So I guess that the new Beam Ultra will not have voice control using Google or Alexa? I have to ask this, why does Sonos seem to struggle with what seems to be such small things that other companies have no issues with? Maybe it is time for a more competent company to buy Sonos.
Answered
Beam Ultra does not have Alexa or Google voice control?
Best answer by melvimbe
A few points I wanted to add to the discussion. Hopefully constructive.
1- Sonos, like any other company that makes consumer products, are going to release products before the Christmas retail season, even if all planned features are not yet available. Those that don’t want the product without the promised feature can always hold out until that feature is enabled.
2- Sonos is going to be implementing custom agents, which will open up SVC to any AI agent you want. It’s already been stated that Gemini is on that list of services that will be supported when the feature arrives. To be fair though, it’s unlikely to be same experience as Gemini on a google mini (or whatever speakers they have these days)
3 - I personally don’t care whether Sonos supports Alexa + or not. I do use Alexa + from smart home control where I need to, but I find the push to sell me product, and that they charge for it, I have had Echos for Alexa and Sonos for SVC/music without issue for years, and will continue till I can scrap Alexa. In short, I would understand if Sonos does put effort into getting Alexa + working natively, but I’m also happy to see them not spend any time and effort into it.
4 - I feel as though Sonos current stance on voice actually better matches their originally philosophy with music. Any music service that wants to be available on Sonos can be, and now any AI/Voice Assistant can as well. You aren’t locked into a service, can use multiple services, and switch whenever you want.
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I don’t think that’s the case. There’s a footnote:
- Availability of voice services varies by country and language
Also this in the FAQ implies other voice assistants:
Can I control my TV with my voice?
If your TV supports CEC (TVs with HDMI will support CEC) and you have set up a voice assistant, you can control the TV with your voice.
And this from the product guide: Sonos Beam Ultra
Voice control
You can add Sonos Voice Control, or a voice assistant you use often, for hands-free control of your Sonos system.
Note: If you're adding a voice assistant, download the voice assistant's app before adding it to your Sonos system.
To add voice control in the Sonos app:
- Go to Settings
. - Select General Settings.
- Select Voice Assistants, and then choose + Add a voice assistant to get started.
| Service | Description |
|---|---|
| Sonos Voice Control | Play music and control your system with hands-free ease and unmatched privacy. It all starts with “Hey Sonos." Here's a few things you can do hands-free with Sonos Voice Control:
|
| Amazon Alexa |
|
Wow, that is a lot. So Alexa is supported on the new Beam Ultra? Not interested in Sonos Voice as everyone agrees it is a joke.
Okay, so the answer is no, it only mentions Sonos Voce control, what a joke. Sonos should spend less time concentrating on portable speakers and headphones and more time on their core products, which they can’t get to work. Do we really need another portable speaker or set of headphones, isn’t that market already saturated.
Or click the link in my post which goes to the Beam Ultra product guide:
Which only lists SVC under Power & Connectivity > Voice
Whilst https://support.sonos.com/en-gb/article/set-up-your-sonos-beam-ultra states:
Control Beam Ultra with your voice
With Sonos Voice Control added to your Beam Ultra, you can use your voice to turn your TV on and off as well as adjust the TV volume. While it won’t be available at launch, Sonos is working closely with Amazon to bring Alexa+ to Beam Ultra.
But no mention of “standard” Alexa. Therefore, another area where the website could be clearer.
I posted a copy / paste above, directly from the Beam Ulta product guide that specifically says Amazon Alexa. You have to scroll down to the Microphone and voice, Voice control section.
For sure, Sonos is trying to hide the fact that their product doesn’t work with Google or Alexa. This is the exact reason I have not purchased any new Sonos products in years. Also, this might be the reason that Sonos has experienced such financial hardship and layoffs over the past few years. Someone is asleep at the wheel of this poor company.
I posted a copy / paste above, directly from the Beam Ulta product guide that specifically says Amazon Alexa. You have to scroll down to the Microphone and voice, Voice control section.
