Google Assistant now available in UK


Tried my luck this morning and it let me choose Google Assistant and I’m in UK.

Works great

Keith

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17 replies

Userlevel 6
Badge +11
Will try tonight! Can you configure it to do either 'ok google' or 'hey google' or are you stuck with both
Userlevel 2
Badge +1
I sold my Play 5 (Gen 2) after Sonos detailed the GA integration. I was very disappointed after such a long time in development. I have a Play 1 and 3 which I stated I would sell, but would wait until the UK launch just to see how well or poorly the integration works.

Well I'm more than underwhelmed. If I ask to play a specific playlist with via YouTube Music or Google Play Music you get a reply that it cannot be played. If I ask to play an artist, I asked for Pink fairly well known the sounds are Not Pick when asked to play on Sonos. If I repeat the same commands to play on Google Mini then it's correct.

This is a pile of rubbish by Sonos, after nearly 2 years work we get a half baked piece of rubbish.

No voice match. No ability to select Sonos speaker as a default from a specific Google Mini. No direct play to Sonos from within Google Home.

I regard this as less than useless. I replaced my Play 5 with a Google Home Max. After trying out today, I will be selling my other Sonos speakers. Sorry but Sonos are a joke regarding this implementation. Cheaper speakers Sony, JBL and LG have nearly full Google Assistant apart from voice calling.

Sonos have lost my custom!
I try to enable GA in the UK just now and I get a notice saying not available in my country.
Userlevel 2
Badge +1
I try to enable GA in the UK just now and I get a notice saying not available in my country.
Does not surprise me with this poorly implimented piece of work by Sonos. My Sonos app allows me to enable GA, but from my perspective it's not worth the hassle.
Userlevel 7
Badge +18
It’s not yet been announced as available in UK.

Keith: are you registered as a UK or USA user?
Userlevel 2
Badge +1
It may not have been officially launched for the UK on the Sonos website, however I can assure you Sonos are allowing UK customers to link the GA to Sonos via the app. I did this today and my Play 1 & 3 show up in Google Home app. I can ask my mini's to play music to Sonos speakers.

However as I stated earlier in this thread it's poorly implimented and from my perspective not worth the hassle, which is way I will be selling my remaining Sonos speakers and going over to Google speakers. The Max I bought to replace my Play 5 is £200 cheaper sounds just as good and has full GA.
Userlevel 7
Badge +20
The Max I bought to replace my Play 5 is £200 cheaper sounds just as good and has full GA.
Just to balance this out with a different opinion: I don't think a Google Max sounds as good as Play:5, although it's not bad for the money if you appreciate bass and volume over fidelity. I don't think a Max beats a stereo pair of Play:1s, either, certainly not for fidelity, and you'd obviously get hugely superior stereo separation, for the same kind of money.

With Google, you also have a much narrower range of audio hardware to choose from than with Sonos. If you don't have different types of use case, that's not an issue, but many people do.

I'm ambivalent about the inclusion of Alexa and Google in the Sonos devices themselves. This will always represent something of a compromise compared to the vendor's own hardware, but Sonos are at least to be recognised for taking an agnostic approach and giving people a choice.

What I really do like is the consequent opening up of the Sonos experience to voice control: I have some kind of Echo device in every room in which I use Sonos, with the Sonos speakers set up as the preferred speakers for that room. This is the perfect complementary experience for me: full Alexa functionality with Echoes, serious audio playback through Sonos. And, this works perfectly with every Sonos device back to 2005, so handles all of my 'legacy' Sonos gear.
Userlevel 7
Badge +26
Google assistant isn't fully available in the UK on Sonos just yet. We're doing some work to bring the service to Sonos, and you may be able to add it, but it's not ready everywhere, and may not be working as intended just yet. We'll make an announcement on the community and elsewhere when it's fully live.
Userlevel 2
Badge +1
Google assistant isn't fully available in the UK on Sonos just yet. We're doing some work to bring the service to Sonos, and you may be able to add it, but it's not ready everywhere, and may not be working as intended just yet. We'll make an announcement on the community and elsewhere when it's fully live.

Well your site has been updated, to officially released in UK. Tried this again same limited integration and issues. Example when I ask Google Mini to play Pink this works and I head Pink....the female artist. When I ask for same artist and ask to play on kitchen Sonos I get artist with no relation to Pink. This happens quite often.


