Hi
With the introduction of the Era 300 and Era 100 models Sonos gave the user two options to protect their privacy regarding voice assistants:
- Privacy Tap: Deactivates the voice assistant by tapping the speech bubble on top of the speaker. The light will turn off. You’ll still have access to other mic-enabled features, like Trueplay. *
- Security Switch: Prevents accidental activation of the voice assistant by toggling off a switch on the back of the speaker. This method disconnects all power to the microphone for added privacy/security.
Most likely the above privacy/security options will be introduced on whatever the replacements/upgrades will be for the Arc, Beam, Move and Roam. As well as any new models Sonos decides to release.
As the title implies some are still hoping Sonos will introduce Era 300/100 SL models with no voice assistant capability a’la the Sonos One; and briefly the Arc. IMO hardware isn’t the answer.
If you recall (upon initial introduction) the price difference between the Sonos One and Sonos One SL was a mere $20 ($179 vs $199 respectively). The price difference between the Arc and Arc SL was $50 ($799 vs $749 respectively). The Roam has a similar pricing strategy.
As the Sonos One, Arc and Roam were already on the market incorporating the Security Switch would have necessitated the release of new models too soon. FYI, the Privacy Tap feature was already incorporated in the design of those products...it’s just being marketed differently with the Era series.
So at the EOD; Sonos had two hardware SKU’s for each of the aforementioned products which; IMO, had negligible price point differences. Multiple SKU’s for the same product (with only a minor difference) causes manufacturing and logistical bottlenecks.
If people want more Security/Privacy with the Era series (and subsequent Sonos voice assistant enabled product releases) IMO is should be Software based. I may be wrong; but it shouldn’t be too difficult for Sonos to incorporate an option (for the account owner) to override the Security Switch with a password in the Controller App. Said option would affect all speakers globally. Think of it in the same vein as a “parental control”.
I can’t wait to read your opinion(s) on this 😅
* Privacy Tap feature is just being marketed differently with the Era series; as all voice enable speakers allow for this option.