Apple AirPods and Powerbeats Pro stand aside: Bang & Olufsen BeoPlay E8 Motion is your Scandi-chic boss

There's also the E6 Motion for those who consider true wireless buds to be witchcraft

Bang & Olufsen BeoPlay E8 Motion and E6 Motion
Duncan Bell
By Duncan Bell
published

Possibly Bang & Olufsen Beoplay is quite literally going through the motions here but it's just announced a new versions of the Beoplay E8 true wireless buds.  Clearly intended to take on the Beats Powerbeats Pro – coming soon, folks! – and Apple Airpods 2 they Beoplay E8 Motion is the same as the existing Beoplay E8 but with improved sweat-proofing with the 'exclusive' option of a new, bassier EQ preset via the app.

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Beoplay E8 Motion, and case

The E8 was originally quite an irritating pair of true wireless buds with a number of software and hardware issues. However, a v2 update to the E8 has apparently corrected those problems. 

Now, the all-new-and-improved-even-more Beoplay E8 Motion adds gym- and run-friendly, improved sweat- and rain-resistance. A choice of 'frosted silicone fins' mean they stay in your ears better whilst doing one-armed pull-ups, without compromising comfort.

There's also this, and I quote from the press release here: 'Exclusive to the two earphones, listeners will find an enhanced bass sound profile in the Bang & Olufsen App to help keep focus during intense exercise.' Eye of the Tiger will never have sounded better, I'm sure.

The original Beoplay E8 sounded genuinely good (when they were working) and true wireless is definitely the best type of earbud for the gym (and running or cycling, so long as they don't fall out, which these shouldn't). So these should be a very solid rival to the forthcoming Powerbeats Pro, or the current reigning champ, Jabra's Elite Active 65t. 

Beoplay E8 Motion

Beoplay E8 Motion: as well as being good for running and the gym, also useful when standing on stylish, geometric shapes

Don't like true wireless buds? Bang & Olufsen is also rolling out a new version of the partially wired E6, now dubbed the Beoplay E6 Motion. This also adds improved sweatproofing. Other than that, it's hard to say at a glance what's different about this, compared to the existing E6, other than the attractive colour.

Beoplay E6 Motion

Beoplay E6 is in Motion and we know what it can do. Also the Beoplay E8 Motion, and we can't believe it's true

The issue with the E6 was always that they are quite bulbous, to the extent that they feel a bit odd in your ears compared to something like Optoma Nuforce's BE Sport4. However, they sound fantastic, and once you get used to them they work well as workout buds.

Beoplay E8 Motion and E6 Motion: price and release date

• Both pairs of Beoplay Motion buds are available online from today at Bang & Olufsen's own site and from May 23 at other retailers. Beoplay E8 Motion is £300, Beoplay E6 Motion £275. 

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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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