And if you go to the section I pointed out from the same product guide, it only mentions SVC.
Good grief, the FUD is starting already. To the OP, I'd trim it back if I were you. Because all the release information points to the same voice assistants available to users now being available on the Beam Ultra.
This quote is about Alexa+
“While it won’t be available at launch, Sonos is working closely with Amazon to bring Alexa+ to Beam Ultra.”
Regular Amazon Alexa is available, as stated in the product guide.
I posted a copy / paste above, directly from the Beam Ulta product guide that specifically says Amazon Alexa. You have to scroll down to the Microphone and voice, Voice control section.
And if you go to the section I pointed out from the same product guide, it only mentions SVC.
Your quote didn’t come from the product guide. It came from the Beam Ultra set up article. It mentions you can use SVC, because you can. It doesn’t say you can’t use Alexa. They are promoting their own voice assistant.
This quote is about Alexa+
“While it won’t be available at launch, Sonos is working closely with Amazon to bring Alexa+ to Beam Ultra.”
Regular Amazon Alexa is available, as stated in the product guide.
The product guide is inconsistent. The Beam Ultra product page only states SVC.
I posted a copy / paste above, directly from the Beam Ulta product guide that specifically says Amazon Alexa. You have to scroll down to the Microphone and voice, Voice control section.
And if you go to the section I pointed out from the same product guide, it only mentions SVC.
Your quote didn’t come from the product guide. It came from the Beam Ultra set up article. It mentions you can use SVC, because you can. It doesn’t say you can’t use Alexa. They are promoting their own voice assistant.
I never said the quote came from the product guide.
I said the product guide that you linked only states SVC under Power & Connectivity > Voice
This quote is about Alexa+
“While it won’t be available at launch, Sonos is working closely with Amazon to bring Alexa+ to Beam Ultra.”
Regular Amazon Alexa is available, as stated in the product guide.
The product guide is inconsistent. The Beam Ultra product page only states SVC.
Ok, that’s why in my first reply I started with the footnote from the product page:
5. Availability of voice services varies by country and language
From what I can tell, Mr. T is correct. There are some posts on reddit where users state they have contacted Sonos and were told that it currently does not work with Alexa or Google at launch. However, they are working on getting it to work with Alexa+. Sonos should be clearer and more transparent. Or maybe they could wait and release the product, when it actually works. And they could bring back Google, but I guess they don’t want to do that since they are in a huge lawsuit with them and want to make their customers pay the price for this.
From what I can tell, Mr. T is correct. There are some posts on reddit where users state they have contacted Sonos and were told that it currently does not work with Alexa or Google at launch. However, they are working on getting it to work with Alexa+. Sonos should be clearer and more transparent. Or maybe they could wait and release the product, when it actually works. And they could bring back Google, but I guess they don’t want to do that since they are in a huge lawsuit with them and want to make their customers pay the price for this.
Didn't you state you made your last Sonos purchase over a year ago? So why would you care?
You are correct. I was hoping this new CEO would get things turned around at Sonos and obviously that has not happened. I would like to upgrade some of my Sonos equipment, but I am a Google Voice household. I was hoping they would get back on track and start being able to use Google Voice and Alexa. However, I see they are heading in the opposite direction and just using their own voice service. I had spoken with the previous CEO and he told me they were working on bringing Google back, just trying to figure out how to do it technically, something other companies don’t seem to struggle with, but he is no longer employed at Sonos. Not sure how any of that is relevant as my question was technical, but there is your answer.
I posted a copy / paste above, directly from the Beam Ulta product guide that specifically says Amazon Alexa. You have to scroll down to the Microphone and voice, Voice control section.
And if you go to the section I pointed out from the same product guide, it only mentions SVC.
Your quote didn’t come from the product guide. It came from the Beam Ultra set up article. It mentions you can use SVC, because you can. It doesn’t say you can’t use Alexa. They are promoting their own voice assistant.
I never said the quote came from the product guide.
