B&O launches 3rd Gen A9 'satellite' speaker with Google Assistant

B&O launches 3rd Gen A9 'satellite' speaker with Google Assistant

The third-generation Bang & Olufsen Beoplay A9 Bluetooth speaker features two extra full-range drivers – to equal seven in total – and supports Google Assistant, enabling voice control directly through the speaker itself. 

The latest update to the speaker, which originally launched in 2012, retains its 'satellite' design but includes a new streaming engine, with faster connectivity for technologies such as Apple Airplay 2 and Google Cast

Alongside built-in Chromecast and compatibility with Google Assistant, the B&O Beoplay A9 also now features active room compensation, which adjusts the sound signature based on the speaker's surroundings. You should, then, get optimised sound wherever you place it. There's also a new fabric power chord to update the aesthetic. 

The new A9 costs £2250 for the white/oak or black/walnut models, and £2500 for the smoked oak finish. 

B&O's new Beoplay E8 Motion earbuds

B&O has also updated its earbuds, launching a new Motions Collection – an update on two designs now 'optimised' for high-energy workouts. 

If that hasn't put you off, the collection comprises the truly wireless Beoplay E8 Motion (in a white finish with white leather and aluminium charging case) and the Beoplay E6 Motion, which features magnets in the earpiece so you can snap the new white rubber chord around your neck when not in use. Doing this also turns them off to save battery.

Both models are now sweat- and water-resistant, come with a range of 'fins' to cater for various fits, and feature an exclusive, bass-enhanced sound profile via the Bang & Olufsen app – ideal for pushing through the pain barrier in the gym!

Available online today or in stores from 23rd May, the Beoplay E8 Motion will retail for £300, while the Beoplay E6 Motion is set to cost £275.

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Becky has been a full-time staff writer at What Hi-Fi? since March 2019. Prior to gaining her MA in Journalism in 2018, she freelanced as an arts critic alongside a 20-year career as a professional dancer and aerialist – any love of dance is of course tethered to a love of music. Becky has previously contributed to Stuff, FourFourTwo, This is Cabaret and The Stage. When not writing, she dances, spins in the air, drinks coffee, watches football or surfs in Cornwall with her other half – a football writer whose talent knows no bounds.