It’s not hard to find a palm-sized Bluetooth speaker for very little cash. The newest effort from Xiaomi at least attempts something new. The Chinese company has debuted its Bluetooth Speaker Magnetic Version on its own crowdfunding platform, where it has already (considerably) bypassed its funding target.
When the hardware costs R500 or so (¥200), that’s not that hard to do. As the speaker’s name suggests, it’s got a magnet on the back. Less obvious, unless you glanced at the header image, is the fact that it’s designed to work as a phone stand as well as a speaker.
Xiaomi gets stuck
The idea is actually sort of cunning. More and more phones feature those circular magnetic charging rings. Other peripherals fit there, so why not something that’ll elevate smartphone Netflix viewing into something truly impressive? Hence, the Bluetooth Speaker Magnetic Version.
Aside from its stick-to-the-phone skills, the speaker features a 1.5in driver, a 650mAh battery, Bluetooth 6.0, and an IP67 rating. The whole thing charges over USB-C, so it’ll live comfortably in the same places your phone does. Each speaker generates three watts of audio, and users can sync between two and ten of them at a time. Why you’d want that isn’t clear (maybe you like Surround Sound while locked inside a small metal room?), but it’s an option.
Xiaomi’s 95-gram speaker uses a Hall effect sensor that detects when it’s stuck to a phone. This automatically powers the little audio unit on. There’s also an LED bar at its base, in case you want your small-screen experience to come with its own Philips Hue replica effects. If any AI features are required, the unit will apparently include Xiaomi’s Hyper AI assistant.
The catch? Buying one. The crowdfunding setup is based only in China, so you’ll either have to wait or figure out some way to get it here on your own. Still… could be worth it if you’re a big consumer of very small series binges.
