Skip to main content
Caroline V.
Caroline V.
Retired Community Manager
May 11, 2022

Introducing Sonos Voice Control

Related content:Software
Introducing Sonos Voice Control

Hi Sonos Community members!

Today, we introduce the first voice experience created purely for listening on Sonos. Designed with privacy at its core, Sonos Voice Control is the simplest way to control your music, offering complete command of your Sonos system using only your voice. 

Sonos Voice Control works on every voice-capable Sonos speaker, processing requests entirely on the device. 

No audio or transcript is sent to the cloud, stored, listened to or read by anyone.

Available on new voice capable products and as a free update for existing customers, Sonos Voice Control is compatible with Sonos Radio, Apple Music, Amazon Music, Deezer, and Pandora at launch. More services and markets will follow. 

 

Fast, accurate control of your music and your Sonos System 

Sonos Voice Control finds the music you want to listen to, processing requests entirely on the device. Local processing delivers faster response times, and effortless follow-ups. 

All you need is one “Hey Sonos” and you can follow up without the need for additional wake-words.

Just like the Sonos app, you can control music and speakers in any room, easily move music around the home, save and like your favorite songs to your personal music library and more.

 

Natural conversation with Giancarlo Esposito

Sonos Voice Control understands the nuance of human communication and will respond to natural commands like “turn it up!”. After a careful search, Sonos chose award-winning actor Giancarlo Esposito - best known for his roles in Breaking Bad, Better Call Saul and The Mandalorian - to deliver a familiar voice for US customers. With careful recording, advanced processing and mastering, the voice is natural, unobtrusive, yet confident and engaging. 

Sonos’ first voice will be joined by others over time as Sonos continues to expand the experience to new people and places.

 Sonos Voice Control is available in the US starting June 1 and in France later this year, with additional markets to follow. 

Read the full press release on Sonos Voice Control here.

    This topic has been closed for further comments. You can use the search bar to find a similar topic, or create a new one by clicking Create Topic at the top of the page.

    150 replies

    Show previous replies
    Airgetlam
    Airgetlam
    May 17, 2022

    I’d think that research would be done locally, without accessing data from users. One of the perils of data security is you don’t get that kind of feedback, 

    Bruce
    Kumar
    May 17, 2022

    While I'm wating for SVC to be introduced in Dutch, I'm curious how SVC would be learning different accents when the whole process takes place on the system - there's no cloud to send misinterpretations to, like with Alexa and GA.

    Excellent question - but perhaps there is some built in learning capability which is invoked by what usually get done first for many existing voice assistants where one first utters, in sequence, the sentences seen on the screen? I don’t think that this exercise is routed via the cloud.

    Kumar
    May 18, 2022

    On accents and languages, in a lighter vein, the Alexa or SVC challenge just for English, as described by  the legend, Rex Harrison/Henry Higgins, in My Fair Lady:

    An Englishman's way of speaking absolutely classifies him, 

    The moment he talks he makes some other 
    Englishman despise him.
    One common language I'm afraid we'll never get. 
    Oh, why can't the English learn to set 

    A good example to people whose 
    English is painful to your ears? 
    The Scotch and the Irish leave you close to tears. 
    There even are places where English completely

    Disappears. In America, they haven't used it for years! 
    Why can't the English teach their children how to speak? 
    Norwegians learn Norwegian; the Greeks are taught their 
    Greek. In France every Frenchman knows 

    His language from "A" to "Zed" 
    The French never care what they do, actually, 
    As long as they pronounce it properly. 

    All still relevant to a voice assistant designer of today?!

    Ken_Griffiths
    Ken_Griffiths
    May 18, 2022

    While I'm wating for SVC to be introduced in Dutch, I'm curious how SVC would be learning different accents when the whole process takes place on the system - there's no cloud to send misinterpretations to, like with Alexa and GA.

    If misinterpretations are brought to the attention of developers, then I would expect the voice service to change in a firmware update. Maybe there will be a method for posting some feedback to the developers, or possibly this community might feedback where things aren’t quite being interpreted as they should be.

    Kumar
    May 18, 2022

    A link to an interview with the CEO of Snips before Sonos bought it out gives some insights into how SVC will work without relying on cloud access. It does not speak to any learning capability over time via some kind of AI, or even of the introductory kind of voice training that Alexa offers using cloud access, but availability - or not - of that latter part in SVC will be known soon enough.

    https://www.fastcompany.com/40578153/this-ai-assistant-wants-to-protect-privacy-by-spurning-the-cloud

      melvimbe
      melvimbe
      May 18, 2022

      A link to an interview with the CEO of Snips before Sonos bought it out gives some insights into how SVC will work without relying on cloud access. It does not speak to any learning capability over time via some kind of AI, or even of the introductory kind of voice training that Alexa offers using cloud access, but availability - or not - of that latter part in SVC will be known soon enough.

      https://www.fastcompany.com/40578153/this-ai-assistant-wants-to-protect-privacy-by-spurning-the-cloud

       

      Interesting read. Nice to see what the developers of Snips had envisioned for their voice assistant before Sonos bought them.  They had a rather bold vision, but more than what Sonos is doing with the tech right now, but I doubt they would have been able to really make it happen.  Just not enough capital or experience.  As well, we don’t know where Sonos will take this in the future.

      Danny
      SarahN
      SarahN
      Local Superstar
      May 24, 2022

      Some commentators over on the Reddit forum are reporting having the new Sonos voice on their updated app. But then some others don’t (me included in the UK). Do we have any news on whether some countries have this included in the 14.8 update?

      Can you have too many Sonos speakers? 🤔 😆
        Airgetlam
        Airgetlam
        May 24, 2022

        Not available here in the US, so I wonder if those folks posting in the reddit thread may be tied in some way to a beta, and shouldn’t be posting about it. But yes, I’m running S2 14.8. Only two voice assistants offered in the iOS controller, Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant. 

        Bruce
          Jeffrey_35
          Jeffrey_35
          Headliner III
          May 24, 2022

          Me too. Besides the update there was a huge speaker update but nothing for me with 14.8. Someone said their was no Beta for 14.8 that it didn’t have SVC in it.

          “The true sign of intelligence is not knowledge but imagination.”
            Kumar
            May 25, 2022

            Sonos has said here that all users regardless of where they are located in the world will get SVC at the same time via the same version update. The only difference in user experience of SVC should be where the different streaming services that SVC works with have different availability across the world.

              Show more replies
              Terms & ConditionsAccessibility statement