Nowadays, buying a speaker is often considered a long-term investment — or at least it’s forced to be if you’re eyeing a good one. And while sound quality is usually the first thing that comes to mind, convenience and budget prove to be just as important — and IKEA knows how to bring the latter two together as well as anyone. The furnishing giant’s brand-new waterproof portable speaker bolsters its audio line while lengthening your listening time.
IKEA’s VAPPEBY lineup has already mustered up a trusty catalog of gadgets, albeit the tech behind any of the models has never been too mesmerizing. This time around, it’s a different story, as the small-scale, IP67-rated iteration offers up to 80 hours of battery life when playing music at 50% volume — that’s over 50 hours more than you can expect from the Beosound Explore. Sure, you’re not getting the transcendent sound quality you’d expect from Bang & Olufsen, but you’re practically getting enough music to last you roughly half as long as you’re awake in a week.
Additionally, the dust-tight device can be submerged in water for as long as 30 minutes, ensuring there shouldn’t be any issues when you bring it around any springtime gatherings by the pool. Plus, the budget-friendly gadget allows you to take part in an integral pastime: listening to music in the shower. Most of all, you can even pick up a pair of devices to achieve stereo sound for a fraction of the price you would spend on most audio brands.
As we mentioned earlier, affordability can play a significant part in buying a new speaker, especially if you don’t consider yourself an audiophile. Luckily for any casual enjoyers out there, IKEA’s VAPPEBY portable waterproof speaker is available on its webshop in three colors — red, black, and yellow, for a mere $15.
