We have no idea how it sounds, but judging from looks alone, we have a feeling the Whyd Speaker is going to sound eggceptional. Sorry, can’t resist. At the least, the darn thing’s bold-colored egg-like enclosure is going to be a whole lot more fun to look at than whatever speaker you’ve got pumping your Spotify playlists around the house.
More than a great-looking wireless speaker, though, the Whyd is looking to free you up from the old-world traditions of physical controls and remotes. As such, it comes with full voice control capabilities (via five beam-forming microphones) similar to the Amazon Echo, allowing you to launch tracks, flip through a playlist, and adjust volume by merely barking your commands.
The Whyd Speaker uses a quartet of 40mm drivers to pump out tunes in 360-degrees, along with a 100mm subwoofer to deliver a deep and rich bass sound. A port tube with low airstream noise allows it to further boost the bass response, with Class-D amplifiers multiplying the signal for maximum sound. As with most modern speakers, you can link two Whyds to make a stereo pair, apart from supporting multi-room setups.
Features include a glass touch panel for physical controls (via gestures), a discrete LCD screen that shows emotional icons right on the speaker body, a 3D-knitted sleeve cover, a metallic base, and a companion app (Android and iOS). It measures 11.5 x 7.5 inches (height x diameter) and weighs 134oz.
Now available for preorder, Whyd is priced at $299.