Speakers are foundational to the way we enjoy music from Spotify, Apple Music, and other services — and our own music collections. And increasingly, they’re also a convenient way of controlling smart home devices compatible with Amazon Alexa, Google Home, or Siri. Companies like Sonos offer multiroom audio platforms capable of synchronizing music across speakers of all different sizes. Whether you’re looking for a smart speaker or a simple Bluetooth speaker to take everywhere, The Verge covers the best of what’s out there in 2025.
Beats’ very orchestrated teases of a new Beats Pill portable speaker are continuing this week. F1 driver Daniel Ricciardo was seen carrying it in the exact same way that LeBron James did last month.
‘Tis the season for new speakers, after all.
The StanbyME XT7 is designed to work as both a standalone Bluetooth speaker, or attached to the stand of LG’s StanbyME touchscreen TV. It also features built-in lighting effects, and supports up to 16 hours of playback.
The speaker is now available in the US and South Korea, and will expand to other regions “later” according to LG.
At $999, KEF’s LSX II LT powered speakers aren’t what I’d call budget-priced, but they’re nonetheless cheaper than the company’s other products — as pointed out by AppleInsider. And looking beyond their impeccable style, these pack in nearly every playback option you could possibly want.
They support AirPlay, Chromecast, Spotify Connect, Tidal Connect, Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth playback. And on the wired side, you get optical in, USB-C (which supports up to 24-bit/96kHz lossless), and even HDMI ARC if you want to use these as speakers for a compact TV.
