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Is the Play 1 due to be discontinued? I have several Play 1s already and was thinking of adding another but the price here in the UK has just increased (to somewhere between £190 to £200) and I don't want to buy something which will soon be replaced.



The Play 1 is a relatively old model launched several years ago and I suspect it's a candidate for renewal especially as it doesn't support a line in and the sound is less than perfect. Sonos announced a tie in with Amazon Echo voice operated devices and maybe a new Sonos speaker will be launched with a mic in it?



In addition, Sonos's "protected garden" of subscription only music sources may be giving way to commercial pressures to open up like the competition does which make me think a revamp of the product line could be due in order to make Sonos stay comepetitive. Manufacturing layoffs and change of CEO suggest to me this may be due soon.



Anyway, you have read my concerns, so back to my question ... is the Play 1 due for replacement soon?
Hey Sarno - Welcome to the community. As a company, Sonos doesn't comment on the details of our product roadmap or timeline. The announcements section of the community and our social channels will be the best place to watch for any upcoming news about what's going on with Sonos.
No insider knowledge, but in my opinion there is absolutely no evidence the Play:1 is being replaced anytime soon. It is the third youngest item in the Sonos line-up after the Playbase and Play:5 2nd Gen. The lack of a line-in is also a red herring, because the Play:3 doesn't have a line-in either and it is far older than the Play:1. Also, the shelf-life before a revamp for the Play:5 was 6 years. The Play:1 isn't even 4 years old yet.



As to Sonos' "protected garden" being opened up, there is no reason something like that would require new hardware. In fact, it has already been done with Spotify Direct Control, and Sonos has stated they want Direct Control from native apps for every service they support.
In the US, the Play:1 has consistently been $199. Every once in a while you will see a temporary price reduction. All retailers, mail order and brick-mortar, have the same price at the same time. Last fall I bought a Play:1 for $149. Last week I bought another for $179. I see that it is back up to $199 today. And (I hope Sonos is reading this), I made these and other purchases on the promise that we will have integration with Alexa.
In the US, the Play:1 has consistently been $199. Every once in a while you will see a temporary price reduction. All retailers, mail order and brick-mortar, have the same price at the same time. Last fall I bought a Play:1 for $149. Last week I bought another for $179. I see that it is back up to $199 today. And (I hope Sonos is reading this), I made these and other purchases on the promise that we will have integration with Alexa.



Sonos stated in the official press release that Alexa integration will be compatible with all new and previously purchased Sonos devices. Your purchase is safe with regards to Alexa.
In the US, the Play:1 has consistently been $199. Every once in a while you will see a temporary price reduction. All retailers, mail order and brick-mortar, have the same price at the same time. Last fall I bought a Play:1 for $149. Last week I bought another for $179. I see that it is back up to $199 today. And (I hope Sonos is reading this), I made these and other purchases on the promise that we will have integration with Alexa.



Hey Harrigill - As jgatie commented, Alexa integration will be made available on Sonos via a free software upgrade when available. As long as there's an Alexa-capable device (Dot or Echo) in the household as well nothing else will be required. There's a video on our Official YouTube channel that highlights what the integration will look like.
As to Sonos' "protected garden" being opened up, there is no reason something like that would require new hardware. In fact, it has already been done with Spotify Direct Control, and Sonos has stated they want Direct Control from native apps for every service they support.



Sorry if I wasn't clear. What I meant was that Sonos is now facing more competitive pressures than it had faced before with several lookalike products. Consequently Sonos's product package ("protected garden" subscription sources, and limited connectivity) may prove to be less attractive and Sonos may be forced into releasing new products sooner than intended.
[quote=Andy B] Alexa integration will be made available on Sonos via a free software upgrade when available. As long as there's an Alexa-capable device (Dot or Echo) in the household as well nothing else will be required. There's a video on our Official YouTube channel that highlights what the integration will look like.



Thanks for the video link.




Sorry if I wasn't clear. What I meant was that Sonos is now facing more competitive pressures than it had faced before with several lookalike products. Consequently Sonos's product package ("protected garden" subscription sources, and limited connectivity) may prove to be less attractive and Sonos may be forced into releasing new products sooner than intended.



And as I said, the "protected garden" is no more, and it had nothing to do with hardware limitations, it was software. Unless you are talking about Bluetooth/Airplay support? If that is the case, considering the quality/reliability issues with both, I highly doubt Sonos is going to start supporting either. What with the industry's adoption of the Sonos "stream directly from the source" method as the cutting edge tech behind Chromecast and Spotify Connect, Bluetooth/Airplay would be a significant step backwards.
There has been a price increase in the UK of around 25% across the product line resulting from change in currency exchange rates for GBP to USD.



There was an announcement about this earlier in the year.
Play:1 is on sale here in the States.
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