This B&O deal is now over – but we'll update this article if it returns.
Look, it’s time to part with that old Bluetooth speaker that you barely ever use but inevitably dig out of the cupboard each year to bring the playlists to the back garden. It’s ageing, plasticky and hasn't stopped crackling after that one time it took a bit of a tumble onto the patio. Sure, it still works, but you can do better.
The good news is that portable speakers aren’t as dainty or as toy-like as they used to be; nowadays, you can get a brilliant little belter with rugged credentials and genuine style. And you can do so without making a major dent in your bank account. The Beosound Explore from Bang & Olufsen is one of our favourites from our hands-on tests – and, if we can thank Black Friday for anything, it’s that it now has a 28% price cut during the sales frenzy.
Pros
- 360-degree sound
- Waterproof and dustproof
- Excellent battery life
- Aluminium build
Cons
- Pretty heavy
- Bass-lovers may want more thump
This tough Bluetooth speaker rarely goes for much less than its £179 full price, so we’re impressed that it’s available for £129 right now. It’s a proper outdoor-ready option that looks just as good inside the house too, so you’ll find it’s not going to end up hidden away in a drawer. It pumps out a fantastic 360-degree sound that gets far louder than you’d expect, and its 27 hours of battery life outperforms most rivals at this size. There’s all that, and it’s still rated IP67 for dust and water resistance – that means it’s dustproof and can be submerged in up to a metre of water for 30 minutes without damage.
We’d struggle to come up with many downsides. It’s not designed to be a smart speaker like the Sonos Roam, which some may not like, and we’ll admit that 637g is pretty heavy compared to plastic alternatives. However – and we can’t emphasise this enough – we vastly prefer the build quality of this anodised aluminium construction when compared to most rivals. We’ll take that extra heft and appreciate it because it just feels that more sturdy than your typical Bluetooth-blasting companion.
This price drop is available at Amazon and on Bang & Olufsen’s own site, while it still goes for £169 at John Lewis. The discount is available on all the sleek colour options – so that’s the navy, black, chestnut, green and “grey mist”.
Happy to pay more than full price for something pretty special? We recently got our hands on the Ferrari edition of the Explore speaker – if you’re after an ideal gift for someone who loves their music and their F1, why not?
