HP swaps Beats for B&O

By Andy Madden
published

Hewlett-Packard has ended its audio partnership with Beats and started a new tie-in with Bang & Olufsen. HP hopes B&O will be able to use its expertise to beef up the audio of its PCs, tablets and accessories.

"Bang & Olufsen and B&O Play have a long heritage in delivering great music and audio experiences for people, no matter where they decide to to enjoy their media," said Tue Mantoni, CEO, Bang & Olufsen.

As part of the deal, all HP devices that carry the B&O branding will receive custom audio tuning and include features like a dedicated "audio island", designed to keep the audio circuits free from interference.

HP claims you'll be able to customise the sound of its products depending on what you're watching or listening to. You'll be able to choose from either a number of different audio presets designed by HP and B&O or you can alter the sound settings manually.

The first products to launch from this new partnership will go on sale in Spring - Bang & Olufsen will feature on Hewlett-Packard's Spectre, Omen and Envy ranges of laptop, while the B&O Play brand will be marked on HP Pavillion PCs, tablets and other accessories.

See all our Bang & Olufsen reviews

See all our Beats reviews

Andy Madden
Andy Madden

Andy is Deputy Editor of What Hi-Fi? and a consumer electronics journalist with nearly 20 years of experience writing news, reviews and features. Over the years he's also contributed to a number of other outlets, including The Sunday Times, the BBC, Stuff, and BA High Life Magazine. Premium wireless earbuds are his passion but he's also keen on car tech and in-car audio systems and can often be found cruising the countryside testing the latest set-ups. In his spare time Andy is a keen golfer and gamer.