Like many other companies during Super Bowl season, Sonos is discounting its home theater gear. Today, you can save $130 on the Beam (Gen 2) soundbar, bringing its price down to $369. You’ll also find deals on the flagship Arc Ultra Soundbar, Sonos subwoofers, and more.
The Sonos Beam is the company’s sub-$500 soundbar. Engadget’s pick for the best midrange model, the compact speaker has impressive sound for its size. Part of that is its Dolby Atmos support. Although the soundbar lacks upward-firing speakers, it uses software tricks to compensate. Audio timing and frequency adjustments make sound seem to come from the side or slightly above.
Sonos
Save $130 on Engadget’s pick for the best midrange soundbar.
One of the biggest drawbacks is that the Beam only has one HDMI port. Regardless, that compromise may be easier to accept at Beam’s current $369 than at its usual $499.
Several more home theater speakers are included in Sonos’s sale. If you have a loftier budget for a soundbar, there’s the Arc Ultra. Typically $1,099, it’s now $899. The company’s pair of subwoofers is included as well. You can get the Sub Mini for $399 (down from $499) or the Sub 4 for $759 (from $899).
Although they aren’t explicitly sold as home theater products, the Era 100 ($179) and Era 300 ($379) are also included in the sale. The portable Move 2 isn’t discounted individually, but you will find it in a couple of bundles. You can check out the sale page for the complete list.
This isn’t a list of the cheapest tech—in fact, some of these things aren’t even on sale for Black Friday. Instead, it’s a list of the best tech to give someone you actually like. These are product ideas that solve real problems and would be a welcome gift for any tech aficionado.
Image Credit: Jason Aten
The Paper Pro Move is just a few months old, and I’ve been reviewing it since it came out. I think it’s fair to say it’s the most thoughtfully designed “mini” device of the year. It shrinks reMarkable’s new color e-ink canvas to a 7.3-inch display—roughly paperback size—while keeping the adjustable front light, Gallery 3 color, and reMarkable’s signature paper-like writing feel. The pixel density jumps to 264 PPI, making text sharper than even the full-size Paper Pro.
If someone on your list takes field notes, travels light, or found the original 11.8-inch Paper Pro too unwieldy, this is the one to get. The catch: it’s brand new, so no straight discounts.
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Who It’s For: Note-takers, creatives, commuters, field workers, and anyone who writes more than they type. Best Deal for Black Friday: The official bundle discount ($50 off) on the Move + Marker Plus + Type Folio.
2. Anker Nano Power Bank (10K, 45W)
Anker’s best pocketable charger is on one of its best sales ever. The Nano Power Bank has an integrated retractable USB-C cable—no more scrambling for cords—and a 10,000 mAh battery that can refuel most phones twice. The best feature is the 45W output, which is powerful enough to charge a MacBook Air or Nintendo Switch.
Who It’s For: Travelers, commuters, students, and anyone who lives out of a sling bag. Best Deal for Black Friday: $39.99 (down from $59.99) at Amazon and Anker.
3. Sony A7 IV
Sony’s A7 IV remains one of the most balanced, capable, and reliable full-frame cameras you can buy—especially for the price. It features a 33MP sensor, excellent low-light performance, industry-leading autofocus, and oversampled 4K video. It’s not the newest body in Sony’s lineup, but that’s the point: it’s the rare camera that’s good at everything without costing flagship money.
Who It’s For: Enthusiast photographers, hybrid shooters, vloggers, and anyone moving up from an APS-C camera. Best Deal for Black Friday: $1,998 for the body ($700 off), at B&H Photo.
4. Nespresso Vertuo Creatista
Image Courtesy, Nespresso
This year, the Nespresso Vertuo Creatista arrives on Black Friday with a compelling case: it blends the instant convenience of pods with a legit steam wand for lattes, cappuccinos, or flat whites. Not only that, but it all comes inside a polished stainless-steel body that looks more like a countertop espresso machine than a pod brewer. Its 2-liter water tank, auto-eject capsule system, and built-in frother make it a one-button way to satisfy both espresso and latte cravings. 
Who It’s For: Coffee lovers who want café-quality espresso, cappuccinos, and lattes at home without learning the art of tamping and pulling shots—ideal for apartment dwellers, new homeowners, or anyone upgrading from a standard drip pot. Best Deal for Black Friday: As low as $418.98 at Amazon (Down from $699.95 list price).
5. Sonos Arc Ultra + Sub
If it’s time to give yourself or someone you love a home-theater upgrade, this is the one. The new Arc Ultra shrinks the soundbar while improving its bass and clarity thanks to Sonos’s “Sound Motion” transducer tech. Paired with the Sub (Gen 4), it delivers room-filling sound and best-in-class dialogue enhancement. As a result, movies sound dramatically better, especially voices—the Arc Ultra’s center channel is exceptional.
Who It’s For: Movie lovers, home-theater enthusiasts, and anyone who struggles to hear dialogue. Best Deal for Black Friday: $1,499 for the bundle from Sonos and major retailers (about $500 off typical pricing).
