Danish luxury audio brand Bang & Olufsen has opened the floodgates for new speaker releases in 2021. First there was the Beosound Level, then the Beosound Emerge, and now the Beosound Explore.
The Beosound Explore is a rugged speaker designed to take on the great outdoors. It's waterproof and dust resistant (IP67 rated), as you can see from the sand-covered and water-soaked images in the gallery up top.
We do think the design language is something of a departure of Bang & Olufsen though. The Explore sort-of looks like a tin can - albeit a finely finished one. The company says the Explore is "embodied in a scratch-resistant type II anodised aluminum surface". Fancy.
Our favourite ever portable speaker is the Bang & Olufsen Beosound A1 (2nd Gen) - a non-rugged portable - so we don't doubt that Explore will sound superb despite its small scale. It houses two 1.8in full range drivers, able to deliver 360-degree sound and a good serving of bass too.
The Explore measures 81mm in diameter by 124mm, and weighs 631g, so it ought to be convenient to carry or tie onto a bag. Those cylindrical ridges are there to make it easier to grip, whatever the weather.
With Bluetooth 5.2 on board, the battery can provide a claimed 27 hours of playback - which is pretty massive by any standard.
The Bang & Olufsen Beosound Explore is available right now, in Black Anthracite or Green finishes - Grey Mist is coming summer 2021 - each priced at €199/£169/$199.