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My go to voice assistant for Sonos is Alexa Voice control. That said I’ve been playing with Alexa Plus * and here are my impressions thus far.  

As advertised It will accept multiple (or string commands). However, contrary to Amazon promotion, IMO they must be spoken deliberately and not too fast. Here’s an example:

  • Turn on TV, kitchen and bedroom

The first command was my Sonos Room with Arc Ultra home theater setup. The second and third were smart lights. I can also ask Alexa Plus to play music in any of my Sonos rooms.  Such as:

  • Echo play Sirius XM Watercolors on Fireplace

However, I have not been able to incorporate such a command as part of a string. I’ve tried starting the string command with the request to play music in the beginning and at the end; to no avail.

I’m not going to be using my Alexa branded devices to initiate multiple commands on a regular basis; if at all.  My needs as far as voice assistances are concerned are simple. The only time that I might find Alexa Plus convenient is at night to say…

  • Echo turn off lights, turn off TV and set ADT to Stay Mode

The above command was executed correctly.  Although on first attempt even though it was executed correctly the Echo device said my ADT was off line. Upon repeat testing, no such off-line warning was uttered. 

Fun Fact: After executing the above command, the Echo device confirmed with….

  • I’ve turned off the lights, TV and set ADT to stay mode. Have a restful night.

That impressed me as I assume the AI algorithm determined it was a nighttime request as the trigger phrase was to set ADT to stay mode. Just an assumption...but what do I know.  A final point is the Alexa Plus is more conversational in the way it interacts as demonstrated in the above response.

That’s all I have to report. I assume the Alexa Plus feature will improve over time and develop advanced AI interactive capabilities. However, IMO it’s off to a good start.

As far as integration with Sonos, IMO it would be a nice-to-have. Although it’s not something I’d ask Sonos to lobby Amazon to allow as an integrated feature. Besides, I assume there would be increased licensing fees.  

On the other hand, Amazon may not offer Alexa Plus to 3rd party vendors and keep it as an Amazon device exclusive. Then again...if paid subscriptions pan-out less than expected and Amazon sees a path to offer 3rd parties Alexa Plus as an extra cost upgrade; they might consider it to supplement revenue.  JAT.

 

* I’m an Amazon Prime member. Therefore I get free early access and afterwards the Alexa Plus is part of my membership.

Since I’m not sure there is a ton of Amazon code on a Sonos unit, I suspect you’re right, it would require Sonos to lobby Amazon (or us, as Prime members, companies tend to listen to sources of revenue better than sources of distribution.)

But as you suggest, I suspect it really is a nifty feature for Amazon to keep to themselves, for now, in order to sell more hardware. If they ever choose to include third party devices, like Sonos, it will be years from now. That being said, I’d absolutely love to be wrong about that. Not being an employee of either Sonos or Amazon, I’m not party to any, if any, discussions. 

If I was regularly asking Alexa to complete a common set of actions, I would simplify and create a routine, rather than repeat the same commands on a regular basis. No need for Alexa Plus or Amazon Prime.

Alexa Routine

If I was regularly asking Alexa to complete a common set of actions, I would simplify and create a routine, rather than repeat the same commands on a regular basis. No need for Alexa Plus or Amazon Prime.

Alexa Routine

I agree that if you are asking the same thing on a regular basis then creating a routine would be the route to take. I have a couple of routines set as well.

However there are commands I would not set a routine for even though I speak them everyday such as

  • disarm ADT, what’s on my calendar and tell me the weather.

The main reason being in the above example is that I would not give Alexa my ADT code nor do I want to create a second code just for Alexa.

However, I think Alexa Plus is designed to go beyond creating routines. I’d have to assume that the Alexa engineers took creating routines into consideration during the development of Alexa Plus. It would have made no sense to duplicate actions/features that Alexa was already capable of.

Whether or not Alexa Plus catches on enough to make consumers opt for a paid subscription remains to be seen. IMO the subscription price would have to be really close to an annual Prime membership is the only reason I see someone who doesn’t presently have Amazon Prime opting in.

 I have Amazon prime as I use the benefits it offers for online shopping at a competitive price and free shipping. Of course there’s same day delivery, overnight delivery including music and movies as I use those products as well.

I’m not trying to convince anyone that they should consider Alexa Plus nor opt for a Prime membership. That’s a personal decision. What I do believe is that Alexa Plus is a feature designed to go beyond simple routines. That prospect may appeal to some. JMHO.

EDIT: I failed to mention in my first post that Alexa Plus is more conversational in the way it interacts. I have since added that as well.

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