6. EcoFlow 140W Rapid GaN Charger
EcoFlow has quietly become one of the most compelling accessory makers, and the Rapid 140W GaN charger is a perfect example. It’s compact, supports USB-C PD 3.1, and can charge a 16-inch MacBook Pro at full speed. Multiple USB-C ports (plus USB-A) make it a one-brick solution for phones, laptops, watches, and earbuds. Because it uses GaN technology, it’s also small enough to throw in just about any bag.
Who It’s For: Anyone trying to simplify their bag—or ditch the tangle of chargers behind their desk—will appreciate this. Best Deal for Black Friday: $74.99 at EcoFlow.com.
7. July Carry On Suitcase
Image Courtesy, July
July has become our favorite suitcase brand, and for good reason. The curved polycarbonate corners are more durable than standard designs, and the “SilentMove” wheels are among the smoothest—and quietest—of any carry-on. Seriously, they’re so good that they were the first thing my wife commented on when we packed for our recent trip to Lisbon in a July Carry-On. Not only that, but the CaseSafe models have built-in Apple Find My support, as well as an ejectable power bank.
Who It’s For: Frequent travelers, business flyers, and anyone upgrading from a cheap spinner. Best Deal for Black Friday: $220 for the Carry On Light.
8. M4 MacBook Air
Apple finally fixed the MacBook Air’s only real drawback by making 16GB of RAM standard. The new M4 chip is faster, more efficient, and supports dual external displays—a first for the Air with the lid open. For students, writers, office workers, and just about everyone else, this is the best all-around laptop you can buy. Right now you can get pretty great deals on the MacBook Air from Amazon and other retailers.
Who It’s For: Students, office workers, creators, and anyone replacing a laptop older than four years. Best Deal for Black Friday: $899 at Amazon and B&H.
9. AirPods Pro 3
AirPods Pro 3 look familiar, but the updates are pretty big: a built-in heart rate sensor, better waterproofing (IP57), improved bass, and 8 hours of battery life with ANC. The fitness-tracking alone makes them the easiest upgrade recommendation for any runner or gym-goer.
If you want to save just a little more money, the AirPods 4 with Active Noise Cancellation are on sale for only $110 online at Walmart.
Who It’s For: Fitness lovers, commuters, and anyone still using AirPods from 2019. Best Deal for Black Friday: $219.99 on Amazon.
10. Whoop MG
Image Credit: Jason Aten
The Whoop 5.0 MG is a significant upgrade for the platform, with 14-day battery life and new medical-grade features, including FDA-cleared ECG and blood-pressure trend monitoring via its conductive clasp. It keeps Whoop’s distraction-free design while offering excellent data accuracy for sleep, recovery, and strain. If you’re not into ECG and BP trend data, the standard Whoop 5.0 has the same long battery life for less.
Who It’s For: Athletes, sleep trackers, health-conscious users, and anyone who wants the most accurate data without wearing a smartwatch. Best Deal for Black Friday: $299 “Life” Membership (normally $359). If you don’t need the medical features, the standard 5.0 Peak membership is $199.
11. Sony WH-1000XM5
Sony’s WH-1000XM5 remain the gold standard for noise-canceling headphones. They deliver exceptional ANC, 30-hour battery life, lightweight comfort, and dramatically better microphone quality for calls. Sony’s tuning is warm, detailed, and fatigue-free—ideal for long flights or hours-long focus sessions. At their annual Black Friday price, they’re one of the best headphone deals you’ll find.
Who It’s For: Frequent flyers, commuters, remote workers, students, and anyone who needs silence on demand. Best Deal for Black Friday: $298 (down from $399) at Amazon, Best Buy, and Target.
12. Kindle Paperwhite (2024 Signature Edition)
Amazon’s refreshed Signature Edition brings a faster processor, snappier page-turns, a larger 7-inch display, 32GB of storage, wireless charging, and an ambient light sensor that adjusts automatically. For pure reading, nothing beats the Paperwhite’s combination of screen quality, battery life, and portability.
Who It’s For: Avid readers, travelers, students, and anyone trying to get off their phone at night. Best Deal I’ve Found: $154.99 (normally $199) at Amazon.
13. Level Lock Pro
Image Courtesy, Level Lock
The Level Lock Pro keeps the same invisible, inside-the-door design as the Level Lock+, but upgrades nearly everything internally: native motion sensing for faster auto-unlock, full Matter-over-Thread support, and Door Sense—a physical status indicator that tells you if the door is open or closed. It remains the best “you can’t tell it’s a smart lock” option on the market and continues to support Apple Home Keys.
The Pro is new and isn’t on sale for Black Friday, but the Level Lock+ is. If you’re willing to sacrifice Matter support and Door Sense, it’s a great deal.
Who It’s For: Apple Home users, smart-home fans, minimalists, and anyone who hates bulky keypad locks. Best Deal for Black Friday: No discounts on the Pro itself, but the Level Lock+ is $229—saving you $120 if you don’t need the new hardware features.
14. Nanu Arc Alarm Clock
Image Courtesy, Nanu
The Nanu Arc is a design-forward, phone-free alarm clock with a mechanical chime—striking an actual metal bar—that creates a calming, gradual wake-up sound. It’s beautifully made, repairable, battery-powered (USB-C), and designed to keep your phone out of the bedroom without sacrificing elegance or functionality.
