Another day, another speaker. Only this one is slightly different. We’ve noted the trend towards imbuing everyday electronics with a more sustainable ethos – most recently demonstrated by Bang & Olufsen’s upgraded Beosound A1 with its replaceable battery. Poca Audio, a new UK-based company, is hoping to go one better.
Pine Beat speaker by Poca Audio
The new Pine Beat launches today, after a couple of years of finding funding and sorting out production. Equipped not just with a swappable battery, the Pine Beat has a user-swappable battery, removing another barrier on the road to full renewability. Designed by Aaron Ox, the Pine Beat follows a familiar form factor, only with one or two additional elements that elevate it above the competition.
Pine Beat speaker by Poca Audio
Aside from the satisfying battery situation, the speaker also makes the most of its portability by doubling up as a power bank, a handy way of getting more juice into a phone or laptop when travelling. Additional batteries can simply be swapped in should you be far from a place to recharge.
Pine Beat speaker
With a casing formed from traceable ocean waste plastic as well as recycled aluminium and silicon, along with natural rubber and organic cotton, the ingredients list is a veritable cluster of old and new materials being deployed to their best advantage. Ox, who co-founded the Bath-based company with Mariana Cardenas, is committed to making electronics that eschew the ‘sealed for life’ approach we’ve all come to take for granted.
Pine Beat speaker and accessories
‘Last year, half a billion gadgets ended up in UK landfill - countless amounts of portable speakers among them, as they’re typically sealed plastic designs that can’t be serviced,’ Ox says, ‘We’re here to stop this shameful waste with a high-quality speaker designed for life.’
The other elements that set the Pine Beat out from the pack are the accessories. These include a magnetic base and stainless steel disc to mount the speaker wherever you like, a hanging cord and a peg for planting the speaker in the ground. Recycled fishing nets and plastic bottles have been used to make all these extras.
It’s rare to find a small company getting so much right straight out of the gate, so we’ll be watching Poca’s progress with interest.
Pine Beat, £170, additional batteries, £25, PocaAudio.co.uk, @PocaAudio
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