There are scores of waterproof Bluetooth speakers out there these days, promising to accompany you on all your wet and wild aquatic adventures. Unfortunately, there’s a fundamental barrier that stands between you and a life at sea with your music: your smartphone. For most of us, that mini computer in our pockets doesn’t like to get wet. However, a new speaker called the Drifter hopes to break down those barriers, offering wireless music wherever you go, with or without that precious phone of yours.
The Drifter is different than most devices of its kind, in that it has its very own version of Android’s operating system (along with 16GB of storage) baked right in, which allows it to do a lot more than your average speaker.
The little pyramid will certainly connect to your smartphone over Bluetooth for conventional wireless playback, but using its built-in touchscreen will allow you to connect to streaming services like Spotify and Apple Music over Wi-Fi — no phone required. And for those who want to take the speaker further into the wild blue yonder, the speaker will also allow you to download tunes from streaming services, making it totally autonomous. And that’s not all.
The Drifter is fully waterproof, with an IPX7 rating, which means it can be fully submerged in a meter of water for up to 30 minutes. Prolonged submersion shouldn’t be a problem, though, as the speaker also floats. Another perk is a built-in camera, which the creators at Freedom Audio claim will have some sort of mystery function that the company has yet to disclose. The Drifter also has carabiner clip hooks on the sides, and works with any GoPro camera mount.
Battery time for the speaker is estimated at eight hours — not incredible, but enough time to take it out on the water for the day, holding up about as long as you will. Pricing is listed at $200 on Freedom Audio’s website when you pre-order, with orders expected to ship in October (though we suggest you take that time frame with a grain of salt as startup projects are notoriously late to ship). You can also pre-order the speaker for a few bucks less on Amazon. The price is expected to jump to $300 at launch.
While we have no idea what the Drifter will sound like we do know that, if it lives up to its promise, it should stand as the most versatile little waterproof speaker on the market. If you’re one for the waves, you can pre-order your Drifter at Freedom Audio’s website, or on Amazon now.