Who It’s For: A perfect gift for the “digital detox” crowd—or anyone who wants to stop waking up to their phone. Best Deal for Black Friday: $254 (normally $299), one of the only discounts Nanu products see all year.
The original Ray-Ban Meta Smart Glasses look like classic sunglasses but add surprisingly good open-ear audio, hands-free POV photo/video capture, and on-device Meta AI tools. The audio quality is surprisingly good, and being able to capture moments without holding up a phone changes how you record memories.
Who It’s For: Travelers, parents, creators, and early adopters who love capturing candid moments. Best Deal for Black Friday: $239 (20% off), for the original version.
The opinions expressed here by Inc.com columnists are their own, not those of Inc.com.
And yet, one of the things Conrad seems to find time for on a regular basis is replying to angry customers on Threads.
For example, a Sonos customer posted a blistering, painfully familiar rant about the company’s app—calling it “the worst piece of shit software I have ever used.” In his reply, Conrad didn’t make up an excuse or give some corporate version of an apology. He replied like someone who understands exactly how much damage bad software can do to a beloved product.
“We’ve made some material progress but there’s lots of work left to do,” he wrote. “It sounds like we’re doing a particularly bad job in your home and I’d love to learn more.”
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If you’ve ever used Sonos, you know this customer’s frustration isn’t new. For years, the company has made some of the best speakers you could buy. The killer feature was that Sonos speakers work together in a way very few competitors have ever matched. And yet the software experience has increasingly felt like the opposite of what the hardware promises.
That’s the tension at the heart of this exchange, and the reason it’s worth writing about. People don’t get this angry over something they don’t care about. The original post isn’t just an angry customer venting; it’s a reminder that the gap between what Sonos promises and what customers experience has grown wide enough for even loyal users to wonder whether the whole system is worth the trouble.
Most companies handle this sort of thing exactly the wrong way. They hide behind statements drafted by PR teams or send customers into endless support loops. They treat anger as a threat instead of what it actually is: an early warning sign that you have a very big problem. By the time people stop complaining, it usually means they’ve already stopped caring—and probably stopped using your product.
That’s why this moment matters. Conrad could’ve ignored the post—or farmed it off to a social media intern—and no one would’ve been surprised. But he didn’t, and that tells you something about the kind of problem Sonos knows it has to solve.
The company’s app redesign earlier this year was supposed to be a step toward a more modern platform—faster, cleaner, more flexible. Instead, it felt to customers like a regression. Features disappeared, and people who had invested hundreds or thousands of dollars into their sound system suddenly found themselves wrestling with something that used to “just work.”
In his reply, Conrad gets right to the heart saying that he is in his role “in large part to fix the app.” He knows what’s broken, and he knows that nothing else Sonos does will matter if he doesn’t get this right.
The lesson here is actually quite simple: When your product breaks the relationship you’ve built with your customers, you can’t delegate the job of repairing what went wrong. You can’t outsource rebuilding your brand’s credibility. As the CEO, you own it.
By the way, this kind of engagement scales better than you might think. Not because a CEO can personally fix everyone’s problem, but because public replies send a signal—to customers, employees, and investors—that someone at the top is listening. It communicates that Conrad knows that improving the experience isn’t a side project.
The company spent nearly two decades building a brand around effortless, elegant home audio. It can’t afford to let its app become a symbol of everything that frustrates people about modern tech. The longer that perception calcifies, the harder it becomes to change it.
So when Sonos’s CEO shows up on Threads, it’s not a stunt. It isn’t even about the individual customer he’s responding to. Just follow the thread of replies and you’ll see him inviting countless more customers to send him a DM about their problems and complaints.
Really, Conrad’s reply is about the thousands of other customers who might read the thread, and the millions of users who rely on Sonos every day. It’s a public acknowledgment that the company knows exactly where it fell short—and is willing to own the work ahead.
That’s something every leader should pay attention to. Customers don’t expect perfection. But they do expect honesty and accountability. And when something goes wrong, they expect the people in charge to show up with more than excuses.
The opinions expressed here by Inc.com columnists are their own, not those of Inc.com.
Sonos’ Ace headphones didn’t get off to the best start, but the brand’s first headphones have come a long way since launch, and for $100 off when purchased directly from Sonos or Amazon, they’re well worth considering. The Ace are down to $299 from both retailers, and for that price you’re getting one of the most feature-packed pairs of noise-canceling headphones on the market right now.
Sonos
When the Ace arrived in the summer of 2024, we praised them for their sound quality, premium design and comfy fit, but had no choice but to ding the headphones for not launching with some of their flashiest features. But that’s no longer an issue if you pick up a pair today, as Sonos’ TrueCinema spatial audio tech now works as advertised.
As a reminder, TrueCinema takes into account the dynamics of your living space when you’re using TV Audio Swap to create a virtual 3D audio system in your headphones. The idea is that you feel like you aren’t wearing them at all, which is a big claim to make, but there’s no denying that True Cinema enhances the experience of watching movies and TV shows while wearing the Ace.
