If you're looking for a portable Bluetooth speaker that goes big on battery life and quite literally won't cost the Earth, British brand Poca Audio might have the answer. The new Poca Audio Pine Beat is billed as a "sustainable, longer-lasting Bluetooth speaker" which also doubles as a portable power bank, so much like the JBL Charge 6, you can use it to juice up your devices when you're on the go.
The Pine Beat makes a big deal of its sustainability credentials. You can change the batteries if they begin to get worn out, while the unit itself and its accompanying accessories are made from sustainable materials such as recycled aluminium, natural rubber and organic cotton. It's serviceable, too, so if things do go wrong, you won't have to dump it in a landfill and buy a brand new one.
How does the British-made portable speaker plan to take on the market's best Bluetooth speakers? The Pine Beat houses a 30mm tweeter alongside a 6.35cm woofer and a 5cm passive radiator, all driven by 40 watts of Class D amplification in a bid to deliver "high-quality, clear sound".
If connectivity is high on the agenda, you can use multi-pair to hook up to 100 other Pine Beat speakers, while a built-in auxiliary connection lets you use a physical source tether if Bluetooth isn't your style. On the battery front, the sustainable new speaker offers up to 30 hours of playtime from a single charge.
The new speaker comes with an IP67 waterproof rating, so it should be able to cope with trips to the beach or rainy summer festivals. For an added cost, you can pair your speaker with additional accessories, including a magnetic base, an adjustable cord with a carabiner attachment and a collapsible peg for planting the Pine Beat in the ground.
According to Poca Audio's co-founder Aaron Ox: “Last year, half a billion gadgets ended up in UK landfill – countless amounts of portable speakers among them, as they are typically sealed plastic designs that can’t be serviced. We’re here to stop this shameful waste with a speaker designed for life. All this without compromising quality: sustainable never sounded so good".
The new Poca Audio Pine Beat is available now, priced at £170 for the main speaker and £25 each for any additional accessories or batteries. At that sort of money, it will be facing off against the five-star JBL Charge 6 (£170 / $199 / AU$200) in the fight for portable Bluetooth supremacy.
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