Established 100 years ago, Bang & Olufsen has always been known for its high-end but sparse design aesthetic, but until now hasn’t really been able to impress this on the wireless earbuds it has developed over the last few years.
That’s all changed with the compact Beo Grace earbuds called ‘wearable sculpture’ – they have a slim aluminium form inspired by jewellery and echoing the company’s A8 wired earphones, with design details such as a metal speaker grille.
Indeed, the Danish company has even created a bespoke leather pouch with shoulder strap as an extra accessory in black, red and grey with the opening for a USB charger.
The downside is that – as you’d expect from Bang & Olufsen – they have a high price set at $1500/£1000/€1200. You’re paying for the design of course – but it’s hard to get away from the fact you could buy six pairs of Apple’s AirPods Pro 3 for the same price.
Thankfully, they don’t skimp on performance with up to 4.5 hours of playtime with active noise cancellation (ANC) switched on, and up to 17 hours of life including the charging case. A five minute fast charge gives you up to 2.5 hours of playback.
The audio is powered by 12mm titanium drivers and tonally, they’re designed to reflect the acoustic principles behind Bang & Olufsen’s super-premium Beoplay H100 headphones.
Beo Grace also features Spatial Audio so you can virtualise any stereo mix but they’re optimised for Dolby Atmos and as you’d expect from a high-end earphone, they’re able to adapt the level of ANC in real time depending on the ambient noise. There’s also a transparency mode, which B&O refers to as TrueTransparency. Calls are also well catered for thanks to the six microphones on board (also used for ANC),
Despite the earbud basically being a solid aluminium tube, they use a force sensor designed to feel like a mechanical click. You can use this for playback as well as switching between Active Noise Cancellation and Transparency. You can also tap in front of your ear – called NearTap – to adjust the volume. The right-side increases volume and the left side decreases it.
Bang & Olufsen have also committed to software upgrades to add extra features in future. A three-year warranty is in place.
Interestingly Bang & Olufsen has teamed up with Breathe to bring more intelligence to battery charging to maximise the battery life. The company says that internal testing has surpassed 2,000 charge cycles.
“Beo Grace is more than a new product, it is a symbol of the century ahead. Inspired by the elegance of fine jewellery and crafted from our signature aluminium, it distils everything Bang & Olufsen has stood for since 1925: uncompromising sound, enduring craftsmanship, and timeless beauty,” said Bang & Olufsen CEO Kristian Teär.
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