Google has its own Home flavors of course and now there's a ThinQ addition from LG that puts the focus very much on audio quality.​

Black Friday and Cyber Monday offer amazing opportunities to update your audio gear. From a new pair of stylish wireless headphones to a power Bluetooth speaker, here are the best audio deals around.

In an announcement-packed press show that seems to be becoming an annual event for Amazon, the company has unveiled a host of different Echo-branded and Alexa-powered devices for 2018, including redesigned speakers and a smart microwave. We've got the details on everything that's new.