Paving the way for an Amazon powered Sonos?

I kind of doubt it. For one thing, it definitely would have to be a rather tight integration. It would really mean that this new Sonos speaker with Alexa would be full part of the sonos ecosystem and Echo.

The other thing is, would that be ideal? With normal sonos your going to put the speaker(s) against the wall, out of the way. Echo is the opposite. You really want it in the center of the room where it can hear better. As well, you only want one echo in the room, where as you want multiple sonos speakers.

Perhaps what could be ideal if Sonos came out with a new device that was just an Alexa controller, priced around $75. No speakers on it all, just mics, shaped like a dot. It could be matched/pair into a zone similar to how a sub is added today. Once paired it controls that zone by default (and other zones). Because it's not a typical dot, there would be no confusion about where the sound is. It could also be a bit smarter then your typical dot so that some voice commands (play, pause) don't have to go to the cloud and back down for execution. If you give a voice command that isn't one of the basics then it works just like any other Alexa function.

I still doubt it, but it's probably a product I'd buy.

While I don't disagree with you generally, I do have to take exception to your second paragraph. I've got 3 of those devices from Amazon, and none of them are in the center of the room so that they can hear better. They're all against walls in some way or another, and yet they hear just fine :)

I'm certainly not expecting a full integration of the two, unless Amazon was to purchase Sonos. Which seems unlikely. But what do I know?

Seeing the new Echo Show, it does give one an insight into one future of home automation/integration. What would it take for the new unit to do all that it supposedly does, while also interfacing with and controlling all Sonos units in the home, utilising both voice and the display in order to do so, where the display has a widget that shows just the current track, but can expand with one tap to take up all the space, in the manner it does on Android phones? All of this supplemented where possible via voice control.

Seeing the new Echo Show, it does give one an insight into one future of home automation/integration. What would it take for the new unit to do all that it supposedly does, while also interfacing with and controlling all Sonos units in the home, utilising both voice and the display in order to do so, where the display has a widget that shows just the current track, but can expand with one tap to take up all the space, in the manner it does on Android phones? All of this supplemented where possible via voice control.

Display showing the current track? Similar to what my iPad does now you mean!

Perhaps; if your iPad isn't being used for anything else. And I don't use an iPad, I use my phone and invoking the controller just for seeing what is the current track starts from searching for the device. Now if I had one of old Sonos controllers it would be different, but they would not do all the other things that Echo does, even if Sonos was to still be selling them.

While I don't disagree with you generally, I do have to take exception to your second paragraph. I've got 3 of those devices from Amazon, and none of them are in the center of the room so that they can hear better. They're all against walls in some way or another, and yet they hear just fine :)


Ok yes, I can see that it's not always the center of the room. The point is that you place an echo where it can be heard better, particularly in a large room. I have a open floor plan home where the kitchen, breakfast, family room are all one large room. If the echo was against a wall or corner, it would not pick up as well when speaking across the room.

Seeing the new Echo Show, it does give one an insight into one future of home automation/integration. What would it take for the new unit to do all that it supposedly does, while also interfacing with and controlling all Sonos units in the home, utilising both voice and the display in order to do so, where the display has a widget that shows just the current track, but can expand with one tap to take up all the space, in the manner it does on Android phones? All of this supplemented where possible via voice control.

Display showing the current track? Similar to what my iPad does now you mean!

I read a review yesterday making a similar argument. The Echo Show is an immovable tablet with a built in stand. I think that's missing the point though. Echos are not meant to do all the things you can do a tablet or phone, they are designed to do a few things you want to do better than you can on a tablet or phone. And that's exactly why Sonos has to make sure the integration with Echos is done right. If using the Echo isn't easier then picking up a tablet and controlling 'the old fashion way', then it's not going to go over well.

And that's exactly why Sonos has to make sure the integration with Echos is done right. If using the Echo isn't easier then picking up a tablet and controlling 'the old fashion way', then it's not going to go over well.
At the same time, the new Echo Show is going to raise the bar on what is expected from the integration with a higher noise level over the "delay" as it penetrates user homes. Sonos is going to have a problem keeping up with Amazon, I predict and this will be an ongoing problem for them.

Good point. And perhaps a reason why Sonos might want to put one of those microphones in the rest of their speakers, and fully integrate the Amazon API.

But, as I've said before, they're an aggregator, and I think they still want to be available to all things, and not be locked in to a single command structure. Hopefully, following the Amazon integration, we'll shortly thereafter get HomeKit, Google, etc, and Sonos can remain independent. It's one of those things I actually appreciate about them, they want to be open to all, so they publish the API, and ask folks to join in if they want, instead of setting up legal licensing and profit sharing with specific streamers.

they want to be open to all, so they publish the API, and ask folks to join in if they want,
That will need even more speed and agility, I imagine. And counting on enough people to wait for them. Challenging times for Sonos.

they want to be open to all, so they publish the API, and ask folks to join in if they want
Case in point is the native Apple music app integration which is to still happen, although Spotify has. It is all well and good to say that the ball is in Apple's court now that API or whatever else is needed has been published, but it gets down to who needs this more for continued business growth and success. Sonos has admitted at times that even with the API published, it is a team effort; I think that Sonos needs to be driving these initiatives a lot more forcefully if they want to realise their 'Open to all' vision. And as the Echo Show demonstrates, the new product roll out speed of the big guns isn't easily matched.