Sonos has also improved the Ace’s adaptive noise cancellation in updates made available since launch, while phone calls are now clearer than they were when we first reviewed the headphones. They’re still expensive at full price, but if you use other Sonos products in your home and think you’ll appreciate the Ace’s ability to swap audio output with a compatible Sonos soundbar (ideal for late-night movies when the kids are in bed), then it’s a very easy recommendation at $299.
Amazon Prime Big Deal Days means sweet sales on some of our favorite gear, and as perhaps the best smart speaker we’ve ever tested, the Sonos Era 100 certainly qualifies. This is the lowest price we’ve ever seen for Sonos’ entry-level speaker, so if you’ve been looking to grab one or two of these stylish columns to fill your home’s halls with sound, now’s the time to strike.
The Era 100 has it all: tons of features, responsive microphones for voice commands, sleek style, and even the great Giancarlo Esposito (or his voice, at least). Best of all for my money is the Era 100’s fantastic sound, offering smooth midrange frequencies, sparkling treble, and punchy bass that’s much more robust than you’d expect for the size (and price).
Of course, there is an elephant in the room. The Sonos app, once the pride of the Sonos empire, has had some major issues of late, including dropping speakers off user networks, among other quirks. That said, Sonos has admitted its failures and worked hard to address user issues, including appointing a new CEO who has spoken frankly on the matter. That work seems to have paid off, as the software and hardware seem to be much more stable for users in recent months.
For my part, the Sonos Era 100 and its pricier sibling, the Era 300, have both been working great on my network for months, providing stalwart connection to go along with their excellent performance. I’ve even recently connected an older Sonos/Ikea Symfonisk Lamp on my network for our newborn baby’s nursery, and all three speakers have been working well in concert.
The setup lets me enjoy all the bounty Sonos has to offer, including features like multi-room connection, prompt voice response, access to nearly any and every music streaming service, and extras like Bluetooth, Spotify Connect, and Apple AirPlay. The Era 100 also provides smooth and meticulously designed touch controls on top of the speaker, and even a line-in input. It all adds up to a slick and seamless smart speaker experience.
Looking for bigger and bolder sound, including Dolby Atmos multi-directional speakers for 3D audio? Check out the Sonos Era 300, which is anoher one of our favorite smart speakers on a great sale right now for $379. Either way you go, you’ll save big on Sonos’ best.
Amazon Prime Day comes around but once, or twice, or maybe like three times (?) a year, and it’s a great time to stock up on tech, including grabbing one of the best soundbars you can buy on sale. This Sonos Beam Gen 2 Prime Day soundbar deal certainly qualifies, offering clear and expressive performance and a ton of features for a serious discount during Amazon’s Prime Big Deal Days event.
Style meets substance has long been the Sonos ethos, and the Beam Gen 2 exemplifies that brilliantly. You’ll find carefully designed curves, slick touch controls, and a compact chassis that fits on any console and below virtually any TV.
The Beam’s sound quality is among the best in its class, with only Bose’s Smart Soundbar keeping pace. While the Bose bar provides better Dolby Atmos effects thanks to dedicated upfiring drivers, Sonos’ bar offers more low-end muscle and impressive frequency balance, along with some solid virtualized Atmos effects.
As with other Sonos products, the Beam Gen 2 is loaded with networking features, including tons of supported streaming services over Wi-Fi in the Sonos app, third-party connectivity like Apple AirPlay and Spotify Connect, and the ability to connect with other Sonos speakers in surround sound or as part of a multi-room audio system.
The Sonos app has had its issues of late, but Sonos has spent plenty of time and toil fixing it since its relaunch with the Sonos Ace. It has worked fine for me for months, with my Sonos Era 100 and Era 300 standing among the most reliable speakers on my network.
The Beam Gen 2 is also a snap when it comes to connection and usability, connecting to your TV over HDMI eARC for simple control with your TV remote. It’s a highly capable little bar that can grow with your system as needed, and at this price, it’s an easy buy.
The Labor Day and back-to-school season isn’t only a good time to save on things like a new laptop. Case in point: Sonos’ latest sale. Whether you want to upgrade the sound in your dorm room or home office, you can save up to 25 percent on Sonos speakers and other gear right now. Included in the sale is the Era 100, which has a 10-percent discount at the moment.
Sonos debuted the Era 100 speaker in 2023 as a replacement for the Sonos One. It offers great sound quality and has built-in mics for Trueplay tuning and voice control. It’s worth mentioning that the Sonos Ace headphones are also on sale for $299, down from $399 — a 25 percent discount. The headphones have come a long way since they first launched, including the introduction of TrueCinema, which works with a Sonos soundbar to create the best spatial audio experience.
The big draw here is spatial audio, which our team feels performs even better than Apple’s Homepod (5/10, WIRED Review) when it comes to filling a room with sound. That’s largely thanks to the array of drivers, including six speakers, four tweeters, and a pair of mid/bass drivers all packed into one vaguely robot-butt-shaped device.
We also appreciate that the Era 300 has physical controls, in case you need to make quick adjustments without pulling out your phone. There’s a volume slider, track controls, and a button to activate either Amazon Alexa or the Sonos Voice Control. There’s also Bluetooth pairing if you want to skip the Sonos app altogether and just hook your phone up directly.
