Bang & Olufsen Designed a Smart Speaker to Look Like a Book

Bang & Olufsen realized some people want a high-quality sound experience at home, but without a big, visible speaker in the room. So the company’s latest smart speaker is designed to look like a book, and can easily disappear on a bookshelf.

It’s called the Beosound Emerge, and this ultra-slim speaker can either be left out in the open, or hidden away without impacting the sound quality it produces.

“The vision for Beosound Emerge was to create the slimmest speaker possible that could still deliver full range, ultra-wide sound despite its size through its revolutionary driver configuration. Whether placed on a bookshelf in the bedroom or a tight corner of the kitchen, Beosound Emerge’s slim design allows you to extend your music to a new room or complement an existing speaker in the same area without taking up extra space,” says Christoffer Poulsen, Senior Vice President and Head of Product Management at Bang & Olufsen.

It was designed with the help of Benjamin Hubert from design agency Layer, and was inspired by the compact form factor of a book. The end result is a wireless speaker that measures 25.5-by-16.6-by-6.7cm and weighs 1.3kg (2.86lbs). It houses a 4-inch woofer driver (60W), 1.45-inch mid range driver (30W), and 0.6-inch tweeter (30W). There’s also a microphone, which allows users to interact with Google Assistant.

It’s possible to take advantage of Apple AirPlay 2 and Chromecast for mutliroom capabilities, and multiple Beosound Emerge speakers can be connected together. B&O also suggestx pairing the Emerge with a Beoplay A9 or Beosound Balance. The Beosound Emerge will be available in either a Gold Tone or Black Anthracite finish, with either one costing 799 euros (US$950). Expect the Emerge to be available worldwide by the autumn, but Europe gets it first from today.