Interesting tease here:
https://www.engadget.com/2019/08/08/sonos-fall-event-IFA-2019/
Seems odd that no FCC popups have occurred yet, but I'm not one to be looking for those kinds of things, I count on others in our community for that 🙂
Page 3 / 9
One of the great new features overlooked so far in this thread will be Auto Trueplay, which means the Android vs iPhone Trueplay tuning argument will now be moot. Hopefully, Auto Trueplay will be coming to existing Sonos speakers with microphone arrays, as well.
Even though I personally have no use case for it, I understand that they finally made the move to include a Bluetooth speaker in their setup.
Any guesses to the S23 device? Connect upgrade? Can't imagine them having to go for an Amp gen 2 so soon... Also, it seems that my hopes for an upgrade to the Playbar will need to be moved to 2020 then. Still holding out for them realizing that DD 5.1 and optical are no longer the future of A/V audio.On an unrelated note, I am wondering when the first troll is going to wander over from the "On this iPhone" thread and suggest that Sonos is killing the on this iPhone feature to push this new Bluetooth speaker...
Any guesses to the S23 device? Connect upgrade? Can't imagine them having to go for an Amp gen 2 so soon... Also, it seems that my hopes for an upgrade to the Playbar will need to be moved to 2020 then. Still holding out for them realizing that DD 5.1 and optical are no longer the future of A/V audio.
I hope so. Would trueplay be useless for outdoors, I would assume it wouldn't help.
It’s well beyond rumor at this point, photos and detailed specs, clearly leaked by Sonos, are everywhere.
I'm not convinced the images are real, for a couple different reasons. We've only seen 1 of the front and one of the back, and there are few details that don't look right to me. First it doesn't look like the typical press image Sonos would release, and it doesn't look like an unofficial photo. Second the RW-play/pause-FF are on top and pushed to the front of the speaker. Looking at Sonos One , Beam, and Amp, those same buttons are centered. And being centered makes sense since you need real estate for swiping.
Then there's the back image with buttons. Where's the handle? Why is the infiniti button flat while other speakers have a concave infiniti button? Why isn't there an LED on or near the power button to show that it's on. Why is there a button to switch between wif/bluetooth instead of a switch of some sort? Why no LED to show which mode you're currently in.
There's more issues I see, but you get the point.
And yes, the image is all over the place, but it seems to be coming from one source. Could be true. Could be an old prototype photo that someone assumed was the new product. Could be real, but maybe not.
If you have an indoor Sonos near your back yard, eg kitchen, maybe you'll get a signal. WiFi in my garden is poor but I can take a Play1 to the end of my garden as it uses the signal from the kitchen play5
Good point that Sonosnet might have range if you have nearby speakers. But not ideal if you don't have wifi to control them.
No way is Sonos going to cut into Ikea's market by offering a speaker with these extra features at the same price as the Ikea bookshelf. My guess is also $250.
Agreed. There's no room down there for another speaker. Not unless it's worse quality than ikea, and then I think you've got a crappy sounding product. And let's not forget this thing is loaded with features that you can't get on a typical bluetooth speaker.
I hope so. Would trueplay be useless for outdoors, I would assume it wouldn't help.
Yes. Look at the Sonance speakers. The two indoor versions can be trueplayed, but the outdoor is not. I suppose this auto tune could be different, but I really doubt it.
Another point about this is whethere auto trueplay will work in both wifi and bluetooth modes.
Was wondering about that too. Then comes the question of if a room with a beam and two play:1s, or a room with a playbar and 2 sonos ones, can be done.
True, shame the CR200 is on its way out and they've removed Android's sonosnet ability.
Do you think a pair of the new speakers could be used as home cinema surrounds?
Of course no one knows for sure yet. I can see it going both ways. On the one hand, every other sonos speaker, including the $100 bookshelf speakers, can be used as surrounds, so it seems like it's not something that would be difficult or costly for Sonos to implement.
On the other hand, it's a portable speaker, where as surround speakers aren't portable. If you set it up as a surround speaker, then want to move it to the backyard temporarily, then you'd either have to switch to bluetooth or remove it as a surround and set it up as it's own room/zone. Not idea. Then there's the factor that you need two like speakers for surround sound. Do you need two of these? If the cost of the speaker is $300 each, would it make more sense to just by 1 and a pair of play:1s? Can the portable speaker be stereo paired while in bluetooth mode? If so, will it require stereo pairing in wifi mode as well?
My guess is that you will be able to do this, but very few people will want to.
Are we there yet?
So thinking about my youngsters on tight budgets - the ikea speakers especially the bookshelf provide a entry point into the Sonos world and an alternative to buying a bluetooth and if they had been available 2 years ago would have been bought rather than a well known bluetooth brand. However ,and this appears to be a big but for them, they don't offer portability so this might be a much needed addition to the range. Pricing will be the issue for them but cheap entry via IKEA and then save up for a portable - I can see that working. Personally I am interested in both.
I can see that perspective, to be sure.
But I guess I wonder how the fact that Sonos is adding both a battery, a charger for the battery, and a new bluetooth receiver to a basic Sonos One setup allows them to reduce the price. I'd think for the extra things being added, it might be slightly more expensive. Unless they're trying to be aggressive and have it as a "loss leader" to get people into the Sonos ecosystem, and expect that they'll expand with other speakers later.
I just don't know. I'm counting the days. Not sure if I'll see a post from Ryan first, or on one of the several news sites I frequent.