The app (now finally working again after some woes last year) provides a lot of value, though, letting you connect all of your speakers together for whole home audio, and it supports distinct speaker types, like soundbars and bookshelf speakers. Sonos speakers are easy to set up and configure, have a wide support for streaming services and smart home options, and just sound great. They even found their way onto our favorite Bluetooth speakers list, despite having their own protocol for home audio.
Our reviewer was particularly impressed with the audio quality on the Era 300, saying it sounded detailed and expressive whether they were listening to music or spoken word and calling it a “poised and eloquent listen.” Make sure to check out the full review for more details on why we like this speaker over the many other Sonos options.
If you want to double up for true multichannel surround sound, you can pick up two speakers as a bundle, but you won’t save any cash, just packaging. The big downside to Sonos speakers is that they tend to be expensive, but if you’re looking to get started in the ecosystem and have a great television to pair it with, these are worth a serious look.
The newest version of Sonos’ mobile app is still very bad—so bad, the company is considering ditching the newly redesigned version of the app and bringing back the older version. This news, reported by The Verge, comes along with reports that Sonos is also laying off 100 employees. Indeed, not a great time for the swanky speaker company.
Things first went awry for Sonos when it released the new version of its app in May. It was met with almost universal disdain. Users found the new app format made it difficult to connect to a network, queue up songs, or even change the volume. One of the key complaints was that many of the accessibility features in the legacy app were either poorly implemented in the redesign or removed from the platform entirely. Some users say the app is nigh unusable for blind Sonos owners.
Sonos has at least acknowledged its blunder since the bungled rollout, but the company has yet to fix many of the issues at hand. CEO Patrick Spence has said the fiasco may cost the company upwards of $30 million and has led to it delaying two new hardware products.
Hence the potential frantic backtracking to a version of the Sonos app that actually worked. It isn’t clear whether Sonos will actually let users switch to the previous app version or when such a capability will be available. For now, Sonos users will just have to keep slogging through it.
Here’s some other news from the world of consumer tech this week.
BMW Uno
Great news for anybody who loves the card game Uno and also owns a BMW: You can now combine both of those interests without worrying about losing cards beneath the floor mats.
Uno Car Party! will let riders play Uno together in the vehicle, using a combination of their own phones and the display screens on the car’s dashboard. The new feature—coming to the BMW X3 and select Mini models on August 21—is a joint effort of the game company Mattel and the cloud-based game service AirConsole. This is the same partnership that brought the Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? quiz game to BMW cabins a couple of years ago.
It’s sure to be good fun, but just know that you can’t play card games while driving down the road, lucky for all the other humans and robots on the road. Save it for ferry rides.
Browser Hell
Descend into Hell via Google Chrome, because Diablo is playable on a web browser now. This capability comes via a fan-made, open-source project called Diabloweb that is available on GitHub. The game includes the 1997 Diablo, along with its expansion, Hellfire. It takes a teensy bit of setup (you need to download the game and run it locally), but before long you’ll be able to hack and slash some demons on just about any browser you choose.
Sure, it’s not quite as impressive as running Doom on a pregnancy test or strain of gut fauna, but being able to smoothly play one of the most renowned video games right there in your browser is still pretty nifty.
Starlunk
Starlink, the satellite internet division of Elon Musk’s SpaceX, plans to start offering direct-to-cell access, which will beam its connectivity to cell phone users in a partnership with mobile provider T-Mobile. Other cell providers like Verizon and AT&T don’t seem to like that development very much.
This week, Starlink’s competitors filed petitions to deny Starlink’s efforts to implement its cell service with the US Federal Communications Commission, which regulates how satellite internet is distributed in the US (and beyond, once the satellites are up there).
When setting up my Sonos home theater system, I had a persistent problem. I was trying to add a Sonos wireless subwoofer to my network, but according to Sonos’ mobile app, the Sub was nowhere to be found. The app would throw a “Could not connect” message, or—even weirder—show me that I was trying to connect a gray box labeled “product” with a serial number that had nothing to do with anything.
“I thought the smart home was supposed to make your life easier,” my husband commented mildly, as he watched me factory-reset the Sub a few times, turn my phone on and off again, toggle Bluetooth, switch phones, and finally bang my head against a wall and cry before calling Sonos tech support.
As we all know, I am far from the only one who has problems with Sonos’ new app; the company pushed out a radical redesign in May that broke a number of key features—such as the ability to change the volume on some of its speaker systems—and angered countless longtime Sonos fans.
Today, more than two months after the contentious redesign, Sonos CEO Patrick Spence finally acknowledged the general customer disappointment in a long note posted to the company’s Instagram account. “Since launch we have had a number of issues,” he wrote in a hilarious tone of wry British understatement. Spence apologized for the frustration the update caused, and noted that fixing the broken app continues to be Sonos’ “number one priority.”
