Sonos vs. Amazon Echo


Does anyone know how to make the sonos system operate with voice commands similar to the Amazon Echo?

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17 replies

It doesn't, yet. Right now, Sonos is working on an integration with the Amazon Echo system, which has been promised to be released this year.
Userlevel 3
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Does anyone know how to make the sonos system operate with voice commands similar to the Amazon Echo?

Start up Echo, say Alexa, send a message to Sonos CEO - "Hurry up I have been waiting a long time for the integration to be announced! Don't deliver tomorrow when i wanted it yesterday"

or

Just wait patiently till the announcement and run an upgrade on your Sonos / Echo systems.
If you have a 5 unit and are in a hurry to get a preview of what is coming, buy a Dot, wire connect it to the 5 and start. Later the upgrade will allow this to be done without wires and therefore also on Sonos kit that does not have a line in jack.
Or so I understand, and am open to being corrected.
Userlevel 7
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Go to the Skills store, search for Sonos. You'll find my skill there, use that. No need to wait for Sonos.
Come on Sonos.... you should have had this out a long long time ago. Just saying.
Come on Sonos.... you should have had this out a long long time ago. Just saying.

So you have experience with the software development cycle when integrating Alexa Voice Control into multi-room audio platforms?
I do have experience with software development companies. I've funded 3 of them. ; )
Not what I asked. I asked if you have kexperience with the software develoment cycle of this particular integration.
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Just how many threads are you going to post this on?
Userlevel 2
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Just how many threads are you going to post this on?
Really:??
Go to the Skills store, search for Sonos. You'll find my skill there, use that. No need to wait for Sonos.

Nope, no sign of the skill that you mention in the U.K. store (see my skills search-result screenshot), so is it only available in certain countries, or is there no such skill available?

I've tried searching in a variety of different ways. Am I doing something wrong?
Userlevel 6
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No, The skill depends on routines only available to US alexa users. The same may apply to the forthcoming official Sonos integration.
No, The skill depends on routines only available to US alexa users. The same may apply to the forthcoming official Sonos integration.

Oh right, no good for me then.
Come on Sonos.... you should have had this out a long long time ago. Just saying.

I always thought Sonos and Amazon were aiming for the 4th quarter of 2017 for the voice control, but like any reasonable person, we all know these things can sometimes take a little longer than anticipated ... but there's still some months left yet before we can say that things may have fallen behind schedule, but if things are delayed slightly, so what?

We should all be extremely grateful that Sonos have always preferred to include their old hardware in such planned upgrades. They said they would take all their customers with them as they introduce voice control. Sonos are not like most companies, who sometimes abandon their previous products and insist you buy even more (expensive) hardware to obtain such updates. I think we should be extremely thankful for their approach and loyalty to all their customers. So if these things take a little longer than planned, then so be it.

I'm personally grateful and just waiting patiently, but as suggested in several other threads, if you have a Sonos device with a line-in, then it's easy to connect an echo-dot etc. to Sonos and use it in that way, as a line-in voice-controlled source, until things are properly integrated in the next few months or so.

I use my echo-dot cabled to an old Play-5 line-in and it works great as an interim measure.
Come on Sonos.... you should have had this out a long long time ago. Just saying.

Well, considering that Amazon just introduced the preliminary developer version of the API required for this yesterday, it would have been quite impossible for Sonos to "have had this out a long time ago", wouldn't it?

Looks like Cortana may be next after Alexa.

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/30/technology/amazon-alexa-microsoft-cortana.html