Contributor I

Smart Homes, Digital Assistants, and Future Proofing with Sonos - Is it Possible? (WWDC 2017 Ponderings)

Forum|Forum|9 years ago
June 5, 2017
20 replies
1866 views

After seeing the new Siri Home Speaker launch today, one of my chief concerns with my Sonos setup is about future proofing.

My curiosity started with my other research in the Sonos forums; I found interesting discussions on the whole DTS/ Dolby 5.1 compatibility as far as the streaming pass through (like Netflix shows with surround sound), as well as physical media (like Blu-Rays, which I rarely use). This got me thinking about whether Sonos would consider patches or firmware updates that allow future compatibility. Soon after, I started thinking about my "smart home" setup.

As of today, I have the following devices:

Master bedroom -

Amazon Echo Dot (which will soon be releasing the Sonos voice-control update),
40" Flat Screen with Chromecast attached
Sonos Play 5
Sonos CONNECT Amp attached to vintage Pioneer record player.

Not directly related, I also have the Philips Hue Gen 3 in by bedroom, controlled by the Echo Dot.

Living room:

Acer Projector
Playstation 4 (not pro, not slim)
XBOX One
(soon) Sonos Playbase

I also have a Google Pixel XL as my daily driver phone (so I work primarily in the Android/ Google ecosystem for my files and communication).

For my music subscriptions I have:

Amazon Unlimited (which I only purchased because calling out songs to Alexa is only seamless with a subscription, otherwise it only answers my requests with Pandora Radio stations),
Google Play Family (with YouTube Red/ YouTube Music),
Apple Music,
TIDAL Hifi,
and Soundcloud Plus.

Now after seeing yet another home speaker/ digital assistant hit the market, and this time with Apple's ecosystem including a Siri assistant that will be the same across all devices (unlike Google Assitant being different between Mobile and Home Versions), I am genuinely concerned about how deep into the future my Sonos setup will be adaptable. This includes changes to digital inputs (like optical audio and HDMI). It's the biggest downside to me of investing in this ecosystem; Dropping $500+ USD per speaker is tough when I don't know how long it will be friendly with my other components.

Thoughts?

TL;DR: How are you Sonos users preparing for the changes in IoT/ synchronization? The rise of digital assistants, along with the new and continued support/ integration of various streaming services and digital codecs has me wondering how often I need to worry about upgrades to Sonos, including when or if I'd have to purchase new speakers and hardware.

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Airgetlam

Just like Apple, I suspect that Sonos is not willing to lay out their corporate strategy for us.

Bruce

C

Cuhulin

Lyricist II

To me, the key element in how your question gets answered is how well the Echo-Sonos integration works. Beyond that, Sonos needs to find a new way for digital sound to get connected.

If the Echo-Sonos integration works well, Sonos can provide the sound and multi-room sound, while letting Amazon compete on home control. Echo can provide the microphones while Sonos concentrates on speaker quality.

In short, the two will be symbiotic.

For the long run, Sonos needs to find a way to work with soundkit, or whatever the devkit is called, so that its speakers will coexist with, and possibly even work with, the Apple speakers.

chicks

So, for those always complaining about how slow Sonos is to deliver, Apple's new speaker is already two years behind Amazon, and won't start to ship for another 6-7 months. Apple never has been much of an innovator. Looks like they are emphasizing SQ. Probably a good idea, since Siri is so far behind Alexa and Google now...

U

upstatemike

Over the past 4 weeks or so Amazon has had a major new Echo product or feature release almost every week while Google has been working hard to keep up. I wonder if this is going to be the new normal and if Apple and Sonos are going to have to adopt a more aggressive development cycle?

Local music library with carefully constructed playlists - no shuffling!, Integration with Homeseer Automation, No touch screen devices, No streaming services, No Apple products ever

K

Kumar

Digressing just a little, I get a sense that Chromecast Audio started with a bang of potential that seems to have died down to a whimper. Or is it as viable part of this subject for Google as Echo/Show, or Sonos-Alexa when that is released?

B

BurtBushell

Renowned Enthusiast II

Given Apple's focus on sound quality and the obvious strength of its brand how much of a competitive threat do you guys think this poses to Sonos? Interesting that they also directly referred to Sonos in yesterday's conference.

(1) Play 1, (1) Play 3, (2) Play 5s Gen 1, (1) Play 5 Gen 2, (1) Connect Amp powering a pair of Wharfedale Diamond 10.1, (2) Echo Dots.

ratty

Interesting that they also directly referred to Sonos in yesterday's conference.

Oscar Wilde: "There is only one thing in the world worse than being talked about, and that is not being talked about."

Paulw123

Virtuoso

Digressing just a little, I get a sense that Chromecast Audio started with a bang of potential that seems to have died down to a whimper. Or is it as viable part of this subject for Google as Echo/Show, or Sonos-Alexa when that is released?

Well google sold 30 million chromecasts by may2015, at one point 5 million in 2 months. I guess the peak may have passed, but that's a lot of potential google home sales......and not sonos sales.

B

BBH

Avid Contributor I

So, for those always complaining about how slow Sonos is to deliver, Apple's new speaker is already two years behind Amazon, and won't start to ship for another 6-7 months. Apple never has been much of an innovator. Looks like they are emphasizing SQ. Probably a good idea, since Siri is so far behind Alexa and Google now...

B

BBH

Avid Contributor I

I'm a Sonos fan as well, but lets get real here. "Apple never has been much of an innovator." ???? Ever hear of the iPod or the iPhone?