How come this works with the mini playing but not when same request just adding kitchen Sonos. Poor assistant integration. If I ask for Pink radio on mini, this place Pink artist radio. Ask the same with kitchen Sonos added I get unrelated radio channel on TuneIn!

Really after such a long wait this is very, very poor!
Userlevel 7
Badge +26
That's pretty odd @pwwhitehead, I've tested it 6 times here just now and got Pink to play every time when using a Sonos One with the command "Hey Google, Play Pink radio." For me, it loads up a bunch of songs from Pink into the queue and starts playing them. If you're getting a TuneIn station, make sure that you've added Google Play Music or YouTube Music to Sonos as well as to your Google Assistant.

Is the TuneIn station that plays called "Pink radio"?
Userlevel 2
Badge +1
That's pretty odd @pwwhitehead, I've tested it 6 times here just now and got Pink to play every time when using a Sonos One with the command "Hey Google, Play Pink radio." For me, it loads up a bunch of songs from Pink into the queue and starts playing them. If you're getting a TuneIn station, make sure that you've added Google Play Music or YouTube Music to Sonos as well as to your Google Assistant.

Is the TuneIn station that plays called "Pink radio"?


You seem to highlight the issue. You are using a Sonos One. If I just ask my Google mini to play Pink that works. It's when I ask the mini with additional command to play on Sonos 1 that I don't get the required request.

This is a issue when using mini to play to Sonos 1. Again I think it's poor Google integration.
Shame I couldn't ask the mini to play a particular artist, then when it's playing ask it to place on my Sonos, but even that's not possible. Sorry but with nearly two years development and it's so limited. I don't expect additional features, which should have been there at launch, voice match select a default speaker to come anytime soon. Don't think I will wait for features that my never arrive. I will be looking to but speakers that have almost full assistance Sony, JBL and LG they are only missing voice calling. Will also look at getting Google Home Max.

Sorry but very disappointed with this basic assistant after such a time.
Userlevel 4
Badge +4
Well setting up was very easy.

Have been able to play specific songs, albums and playlists on Spotify without problem, other than having to be quite clear with the instruction in saying exactly on what speaker you want it to play on, otherwise it will default to a google assistant speaker.

I only have Play 1 and Play 3 speakers and Google Assistants, do not have any Sonos 1s.
Well setting up was very easy.

Have been able to play specific songs, albums and playlists on Spotify without problem, other than having to be quite clear with the instruction in saying exactly on what speaker you want it to play on, otherwise it will default to a google assistant speaker.

I only have Play 1 and Play 3 speakers and Google Assistants, do not have any Sonos 1s.


It is expected that Google Assistant rollout will be similar to Alexa, in that things like default speakers, groups, targeted ducking, etc. will be coming in the future. So far, the initial release of GA is remarkably similar to the functionality of the initial Alexa release.
Userlevel 4
Badge +4

Well setting up was very easy.

Have been able to play specific songs, albums and playlists on Spotify without problem, other than having to be quite clear with the instruction in saying exactly on what speaker you want it to play on, otherwise it will default to a google assistant speaker.

I only have Play 1 and Play 3 speakers and Google Assistants, do not have any Sonos 1s.
It is expected that Google Assistant rollout will be similar to Alexa, in that things like default speakers, groups, targeted ducking, etc. will be coming in the future. So far, the initial release of GA is remarkably similar to the functionality of the initial Alexa release.



JKatie, I'm not complaining so far. There's already a bit more capacity/functionality than using IFTTT.

Grouping would be useful and default speakers but I'd mostly play to all speakers. And a little manual intervention isnt a bad thing!
Userlevel 3
Badge +4
If you use a google home hub/nest, a smart little sonos interface pops up on screen where you can skip tracks, change volume, pause, play with screen buttons.
Would be nice if this showed a graphic of what was playing as well.
Userlevel 2
Badge +1
After nearly a year of messing about with Alexa and the Swedish Radio Alexa skill (got pulled without warning earlier this year and was gone for over a month), and certain radio stations bring very hard to get to work.
I switched to Google assistant yesterday here in the UK.
English and Swedish can coexist.
If we ask for BBC radio it's in English, if we ask for A Swedish station it's all in Swedish and works very well.
Much quicker to respond and play than Alexa was.

We have a house full of Sonos ones and beam so this is great for us..
Set up in minutes. No issues and now fully integrated with the rest of my Google house. So long Alexa....it's me, not you.