Bang & Olufsen has just launched the Beosound A1, the third generation of its award-winning portable Bluetooth speaker offering enhanced performance features.
Created in collaboration with Danish designer Cecilie Manz, the new A1 maintains the speaker's distinctive minimalist aesthetic while introducing some notable improvements to its audio capabilities and environmental credentials.
The premium portable speaker features a pearl-blasted aluminum body with over 2,100 precision-milled holes and a soft waterproof leather strap. It comes in three finishes: the classic Natural Aluminium plus two nature-inspired additions – Honey Tone and Eucalyptus Green.
Sonic upgrades include what B&O claims is the largest woofer in its class, delivering deeper bass with a Bass SPL of 64dB – 2dB more than the previous model. Battery life has been extended to 24 hours, and the speaker retains Bluetooth 5.1 connectivity with Microsoft Swift Pair and Google Fast Pair support. The speaker also now comes with support for the aptX Adaptive Bluetooth codec.
The A1 3rd Gen carries an IP67 rating for dust and water resistance, so you can take it into the shower or to the beach. It also has a three-microphone array for using it as a speakerphone for calls.
The A1 features modular architecture designed for a 10-year lifetime and is the first Bluetooth speaker to receive Cradle to Cradle certification (Bronze level). B&O says the certification "aims to support a serviceable, upgradeable, and repairable approach to product design." The company offers a replaceable battery service and up to 5 years warranty with Beocare. We reviewed the first-generation model way back in 2016, and it's still going strong.
The Beosound A1 3rd Gen is available in the United States for $349 (£299 in the UK) from Bang & Olufsen brick-and-mortar stores and the company's website.
Thursday June 19, 2025 11:28 am PDT by Joe Rossignol
In select U.S. states, residents can add their driver's license or state ID to the Wallet app on the iPhone and Apple Watch, providing a convenient and contactless way to display proof of identity or age at select airports and businesses, and in select apps.
Unfortunately, this feature continues to roll out very slowly since it was announced in 2021, with only nine U.S. states and Puerto...
Apple will finally deliver the Apple Watch Ultra 3 sometime this year, according to analyst Jeff Pu of GF Securities Hong Kong (via @jukanlosreve).
The analyst expects both the Apple Watch Series 11 and Apple Watch Ultra 3 to arrive this year (likely alongside the new iPhone 17 lineup, if previous launches are anything to go by), according to his latest product roadmap shared with...
The iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are three months away, and there are plenty of rumors about the devices.
Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models as of June 2025:Aluminum frame: iPhone 17 Pro models are rumored to have an aluminum frame, whereas the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro models have a titanium frame, and the iPhone X through iPhone 14 Pro have a...
Apple is hiding a new ringtone within iOS 26.
The new ringtone is an alternative version of the existing Reflection ringtone, which has been the default ringtone since the iPhone X was released in 2017. It was discovered within the code for the first developer beta of iOS 26, but it remains hidden, so you will not find it in the list of ringtones available in the Settings app for now.
It...
Wednesday June 18, 2025 10:24 am PDT by Juli Clover
Apple today seeded the first betas of upcoming iOS 18.6 and iPadOS 18.6 updates to public beta testers, with the betas coming just a few days after Apple provided the betas to developers.
Testers who have signed up for beta updates through Apple's beta site can download iOS 18.6 and iPadOS 18.6 from the Settings app on a compatible device by going to General > Software Update.
When the...
Spotify appears to be gearing up to launch its long-awaited lossless music tier.
Chris Messina (via TechCrunch) and Spicetify (via The Verge) spotted new lossless references within the code for Spotify's desktop app and web player.
With assistance from Aaron Perris, MacRumors has confirmed that the latest beta of the Spotify app for the iPhone also contains new lossless-related code....
With iOS 26, Apple has made some additions to the iPhone Lock Screen that aim to make it more customizable than ever.
Of course, things can always change before the software makes its way to the general iPhone-owning public, but here are five new things iOS 26 can do on the Lock Screen as of the current developer beta.
Widgets Top or Bottom
In iOS 18, the row of widgets on your Lock...
Apple this week revealed that iOS 26 is compatible with the iPhone 11 series and newer.
That means that iOS 18 is the end of the road for the iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max, and iPhone XR, which were all released in 2018. However, those devices will continue to receive security updates for at least a few more years.
iOS 26 is compatible with the following iPhone models:
iPhone 16e
iPhone...
Wednesday June 18, 2025 8:10 pm PDT by Joe Rossignol
Every year between 2015 and 2024, at least one Apple executive agreed to be interviewed by Daring Fireball's John Gruber for a special WWDC episode of his podcast, The Talk Show. Last year, for example, Apple's software engineering chief Craig Federighi, marketing chief Greg Joswiak, and top AI researcher John Giannandrea joined Gruber on stage at the California Theatre in San Jose to discuss...
Not mentioned in the adticle, but B&O is one of the few independant companies still not in Samsung. So far, Samsung = {Denon, Marantz, Bower&Wilkins, Harman Kardon, JBL, Mark Levinson, AKG, Arcam...} Go Danes!
Nice. Don't see that often with these kind of devices.
This should be the rule, not the exception. I still can't digest the fact that 249$ AirPods Pro become trash after 2-3 years of heavy use, just because the battery cells are death, and there is no human way to replace them. After burning through 2 sets, I went back to my 20 years old wired Sony headphones and they still work like on day one.
Got one. Don't know if it is Gen1 or Gen2 — but it sure sounds great for a device this size. Highly recommend for anyone wanting a compact, top-quality, great looking, portable bluetooth speaker.
Mine is in Moss Green which I think looks phenomenal. ;D
Biggest design overhaul since iOS 7 with Liquid Glass, plus new Apple Intelligence features and improvements to Messages, Phone, Safari, Shortcuts, and more. Developer beta available now ahead of public beta in July.
