Bang & Olufsen BeoPlay P2 is the most tactile speaker ever and is controlled without buttons

Mmmm, smooth…

Duncan Bell
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There are now slightly more Bluetooth speakers than there are people on the planet, but B&O Play continues to innovate in the field.

Its latest portable Bluetooth speaker the P2 is made of beautifully smooth, machined, 'pearl blasted' aluminium, with a leather cord so you can walk around, swinging it insouciantly, or attach it to your stylish backpack.

We haven't actually heard the P2 yet, but we have touched it and let us tell you, it is SMOOTH. All the buttons have been removed, apart from an on/off, and even that is hidden beneath the B&O logo on the back, while the surface is like a pebble that's been washed smooth by the sea.

Continuing the beach theme, it comes in three beautiful colours: a rich, azure blue, 'sand' and, not continuing the beach theme, unless there's been an oil slick, black. Ironically, it is not waterproof, however, though it will stand up to mild moisturising.

Playing and pausing tracks is done via a tap on the smooth, sinuous surface of the P2, while track-skipping is achieved via a shake. There's a mic so you can use it to take calls or access your favoured mobile AI pal who's fun to be with.

As we haven't actually heard the P2 yet, because we spent all our time with it rubbing its surface and panting, we can only pass on B&O's own description, which is that it is 'rich and spacious with a 360-degree dispersion'. 

The anodized aluminium cone mid-range driver is a smaller variant on the one found in the Beoplay A1, while the tweeter is the same ¾” fabric soft dome used in the same speaker, 'assuring excellent detail and smooth reproduction of the highest frequencies.'

Amplification is provided by two Class D Amps, 'with a peak power of more than 2X50 watts'. 

It's a safe bet that the P2 will sound great for its size, given its pedigree, but we'll give a more precise update on that when we get our one tomorrow.

This is also the most affordable Bang & Olufsen product ever, costing just £149.

Duncan Bell
Duncan Bell

Duncan is the former lifestyle editor of T3 and has been writing about tech for almost 15 years. He has covered everything from smartphones to headphones, TV to AC and air fryers to the movies of James Bond and obscure anime. His current brief is everything to do with the home and kitchen, which is good because he is an excellent cook, if he says so himself. He also covers cycling and ebikes – like over-using italics, this is another passion of his. In his long and varied lifestyle-tech career he is one of the few people to have been a fitness editor despite being unfit and a cars editor for not one but two websites, despite being unable to drive. He also has about 400 vacuum cleaners, and is possibly the UK's leading expert on cordless vacuum cleaners, despite being decidedly messy. A cricket fan for over 30 years, he also recently become T3's cricket editor, writing about how to stream obscure T20 tournaments, and turning out some typically no-nonsense opinions on the world's top teams and players.

Before T3, Duncan was a music and film reviewer, worked for a magazine about gambling that employed a surprisingly large number of convicted criminals, and then a magazine called Bizarre that was essentially like a cross between Reddit and DeviantArt, before the invention of the internet. There was also a lengthy period where he essentially wrote all of T3 magazine every month for about 3 years. 

A broadcaster, raconteur and public speaker, Duncan used to be on telly loads, but an unfortunate incident put a stop to that, so he now largely contents himself with telling people, "I used to be on the TV, you know."

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