The post refers customers to the detailed list of Sonos software updates that have already been released, and lays out a road map for further improvements to the hobbled app. Here are some of the problems that Sonos promises to fix in the upcoming months:
Implementing Music Library configuration, browse, search, and play (in July and August)
Improving volume responsiveness (in August)
Improving alarm consistency and reliability (in September)
Restoring edit mode for playlists (in September and October)
That’s a short list, and maybe it’s too short. The number of improvements the company needs to make is—no point in beating around the bush here—preposterous. I am having trouble thinking of an app update fiasco large enough to compare it to this one, because in my time as a consumer tech reporter and editor, I cannot think of another software update that took away users’ ability to control the volume.
More than that, I can’t think of another update that took away users’ ability to control the volume and then did not immediately fix that. For months! I reached out to Sonos asking why Spence’s timeline for fixes is so prolonged. The company has not yet responded.
It’s worth nothing here that Sonos’ hardware remains the gold standard in the premium consumer audio world. My colleague Parker Hall refers to the Era 100 as the new smart speaker standard; the Ace wireless headphones earned an 8/10 and a WIRED Recommends badge. When I finally got my Sonos home theater system up, my jaw dropped at the richness and depth of the jungle noises in Land of Bad. (Bomb go boom!)
And yet, this feeling of frustrated disappointment is oddly familiar. My family used to be a fully Sonos household, with Play speakers extending throughout our home and out to my husband’s workshop. I ditched the Play system in 2020 because I could no longer deal with the company’s decision to split its controller software into two separate Sonos apps, one for new speakers and one for legacy speakers. Why do I need to do some mental math to remember which app controls which speaker every time I want to change the music?
Yet here I am again, held hostage by hardware, stranded by software, unable to edit my Sonos playlists until September. Maybe I’m just another foolish beautiful dreamer. At least my Roku TV still works.
As soon as you want to hear the same music in multiple rooms, you understand why so many people love Sonos. When it comes to set-it and-forget-it multiroom audio, the company makes the hardware and software experience easier than anyone. From speakers to soundbars (and even turntables and networked amps), Sonos has taken over the homes of everyone who doesn’t want to drop oodles of cash on a “real” custom-installed system with wires running through walls. In a roundabout way, this makes a somewhat-costly Sonos system feel affordable.
The same can be said about its first pair of headphones, the $450 Sonos Ace. They might ride the high-water mark of the price set by Apple’s AirPods Max, but they also work seamlessly within Sonos’ ecosystem, albeit over Bluetooth rather than Wi-Fi.
Sonos has dabbled in portable speakers like the Roam and Sonos Move 2 to extend its in-home sound to patios and beach blankets, but the Ace headphones mark a real mobile turning point for the company, and they’re largely great. They might not perfectly match the expectations of audio nerds who have been begging for Wi-Fi-based Sonos headphones for a decade, but the Ace are a fantastic pair of Bluetooth over-ears that go toe to toe with the best from Bose, Sony, and Apple. If you’re shopping for premium wireless headphones, these should be on your short list.
Going Mobile
The Ace feel incredibly well-made. Pop open the included hard case—something the Airpods Max notably, and very oddly, lack—and you’ll see a sleek pair of over-ears with shiny metal bands and supple leather around the headband. They’re round, traditionally shaped headphones that do nothing to grab anyone’s attention—they look a lot like Sony’s WH-1000XM5.
The simple design is timeless, sleek, and professional, so as never to seem out of place. It’s a design language borrowed from the “I didn’t see you there” styling of its speakers, and a welcome one in the world of flashy modern cans. Like the speakers, they come in matte white or black.
Photograph: Parker Hall
You have two tones of gray inside the ear cups to tell you which is right and left (darker is left, lighter is right, which makes these great for people who are colorblind or have low vision), and they have three basic buttons on the outside, set between a large assortment of mesh-covered microphones. The replaceable ear cups use magnets to attach and come with a built-in mesh cover that helps keep gunk out of the headphones’ drivers, and there is also a slot for a USB-C cable on the bottom left.
The main thing you’ll use to control the headphones, apart from the app and your smartphone, is the volume slider on the right ear cup, which allows you to play and pause music with a press; you can slide it up or down for volume control. On the bottom of the left cup is the power button, and there is a similarly sized button on the bottom of the right that adjusts active noise canceling between on and transparency mode (which pipes in sound from the outside world). Inside the Sonos app, you can also set this button to turn off ANC and transparency entirely, but that isn’t the default option.
Other settings you can change in the app include basic bass and treble EQ, and whether you want the headphones to pause when you remove them, or to answer calls when you put them on.
All-Day Listening
The fit is astonishingly comfortable, thanks to the Ace’s 11-ounce weight. and there’s an excellent design choice where the headband attaches to the ear cups. It links up at the center of the cup, which gives the headphones a nice, center-directed clamping force. This means less headband fatigue and better comfort when wearing glasses, something I experience with the AirPods Max, which are heavier and have a higher clamping force on my head.
It’s headphone-reviewer hyperbole, but I genuinely did forget I was wearing the Ace on a few occasions. They’re that comfortable, and the included transparency and associated mics are so good that they have a weird ability to trick your brain into feeling like you have nothing on your head at all. I found none of the weird boxy sensations I get from other headphones with transparency turned on. I had full conversations with the headphones on, which I’ve usually felt too awkward to do with other over-ears. (I still think it’s rude to not remove your headphones when chatting.)