I said the product guide that you linked only states SVC under Power & Connectivity > Voice
Sorry, my mistake. I thought you said the quote came from the product guide. On re-reading I see that wasn’t the case.
Google are the ones that changed the requirements. As far as I know, it was not a decision made by Sonos, who tries pretty hard to be part of every ecosystem.
It’s fine to be upset, but you probably need to be upset with another company.
I just spoke with someone at Sonos and currently is DOES NOT support Alexa or Google. If you go to the page for the product and go to tech specs and under voice control, it currently only uses Sonos Voice, what a joke Sonos has become!
You are correct. I was hoping this new CEO would get things turned around at Sonos and obviously that has not happened. I would like to upgrade some of my Sonos equipment, but I am a Google Voice household. I was hoping they would get back on track and start being able to use Google Voice and Alexa. However, I see they are heading in the opposite direction and just using their own voice service. I had spoken with the previous CEO and he told me they were working on bringing Google back, just trying to figure out how to do it technically, something other companies don’t seem to struggle with, but he is no longer employed at Sonos. Not sure how any of that is relevant as my question was technical, but there is your answer.
Google is another thing entirely. Alexa will be available in the Beam 2 as stated in the official online product guide. Stating differently due to other web pages being a little ambiguous is just fishing for problems to complain about, which is why I called it FUD. It's especially FUD when it comes from someone who swore off buying the product ever again and thus just posting to complain about something which will never effect them.
Guys….you’re making a mountain out of a mole hill regarding this debate about voice assistants for the Beam Ultra:
- Google will not be available. That relationship was broken a long time ago for integration with new Sonos products *
- Alexa + will not be available at launch. Quite frankly, unless you are an Amazon Prime member Alexa + will be a paid service. That said Alexa + may never see the light of day on Sonos; however, that’s up to Sonos.
- Alexa Basic (by all accounts) will be available on the Beam Ultra at launch. It’s in the Product Guide **
You can choose to believe it or not. If you think there are contradictions with Sonos printed matter on their website...bring it to the attention of a Moderator. However, this endless back n’ forth is fruitless.
* AI Synopsis
The Sonos and Google partnership began to decline between 2015 and 2016, when Google launched its own competing wireless audio hardware after gaining technical access during their 2013 software integration. [1, 2, 3, 4]
Key Timeline of the Decline
- 2013 (Collaboration): Sonos and Google partnered to bring Google Play Music to Sonos speakers, giving Google a behind-the-scenes look at Sonos' multi-room audio technology. [1, 2]
- 2015–2016 (The Split): Google released Chromecast Audio in 2015 and the Google Home speaker in 2016, which Sonos later claimed copied their patented systems. [1, 2, 3]
- 2020 (Lawsuits Begin): Relations completely broke down, and Sonos officially filed a major patent infringement lawsuit against Google in early 2020. [1, 2]
- 2025 (Partnership Ends): According to Sonos - Wikipedia, Sonos officially announced that the partnership was ending in May 2025 following years of legal battles. [1]
- Read Google's official perspective on the dispute from the Google Blog. [1]
- Review user discussions on integration issues at the Sonos Community. [1]
** Excerpt
I just spoke with someone at Sonos and currently is DOES NOT support Alexa or Google. If you go to the page for the product and go to tech specs and under voice control, it currently only uses Sonos Voice, what a joke Sonos has become!
I seriously doubt this. And even if true, I wouldn't trust tier 1 support script readers to know all the details about a product which isn't even available yet. But don't let that stop you on your crusade to spread the FUD.
I guess you didn’t read my whole statement about wanting to upgrade some of my products. So I am the problem and not Sonos? Their product description is vague at best, but I am the problem. Oh, and Alexa is not currently supported, but it will be someday. Sure, I am the problem and reason that Sonos is in financial bind, sure.
You can make up all the stupid acronyms you want, but it doesn’t mean I am the problem. The financial markets and situation that Sonos is in from a company standpoint doesn’t lie.
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