Samsung will go to Berlin’s IFA show early next month to expand its selection of wireless-multiroom audio speakers with 360-degree sound dispersion.
The omnidirectional R5, R3 and R1 speakers in the Wireless Audio 360 series will be displayed at IFA 2015, joining Samsung’s R7 and R6.
The new models will be available in the U.S. and European markets in the fourth quarter at prices ranging from $199 to $399.
In the U.S., Samsung currently offers the omnidirectional egg-shaped R7 at $399. The company also offers three wedge-shaped wireless multiroom-audio speakers in the U.S.
The company’s omnidirectional speakers use proprietary ring-radiator technology that fires a driver into an acoustic lens, which disperses sound over 360 degrees.
The R5, R3 and R1 models also get new physical controls, enabling consumers to select volume levels, play and pause music, and select music sources with a touch, tap or swipe on top of the speaker.
Samsung’s updated control app will also now work with the Samsung Gear S smart watch, and the wireless speakers will also be controlled from a planned new smart watch that won’t depend on a smartphone to operate.
Additional details of the new products were unavailable.
Samsung’s multiroom audio products, controlled from an iOS or Android smartphone, use built-in Wi-Fi to play back music stored on the smartphones and on networked PCs. The products also play back select cloud-based music services streamed through the Samsung app.
Music travels from smartphones and computers over a home’s Wi-Fi network to a Hub, which plugs into a home’s router to ensure synchronization among multiple products playing the same song throughout the house. A single multiroom-audio speaker can be used without the Hub.
All of the company’s Wi-Fi multiroom-audio speakers also feature stereo Bluetooth.
