The new Yamaha WS-B1A will available in three colors: a basic Black , Carbon Grey with rose gold ... [+] accents, plus Light Grey for blending in with bright spaces.

The WS-B1A is clad in an acoustically transparent textile.

It looks as if Japanese company Yamaha has decided to go toe to toe with Apple’s Homepod Mini with the announcement that it’s launching the WS-B1A. This small speaker may not have as snappy a name as Apple’s mini wireless speaker. Still, Yamaha has high hopes for its new baby because of the vast and growing number of people who enjoy music and video content from their smart devices, such as smartphones and tablets.

There’s an ever-increasing array of wireless speakers on the market right now that are designed specifically for use with smartphones on the move. Yamaha’s new compact and wireless Bluetooth Speaker, the WS-B1A, not only has a gorgeous design, but the company also claims it has superior sound quality and is waterproof.

The WS-B1A is so compact and portable that it can fit in the palm of a hand. In addition, the speaker is battery-powered and offers up to 12 hours of playtime on a full charge, which makes it ideal for enjoying music and video almost anywhere.

The new WS-B1A wireless speaker from Yamaha has an IP67 rating for water resistance and ... [+] dustproofing.

Despite its small size, Yamaha claims the WS-B1A is no ordinary speaker. The company’s engineers have packed advanced speaker technologies into this tiny 10-cm cube as the ultimate expression of Yamaha’s audio aesthetics and a close ‘cousin’ of the brand’s world-famous HiFi line.

The stylishly exterior of the new speaker is covered in a comfortable and luxurious fabric that is acoustically transparent and enables sound to pass through it. In addition, the speaker will be available in three colors: Black, Carbon Grey and Light Grey for blending in bright spaces.

The unit is built both waterproof and dustproof to IP67 standard, which means it can be used even when it’s raining. Furthermore, when used in noisy surroundings, the speaker has Yamaha's Clear Voice feature, which enhances the reproduction of vocals and speech.

Pricing & Availability: The Yamaha WS-B1A wireless speaker will be available in November. The price will be $99 / £99 / €99.

More info: www.yamaha.com