As far as noise reduction, I was genuinely astounded how the Ace immediately offers some of the best noise canceling on the market with a press of a button. Turning on ANC mode feels like turning the volume of the world from a 9 to a 1 on some global volume dial. HVAC noises all but disappear, cars on roads are reduced to nothing, and even my clacky mechanical keyboard sounds like a light tap of a pen on a pad. The noise reduction is easily on par with the top brass, with Bose still narrowly edging out the competition on high frequencies.
These over-ear noise-canceling headphones were clearly inspired by Apple’s AirPods Max, but they have enough going on their own to warrant a look. The Sonos Ace has a dedicated button that lets you quickly swap the audio from a Sonos soundbar to the headphones. It can also use the soundbar to analyze your room and mimic a surround sound system.
Sonos recently teased that it was set to announce its “most requested product ever.” If you guessed headphones, congratulations. The firm maintains a devoted fanbase, and many people were no doubt eager to see what it would look like were it to apply its expertise to the category.
The answer arrives in the form of the over-ear Ace headphones. The market play is clear from the outset: The $449 headphones firmly target an audience that would otherwise be purchasing the Bose QC Ultra ($429), Sony WH-1000XM5 ($399) or Apple AirPods Max ($449). These are mostly frequent travelers who don’t mind paying a premium for sound and comfort — no doubt a demographic that overlaps nicely with Sonos’ existing user base.
Image Credits: Sonos
“They’re here! Fans have asked us for years to bring the Sonos experience to headphones — and we knew our first foray into the category needed to champion the type of innovation and sound experience Sonos has become synonymous with,” CEO Patrick Spence noted in a statement.
As for what that means in non-PR speak, the Ace look like a standard set of premium headphones on paper. That’s not a bad thing, but the days of Bose being the only game in town ended a long time ago. There’s stiff competition in the category, particularly at this price point.
The top-line features will be familiar to anyone who’s been shopping the space: lossless audio and spatial audio, active noise canceling/awareness modes, home theater surround sound. The stated 30 hours of battery life is a big plus. That’s the same rating as the Sony MX and a nice improvement over the Bose and Apple, which are rated at 26 and 20 hours, respectively.
There’s a point where additional hours of battery are negligible. Given that the current longest international flight (New York to Singapore) is less than 19 hours, I’d say we’re currently operating in that realm. That said, more battery is never a bad thing, nor is the ability to get three hours of listening on three minutes of charging.
Image Credits: Sonos
It’s also worth pointing out that real-world battery life varies and is based on a lot of factors, though the company handily notes that the “up to 30 hours” is for audio listening with ANC turned on — something that can be a drain on life. The battery itself is 1060mAh, which is a big upgrade from the Bose QC Ultra (750mAh) and AirPods Max (640mAh), and a bit less than the M5’s 1200mAh.
The Ace sports two 40mm dynamic drivers and eight beamforming microphones for calls and noise detection. Spatial audio, which debuted on last year’s Era 300 speaker, features head tracking and Dolby Atmos support. Lossless, meanwhile, arrives via Qualcomm’s Snapdragon Sound aptX low latency codec. Again, this all sounds great (so to speak), but I’m holding off any judgement until I’ve had time to review the headphones. The good news is that this is coming sooner than later.
The Sonos Ace absolutely look the part of premium headphones. The headphones deliver a minimalist design, relative to the competition. There’s no unnecessary decorative detail, beyond a subtle Sonos logo on the right cup. The padding is generous on both the cups and band, which should be nice on long trips. As we approach summer, however, I’m curious to see how well they breathe in steamy weather.
Above all, the company is making an ecosystem play here. There’s no doubt a significant portion of the fanbase that trusts Sonos enough to purchase any product it puts its name on. If you’ve come to trust a brand enough to invite it into your home, you’re likely also excited about Sonos finally entering the space.
Image Credits: Sonos
Given how long it took Sonos to actually release a pair of headphones, it’s safe to say that it didn’t rush into things. The company has high standards when it comes to sound, but whether that translates well into a very different form factor is the kind of thing you can only properly answer after you’ve tried them on for yourself.
Even if they sound great, whether the category needs another pair of $450 headphones is another question entirely. Is whatever portion of Sonos’ loyal fanbase that’s currently in the market for headphones enough to support the product? Likely very few have held off on buying a premium set of over-ear headphones in the hope that Sonos would some day enter the market.
Even for a brand as well established in audio as Sonos, these are going to be tricky waters to navigate.
Bloomberg had reported back in February the Sonos’ long-rumored and long-awaited headphones are dropping in June, a month later than the company originally intended due to a software issue. While Sonos itself has yet to release details about the device, its Dutch authorized dealer Schuurman seems to have published information and images of the headphones ahead of time. A Redditor in the Sonos group has discovered Schuurman’s listings (via The Verge) after someone else found out that the wireless headphones will officially be called the Sonos Ace.
