Pioneer today introduced Rayz Rally, which it claims is the world's first Lightning-powered plug-and-play speaker that has no battery.

rayz rally
The portable speaker can be used to listen to music, but Pioneer is heavily marketing it as a speakerphone for conference calling.

For conference calling, Pioneer says users simply plug the Rally into the Lightning connector, initiate calls from the iPhone, and the call is automatically transferred to the speaker. Despite being small enough to fit in a pocket, the speaker is supposedly loud enough to be used in a boardroom.

pioneer rayz rally
The speaker has a single button on the front that can mute/unmute calls or play/pause music depending on what it's being used for. It also has a female Lightning connector that allows the speaker to be used with a Mac or PC, or for pass-through charging to an iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch, with a Lightning to USB cable.

The speaker works in tandem with Pioneer's free Rayz Appcessory Companion App on the App Store [Direct Link] for iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch.


Pioneer said the Rayz Rally is available today for $99.95 on Apple.com and at Apple Stores worldwide in the colors Ice, Onyx, and Space Gray. It's also available on Amazon in the United States. Prices vary by country.

Tags: Pioneer, Lightning, Pioneer Rayz

Top Rated Comments

jimmysalg Avatar
jimmysalg
75 months ago
Well they sure pioneered this product category. Oh oh OH!

K.
In my opinion this is a cool product...I have a bunch of bluetooth speakers which I love. But being able to have this on my business travel bag is great and I don't have to worry about keeping it charged. There are many instances where a portable little speaker would be great for on demand conference calls. I don't disagree that maybe 99 is a bit much
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ouimetnick Avatar
ouimetnick
75 months ago
Pioneer is just another brand that lives on in name only. They were big in the 1970s, flagship receiver was the massive SX-1980, I had a SX-450, great sounding little thing. Beautiful aluminum face place, heavy tubing knob, solid construction, real glass used, etc
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Tucom Avatar
Tucom
75 months ago
Well they sure pioneered this product category. Oh oh OH!

K.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
sza Avatar
sza
75 months ago
Another dongle?
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
jimmysalg Avatar
jimmysalg
75 months ago
THIS!

People comparing this to a bluetooth speaker seem to be missing the point. It is a speakerphone you don't have to worry about keeping charged first and foremost and a speaker secondary (probably because people would complain if it didn't play music).

I work remotely and often have to struggle on the other end of a call with my boss who never thinks to be sure the audio setup is good for me as the lone remote person. If this gets good reviews, she will get one as a gift from me to save me from metaphorically squinting my ears every time work calls and throws me on a crappy speakerphone.

Anyone who says "yeah, but a lot of bluetooth speakers already have a speakerphone function LoL0lL111" probably haven't been on the other end of a call using a bluetooth speaker. Most of them have absolutely horrid quality.
HA!!! yep you don't have a need for something then you would think its stupid...Once upon a time people couldn't understand the need to have a phone that can go anywhere LOL. I bought one yesterday. I will update when I've had a chance to give it a good try. Music sounded pretty good
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Dilster3k Avatar
Dilster3k
75 months ago
I really don't want to be ill-hearted here; but I really don't understand why this product exists... Especially at that price point.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Read All Comments

Popular Stories

iPhone 15 Pro Buttons CAD Leak

iPhone 15 Pro Low-Energy Chip to Allow Solid-State Buttons to Work When Device is Off or Out of Battery

Wednesday March 29, 2023 1:54 am PDT by
The iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max will use a new ultra-low energy microprocessor allowing certain features like the new capacitive solid-state buttons to remain functional even when the handset is powered off or the battery has run out, according to a source that shared details on the MacRumors forums. CAD-based render of new solid-state buttons on iPhone 15 Pro models The source of this rumor is ...
Read Full Article • 186 comments
maxresdefault

Apple Announces WWDC 2023 Event Taking Place June 5 to 9

Wednesday March 29, 2023 9:58 am PDT by
Apple today announced that its 34th annual Worldwide Developers Conference will take place from Monday, June 5 to Friday, June 9. Like WWDC 2020, 2021, and 2022, WWDC 2023 will be an online event for the most part, and it will be open to all developers at no cost. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. Apple will provide online sessions and labs, which will allow...
Read Full Article • 195 comments
iPhone 15 Pro Multi Purpose button Mute Switch Feature Green 2

iPhone 15 Pro Rumored to Feature Multi-Use Action Button Instead of Mute Switch

Wednesday March 29, 2023 7:28 am PDT by
iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max models are rumored to feature a customizable Action button like the Apple Watch Ultra, according to a MacRumors forum member who leaked accurate details about the Dynamic Island on iPhone 14 Pro models last year. The source claimed the Action button will replace the Ring/Silent switch that has been included on every iPhone model since 2007. They did not...
Read Full Article • 166 comments
iOS 16

Apple Releases iOS 16.4 With New Emoji, Safari Web Push Notifications, Beta Changes, Voice Isolation for Calls and More

Monday March 27, 2023 10:03 am PDT by
Apple today released iOS 16.4, the fourth major update to the iOS 16 operating system that initially came out last September. iOS 16.4 comes two months after the launch of iOS 16.3, an update that added Security Keys for Apple ID. iOS 16‌.4 and iPadOS 16.4 can be downloaded on eligible iPhones and iPads over-the-air by going to Settings > General > Software Update. It can take a few minutes...
Read Full Article • 200 comments
Apple Music Classical

Apple Explains Why It Launched an iPhone App Dedicated to Classical Music

Monday March 27, 2023 8:54 pm PDT by
Apple today published a support document explaining why it decided to release a standalone Apple Music Classical app for classical music. In short, Apple says the app was designed to support classical music's complex metadata:Classical music is different. It has longer and more detailed titles, multiple artists for each work, and hundreds of recordings of well-known pieces. The Apple Music...
Read Full Article • 123 comments
iOS 16

Apple Seeds First Betas of iOS 16.5 and iPadOS 16.5

Tuesday March 28, 2023 10:15 am PDT by
Apple today seeded the first betas of upcoming iOS 16.5 and iPadOS 16.5 updates to developers for testing purposes, with the software coming a day after the launch of iOS 16.4 and iPadOS 16.4. Registered developers can opt in to the betas by opening up the Settings app, going to Software Update, tapping on the "Beta Updates" option and toggling on the iOS 16 Developer Beta. Note that an...
Read Full Article • 46 comments
home upgrade available feature

PSA: Apple Has Made Its New Home Architecture Update Available Again

Tuesday March 28, 2023 1:50 am PDT by
Apple has made the option to upgrade to new Home architecture available again with the release of iOS 16.4, iPadOS 16.4, and macOS Ventura 13.3, after it temporarily pulled the update in December. After updating Apple devices to the latest software, users can once again opt to upgrade any homes set up in the Home app to the new Home architecture, which Apple says brings faster, more reliable ...
Read Full Article • 126 comments