New Sonos One Generation 2 just purchased at Best Buy but they are still on preorder?

BTLE would likely be used for initial setup purposes, as they did with the Beam and Sonos Amp if I'm not mistaken. But yes, it would be very interesting to know if there are any other differences.

It’s a error from Bestbuy I work there.

The "Gen 2" is a part of the printing on the box itself, independent of what's printed on the stuck-on label, so the only error BestBuy may have made is to sell a product version that they shouldn't yet have sold. But why is the Gen 2 product out with retailers when Sonos still haven't announced it? Are they trying to get rid of existing Gen 1 stock, implying the Gen1 and Gen2 models are not compatible?

But why is the Gen 2 product out with retailers when Sonos still haven't announced it? Are they trying to get rid of existing Gen 1 stock, implying the Gen1 and Gen2 models are not compatible?

I seriously doubt that Sonos would sneak in the gen 2 like this if they were not compatible with gen 1 as a part. That would tick off a lot of users who bought one under the promise that they could add a second at a later date. Why keep that a secret. I'd actually think the fact that this seems to be somewhat blended into the market like this makes it more likely that the two gens are compatible.

Looking at it a different way, if the gens are not compatible, I'd expect to see slightly different physical characteristics in gen 2. Are we seeing any?

I'm more of the opinion that Best Buy just didn't honor the release date. I suspect we'll see an announcement shortly here and in the media. And I do agree with Danny (Melvimbe) that it's most likely that these are compatible for bonding as surrounds, or pairing as stereo with the first generation.

A major German online retailer is now selling the Sonos One as Generation 1.
https://www.otto.de/p/sonos-one-gen-1-smart-speaker-mit-sprachsteuerung-635063965/#variationId=635063966

After someone on the Dutch forum had a question about available stock of Sonos One's, one of Sonos' representatives commented the following (I've translated, the original post can be found here for all Dutch speakers or Google Translate enthousiasts):

There is a new hardware version (gen2) on the market of the One, which requires a new product code to be issued according to EU regulationsThis is cited as the reason for the delay in delivery, and it also explains what we've seen with the FCC.
Continued:
There has been little to no communication about this, since the user experience and sound quality have not changed.
A new CPU has been fitted in this second generation, and from our experience with the Sonos Beam, we have concluded it is not needed to have 6 microphones in the One, but that only 4 will suffice to provide a satisfactory experience with voice control.
a Bluetooth chip has been added, which will not be used to stream music, but will provide greater ease of use in setting up the device using phones and tablets. After the One has connected to your wifi network, the bluetooth chip will deactivate.
In conclusion, the updates are minor and the user experience should be identical to the first generation.
As Sonos are saying there will be no change in user experience, I expect that there are also no compatibility issues with the existing generation - they would have a very hard time explaining this, for a product that is cosmetically identical and has not actively been marketed as a new product.
The Play 1 vs Sonos One and Play 5 gen 1 vs gen 2 were upgrades to a completely new hardware platform, triggering non-compatibility, this update seems a minor one.

Hello. I just got a birthday present with a new Sonos One (Gen 1) in white. I didn't want it in white and therefore returned it to get a black one. They unfortunately didn't have any black ones in stock and had to order one. Then they called me and said "We dont have any more black ones left in stock" so he offered me that I could get a Sonos One Gen 2 for same price. I also couldn't find anywhere to read about the Gen 2. But yesterday I actually received the Sonon One Gen 2. I'm from Denmark.

Update: When I notified them of the post on here, the Sonos' rep has also confirmed there will be no issues with surround or stereo pairing for this new generation. This is just a minor internal upgrade.

This makes me wonder if Sonos' policy in communicating this has changed. I cannot imagine this sort of internal upgrade has never happened before for any of the other players, being on the market for as long as they have.

I cannot imagine this sort of internal upgrade has never happened before for any of the other players, being on the market for as long as they have.

As mentioned above it indeed happened before, actually with the One's predecessor, the Play:1. Another example would be the Connect where the wifi card got updated during the years.

The Sonos Staff here on the forums aren't allowed to talk about new things until given permission. Hopefully they are mentioning these topics to the powers above them and asking nicely if they can say something.

https://i.redd.it/yd14lpaql5k21.jpg