Earlier this month, a report revealed that Sonos had a new speaker in the works. The Roam is designed to move from one area to the next, rather than sit in one room. And, with that, it’s priced to move, too.
Everything we heard within the initial report earlier this month panned out. The Sonos Roam is a portable speaker that comes in two colors: Lunar White and Shadow Black. The device is up for pre-order today, with the price set at $169. The speaker will start to be delivered in just over a month, beginning April 20.
Sonos calls the Roam an “ultra-portable” speaker, which makes sense considering it’s considerably smaller than the company’s regular portable speaker, the Move. It’s lightweight, too, so moving it around shouldn’t be a hassle. The speaker will automatically switch between Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, depending on whether or not you’re home or on the go. It offers a simultaneous connection to both, though, so switching between sources is easy.
Interestingly, Sonos is introducing a new feature called “Sound Swap” with the Roam, too. The company says that owners who press and hold the Play/Pause button can get the media playing out of that speaker to automatically switch to another speaker, whichever is closest to the Roam. This makes it easy to quickly transition a playing song or podcast from the Roam as you come inside, for instance.
The Roam features built-in support for Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa. In addition, the new ultra-portable speaker offers support for Apple’s AirPlay 2, making it an optimal streaming device.
From today’s announcement:
A simultaneous connection to both WiFi and Bluetooth makes streaming seamless wherever you are. When you’re listening at home, Roam connects to your system and streams on WiFi, and when you leave it intuitively switches to Bluetooth and automatically re-pairs with your mobile device. With an all-new feature called Sound Swap, you can press and hold the play/pause button on the speaker to switch the music to the nearest speaker in your system, making it easy to move music from room-to-room. Seamless connectivity also unlocks Bluetooth streaming for your entire system, with the Sonos app allowing you to group any of your Sonos speakers to Roam when streaming with Bluetooth. Roam works with more than 100 streaming services, including Sonos Radio, and is easily controlled with the Sonos app, your voice with Amazon Alexa or the Google Assistant, Apple AirPlay 2, or directly from your favourite music service app.
The Sonos Roam can be charged a few different ways. Sonos built its own custom wireless charger, which will be sold separately. It can also be charged wirelessly with any Qi-enabled wireless charger. Or, if you prefer, owners can charge it with the included USB-C cable.
The speaker is IP67 rated for water resistance, and there are physical buttons to handle media playback. The battery can last up to 10 days when not in use on a single charge, and up to 10 hours of continuous music playback on a single charge.
Sonos says the Roam will be available in the following areas: Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Mexico, the United Kingdom, the United States, Ireland, Germany, Italy, Sweden, Switzerland, France, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Spain, Poland, Belgium, Norway, Finland, Austria, Latin America, Hong Kong, Singapore, Greece, Eastern Europe, Cyprus, Portugal, South Africa, Egypt, Israel, the United Arab Emirates, Turkey, and Morocco at launch. Availability in Japan is coming soon.
The triangular design certainly sets it apart in its own way. And it looks plenty mobile. What do you think of the Roam?