- B&O A1 3rd Gen promises more bass in the same design
- Up to 24 hours of battery life, and pairing with other A1 models
- $349 / £299 is a price hike over the previous model
Bang & Olufsen has announced the Beosound A1 3rd Gen, which is the new version of B&O’s mid-tier portable Bluetooth speaker. The new model promises more powerful sound, a few new features, and longer battery life, and comes at a higher price than its predecessor, even before you take discounts on the old model into account.
I’ve been a fan of the B&O A1 2nd Gen since its release in 2020 – it’s the Bluetooth speaker I use at home, and I love it for its stylish aluminum design, more full sound than other mid-size Bluetooth speakers, and generous battery life that means it’s always ready to go even if it’s been forgotten for a season.
According to B&O, the A1 3rd Gen has “the largest woofer in its class”, meaning more powerful and “deeper” bass output (with a claimed bass SPL of 64dB, which is 2dB higher than the 2nd Gen). This sounds great to me, assuming it’s well-balanced with the mids and treble – as I mentioned above, the real trick of the B&O A1 2nd Gen is that it managed a broader and more well-rounded sound than similar offerings from JBL and Sonos.
The battery life has increased from 18 hours to 24 hours, which is really great for any of the best Bluetooth speakers, let alone a smaller option – even the five-star JBL Flip 7 is limited to 16 hours max with its battery extension feature active.
Upgrades other than these are more subtle, though. The wireless connection is Bluetooth 5.1, which seems a little behind the times – so many new Bluetooth speakers today are arriving with newer versions that include Auracast support for audio sharing across multiple speakers.
B&O hasn’t gone for that kind of option, but it can be used in a stereo pair with either another A1 3rd Gen, or an A1 2nd Gen (I obviously have my eye on that feature…).
The Alexa voice assistant support of the 2nd Gen seems to have been dropped, but there is still a mic – you can use it as a speakerphone. You have Microsoft Swift Pair and Google Fast Pair for easily connecting to those devices.
The design looks largely unchanged from the previous model, which is alright by me – I really like the ‘button’ shape, and the clean metal finish. It’s not quite as pocketable as the JBL Flip 7, but it’s fairly thin and can slip into a bag easily enough anyway.
As before, it comes with a strap attached and is IP67 rated, so it can stand up to a light dunking in water or roaming among the sand like the best waterproof speakers.
B&O says this is also the first ever Bluetooth speaker to be “Cradle to Cradle Certified (Bronze Level)”, meaning that it’s made with sustainable practices in mind, and has modularity in the design that makes it repairable in the future – including a battery that can be replaced in a B&O service center.
There are three colors: Natural Aluminium, Honey Tone, and Eucalyptus Green. I don’t like the latter as much as the beautiful Forest Green finish B&O used on the A1 2nd Gen and the B&O Explore – which is maybe my favorite finish on any tech product ever – but it’s still very nice, as is the Honey Tone.
The stumbling block here is really the price. At $349 / £299, it’s more expensive than the $299 / £259 official price of the A1 2nd Gen – but that model also regularly falls to around £180/$200, and it’s only at the cheaper price that I generally recommend people buy it.
At twice the price of the JBL Flip 7, it’s going to have to work hard to feel worth it. But hey, the last version managed it for me.
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