Bang & Olufsen Beosound One "Dalek" Speaker Quietly Discontinued.

 

Although not formally announced by Bang & Olufsen, one of our regular contributors has informed us that Bang & Olufsen have discontinued the Beosound One 2nd Generation.  The model often called the "Dalek" speaker, was first released in 2016 alongside the substantially larger and more powerful Beosound Two.  

As the image (with identifying information redacted) shows, during an email exchanged with Bang & Olufsen's customer support this person was told the 2nd Generation Bang & Olufsen Beosound One is no longer being manufactured, and has been replaced with the Beosound Level model in the line up from the brand.

The fact that Bang & Olufsen have not announced this, and continue to have this on their international website shows they are clearly attempting to shift old stock.  We feel this is somewhat disingenuous of them, as newer kit would be in consumers interest.  Bang & Olufsen are of course entitled to sell old kit, that is their prerogative, however, they should warn customers the old model isn't made any longer so they can make an informed decision.  Particularly as the Beosound Level famously touts its ability to be a genuinely long lasting and future proof piece of kit.  

This is particularly irksome when the fact that it doesn't seem to be available to purchase online anywhere in the world after we checked 10 international stores.   Only the Singaporean and Australian website have quietly removed it from their selection, again, without any acknowledgement of this. This means they are colluding with their franchise outlets to help them shift their stock.  Considering that one, they claim to not have any substantial connection to their retail franchises, and two, their franchises have attracted some criticism for poor customer services (see here), this seems quite unfair.