We’ve seen a lot of Bearbrick iterations, some cool, some weird, and some kind of creepy. The collectible toy has slowly become a cultural icon over the past decade or so and we see collectors spending a lot of money to get various styles, materials, themes, and even some pop culture versions. There are also several collaborations with other brands like Casio and Nike and apparently we might be getting a TV series soon. This newest iteration though will be unique in that we’ll hear sounds coming out of the iconic bear.
Designer: Medicom Toy and Rinaro Isodynamics
No, we won’t get a talking Bearbrick, don’t worry (if that’s something that worries you). What we’ll get is the Bearbrick Audio 400% which is a portable bluetooth speaker featuring the 11-inch figurine design. You have the speaker elements in the head of the bear which includes 40mm wideband woofers and 20mm tweeters while the arms or paws let you control the volume of the speaker or skip to the next track. You get the famous QUAD’360 audio technology from Rinaro so you know that the sound quality would be exceptional.
There are three colorways available for the bear speaker. There’s the solid black version and a dark translucent “smoke” colored one. The more interesting one is the clear version that shows the inner workings of the Bluetooth speaker. All three have movable joints so you can make it stand up or sit down when you’re playing your music, although it won’t affect the sound quality either way.
You can connect your smartphone to the speaker through Bluetooth with just a push of a button. You get six hours of battery life on a single charge. If you want, you can get two of the speakers and pair them together so you get better and more immersive sound quality. The Bearbrick Audio 400% will be available in November for $499. I wouldn’t mind having one, as long as there’s no possibility of the bear suddenly talking and taking a life of its own.