But I guess I wonder how the fact that Sonos is adding both a battery, a charger for the battery, and a new bluetooth receiver to a basic Sonos One setup allows them to reduce the price. I'd think for the extra things being added, it might be slightly more expensive. Unless they're trying to be aggressive and have it as a "loss leader" to get people into the Sonos ecosystem, and expect that they'll expand with other speakers later.
I just don't know. I'm counting the days. Not sure if I'll see a post from Ryan first, or on one of the several news sites I frequent.
Also please don't announce with a 9 month lead time one can only take so much expectation in one year
The pattern seems to be that we'll see long lead times when the product or feature is in partnership with another company. We saw long leads with Alexa, Google Assistant, Sonance, and ikea. We see short leads when it's only Sonos that's involved. Sonos One, Beam, and Sonos Amp all were release in under 2 months from being announced IIRC.
Plus, Sonos will surely want to take advantage of the Christmas shopping season. I would guess we will see this by Oct 1. Maybe even Sept 1, since tariffs from China are set to rise Sept 1, and it would make sense to avoid that if they can.
I don't see Sonos putting out a bluetooth speaker that sounds like you're average $100 bluetooth speaker. For one thing, is there a point to putting in auto trueplay if the speaker itself isn't high quality? Besides that, Sonos surely wants "word of mouth" advertising boost from this. They want you to bring it to the beach and make everyone who walks by want to get one themselves.
The pattern seems to be that we'll see long lead times when the product or feature is in partnership with another company. We saw long leads with Alexa, Google Assistant, Sonance, and ikea. We see short leads when it's only Sonos that's involved. Sonos One, Beam, and Sonos Amp all were release in under 2 months from being announced IIRC.
Good observation. Apple Music and Spotify Connect were announced far ahead of time too.
Will Android users finally be able to Trueplay Tune their rooms?!
Find out on the next episode of Sonos.
I would agree if the device has all that we wish it to have with at least play 1: quality then it is not going to come in cheaper than a One and I cannot see it being poorer quality because that would wreck the IKEA market. I think that pricing would be ok, you have the lead in product with symonisk, 1 and One and here for (hopefully) not that much more than a One the portability with bluetooth for when away from your home network. Sounds like a win to me. I just need to start the softening process going 🙂
Maybe reduce the Sonos One RRP to £179 and price this at £199? Maybe offer the base charger (if exists) as an optional extra, leaving a basic USB-C cable to charge out of the box to keep the cost down?
Looking forward to these. I was about to buy a second One to make a Stereo pair in my Garage. A pair of portables would be better, the One can go to a room in the house and the portable can be used when we eat outside on a hot summer evening... about twice a year in the UK!
I can’t see the price being that cheap, when you compare things to the likes of Apple, who charge $999.00 for their Pro Display Monitor “stand”. You are living in the past... ha ha 🙂
I don't think Sonos needs to do this. i get that you personally might now want to pay 250, but I believe plenty of people will. If you go look at existing bluetooth speakers, there are plenty of speakers in that range. I would bet the sound quality is on par with these others, plus the additional features.
And again, that puts pressure on the ikea market a bit. The lamp is priced at 180.
If this new speaker is the first speaker that someone gets from Sonos, what aspect of it is going to prompt them to buy more speakers? I think sound quality has to be up there. If this is the only sonos speaker I own, I'm not sure I'd even take it out of bluetooth mode until I get a second sonos. If you're an existing customer interested in expanding your system, what is it that you want? Sound quality
This was my thinking as well. I currently have a connect:amp powering two cheap ceiling speakers in there, but 2 of these mounted on the back wall sounds like a nice upgrade. Especially if there's a mount that makes it look like it belongs in a garage. For the times when I want to throw it in the truck to go to the beach or something, they're right there, all charged up and ready to go.
Sound quality and portability. I travel and the Sonos portable would be the first thing in my case, several times ive been tempted to get a BT speaker but a decent on is in the £100s and would get used when travelling and never at home.
The Sonos, when at home, can be used when we are in the Garden and have friends round. Could even hide them under bushes etc. So killing two.......
Sound quality and portability. I travel and the Sonos portable would be the first thing in my case, several times ive been tempted to get a BT speaker but a decent on is in the £100s and would get used when travelling and never at home.
True. I have one that's probably about 6 years old now, and only gets used when traveling or trips to the beach/park/etc. I wonder if Sonos considered how well the speaker would fit in airplane carry on luggage when designing this.
The Sonos, when at home, can be used when we are in the Garden and have friends round. Could even hide them under bushes etc. So killing two.......
This is where I see bluetooth speakers used the most. On the backyard deck or out on the front driveway.
I recently spent a week in the Pacific Northwest, in a small rental home. Would have loved to have a Sonos style speaker there. If it would have fit in my suitcase...unfortunately for this trip, it didn't, as I spent a week in SF prior to zipping up to Washington State. Just not enough space in the luggage I was using.
But that brings up a good use case, perhaps for third party creation? A travel sack, that protects the speaker in transit? I've taken PLAY:1s in luggage before, and tried to protect them by packing them in the middle of clothing, but that's a hit or miss solution, especially if the luggage gets "searched" by the local authorities (TSA, etc). No guaranty you have the time to repack safely. I would love some sort of shock absorption packing designed for such a device.
But that brings up a good use case, perhaps for third party creation? A travel sack, that protects the speaker in transit? I've taken PLAY:1s in luggage before, and tried to protect them by packing them in the middle of clothing, but that's a hit or miss solution, especially if the luggage gets "searched" by the local authorities (TSA, etc). No guaranty you have the time to repack safely. I would love some sort of shock absorption packing designed for such a device.
Enter your E-mail address. We'll send you an e-mail with instructions to reset your password.