This article on Urbanista Malibu Speaker is part of {Tech} for Travel’s coverage of IFA 2023. The biggest tech event in Europe is held annually in Berlin, Germany, where the biggest names in consumer technology attend and launch new products to the world’s media.
Click here to read more on the new travel gadgets news coming out of IFA this year.
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IFA 2023 News: Urbanista Malibu Speaker
The new Urbanista Malibu Speaker builds on the Swedish brand’s portfolio of sustainable sun-powered audio devices, which are perfect for travel.
The fruitful partnership between Urbanista and Exeger, the brand that provides the Powerfoyle™solar cell technology, has already produced the Phoenix ANC Earbuds and the iconic Los Angeles Headphones. Both use the technology and can potentially offer unlimited playback!
Ahead of this year’s IFA 2023 event in Berlin, Urbanista announced its latest solar-powered device, the Malibu Portable speaker.
With a larger surface area and mostly outdoor use, I’d have expected the Malibu to be the more straightforward and obvious device to be the first featuring Powerfoyle™️ tech. Yet, I have high hopes for the Malibu as Urbanista has already applied it so well to the smaller headphones.
Features // Urbanista Malibu Speaker
Crafted from recycled plastics (approx 91%), the Malibu is a sustainable speaker in more ways than one and is perfect for outdoor travel and use thanks to a high IP67 waterproof rating.
This translates to up to thirty minutes fully submerged in water up to depths of one metre, the second-highest waterproof rating, and provides complete protection against dust over an extended time.
At 140 x 140 x 62mm, the Malibu is not the most compact of portable speakers, but that’s not what Urbanista was aiming for.
Instead, they wanted their signature sound to fill an open space, and this will be achieved easily with dual 10W speaker units.
Power
Urbanista says the power reserve inside the Malibu speaker will be good for 20 hours of playback, and pressing the Power Save Mode button on the top will double this up to a massive 40 hours of sound! All of this is before the Powerfoyle™️ has kicked in!
There are no ‘hard & fast’ stats at release on the performance, but this is down to the multiple variations users could put the speaker through.
The Powerfoyle™️ will continue to charge the Malibu speaker when it has a light source, inside or out, but prolonged use at a high volume will consume more power than can be delivered through the technology that covers the top surface.
At the back is a USB-C port for a quicker power top-up. But, with the music off, Urbanista says the Malibu Speaker will go on to charge on just Powerfoyle™️ alone fully.
As with the Los Angeles and Phoenix headphones, the Malibu speaker uses the Urbanista mobile companion app (Android | Apple).
The app provides an overview of power consumption, solar charging, and preset EQ settings. Urabnista has also confirmed from October ’23, the app will be updated to offer Customizable EQ settings to coincide with the sale of the Malibu.
Hands-On
Urbanista was showing off a demonstration unit during the IFA 2023 event, having announced the Malibu Speaker in the lead-up to the tech event.
I could see and hold the unit, which is slightly larger than the images make out. That said, even as a demo unit, it displayed a reassuringly robust build and a solid weight in hand. The Desert Grey colourway looks even better than in the press photos and is a much-preferred option to a White-only colourway.
The base plate, not visible in any of the press images, has an indent that creates a rim or lipped edge on the underside. This gave my hand something to grip on to and will make the Malibu easier to carry when wet.
Specifications // Urbanista Malibu Speaker
| Dimensions | 140 x 140 x 62mm* |
| Weight | 696g* |
| Colour Options | Desert Grey Midnight Black TBC** |
| Driver | 2 x 10W |
| Power | up to 20 Hours additional 20 Hours power-saving Solar Charge |
| Connectivity | Solar USB-C Bluetooth 5.2 |
| Features | Stereo Link Integrated Lanyard |
| Waterproof Rating | IP67 |
| In the Box | Malibu Speaker Lanyard Manuals |
| Website | urbanista.com |
Price // Urbanista Malibu Speaker
The new Urbanista Malibu is priced at $149/£149/ €169 and will be available in September 2023 from urbanista.com.