Sonos
Based on the images, the Ace device package will come with the headphones, some wires and a carrying case. It looks like the headphones themselves will have buttons and a toggle switch on the earphone parts of the device. The images are pretty low-quality, so we can’t comment on how premium the model looks, but it does seem like the device is going to be a pair of over-ear headphones. Schuurman has listed the device package for €403.58 ($435), which is pretty near the $449 pricing Bloomberg mentioned in its previous report.
As the news organization said at the time, Sonos CEO Patrick Spence is hoping that launching the new device category can help fuel growth for the company known for its speakers and sound bars after years of sluggish sales. The upcoming Ace headphones were reportedly designed to work with the company’s existing devices and can stream audio directly from TVs and music streaming services using its built-in Wi-Fi connection. Bloomberg said that Sonos is also looking into the possibility of releasing an in-ear model in the future to compete with Apple’s AirPods and other similar products.
Here at WIRED, we like Sonos speakers. We really do. Throughout the past decade, we’ve reviewed all of the company’s wirelessly connectable speakers, from its small shelf speakers to its TV soundbars, and we’ve recommended every one of them. But turning your home into a Sonos-powered shrine to sound isn’t cheap. Like Apple products, Sonos speakers sell at a premium, starting at $120 for a basic model. But which ones should you buy? Read on for our favorites, from tiny Bluetooth speakers to full home theaters.
Updated May 2024: We’ve added the Victrola Stream Carbon as another great Sonos turntable option, and we’ve updated links and prices.
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Best Overall Sonos Speaker
The Sonos Era 100 (9/10, WIRED Recommends) is our favorite Sonos speaker, for its perfect blend of sound and features. It’s the same shape and size as the Sonos One that came before, which means it easily blends into most spaces. The speaker comes equipped with a volume slider and a play-pause button so you don’t have to take your phone out whenever you want to control it. It has a USB-C input as well, along with a switch on the back of the speaker to manually disable the built-in microphone for privacy.
The Era 100 has large woofers and angled tweeters that create real stereo sound, along with a fast processor that allows the speaker to receive software updates for longer. WIRED senior editor Parker Hall says the speaker sounds noticeably better than the two generations of Sonos One speaker that came before it. It packs a punchier, more defined bass, crisp definition, and room-filling sound. There’s also a room-tuning feature that adjusts the audio based on where you put it (but this works better on iOS devices). We’re also happy to see the addition of Bluetooth pairing, in addition to Wi-Fi, so you can stream audio without a Sonos account and also pair it with a phone easily.
Sonos One SL
Photograph: Sonos
If you’re looking for a less expensive speaker that’s also free of microphones, the Sonos One SL is a solid alternative. You can only control it from your phone or the touch buttons on it (and you don’t have to worry about someone listening in to your home). The SL is also a good way to add more satellite speakers to your home.
Best Speakers to Fill Out a Room
In 2022, Sonos reunited with Ikea to release a second-generation version of its bookshelf speaker. At $130, it’s a bit pricier than its $99 predecessor, but it does come with a few upgrades, including an increase in memory and a faster processor. We still have yet to test the second-gen model, but we did like the first-generation version.
You can mount it right to your wall or stand it upright on a bookshelf or table. And if you want to network a few speakers together for a larger room, or connected rooms, this is the cheapest way to do it. It doesn’t directly take audio commands, because it has no mic, so you’ll need a Sonos One, Sonos Era 100, Google speaker, or Alexa speaker that you can yell at if you want to control it with your voice. Other than that, it does everything you’d want a Sonos to do.
Photograph: IKEA
As with the first model, the second-generation Symfonisk Speaker Lamp has great sound, and it makes for a nice addition to any room. I keep it on the media console in my apartment. The lamp gets bright enough to light the living room, and I love using the speaker to listen to podcasts every morning. It also has a more modern and elevated look compared to its predecessor—with glass shades that come in both black and white. But it’s a fingerprint magnet. I’d recommend the textile shade ($240) if that’ll bother you. My only gripe is that it lacks a microphone, so you can’t control it using voice commands. You can, however, connect it to an Amazon or Nest smart speaker to take advantage of the smart assistant support. If wall art is more your style, Ikea offers the Symfonisk Picture Frame with a built-in Sonos Wi-Fi Speaker for $260.
Best Large Speaker
The Sonos Era 300 (9/10, WIRED Recommends) has a rather awkward and startling appearance (we think it looks like a robot’s butt), but the sound quality makes up for it. Under the hood are six speaker drivers, four tweeters, and a couple of mid/bass drivers—all of which deliver detailed, big, and confident sound. The standout feature, however, is spatial audio. With sound that spreads in all directions and for a substantial distance without lacking definition, we think the Era 300 surpasses the Apple HomePod by a wide margin when filling rooms. It’s worth noting that it supports Amazon and Apple’s spatial audio catalog, but not Tidal’s library of Dolby Atmos content.
As with the Era 100, the Era 300 has physical controls including a volume slider, play/pause, skip forward/backward, and voice-assistant interaction (with a choice between Amazon Alexa and Sonos Voice Control). In the back, you’ll find a socket for power, a switch to mute the mics, a USB-C auxiliary input, and a button for Bluetooth pairing (which means you don’t have to use the Sonos app to control it). If you opt for the Sonos companion app, you can adjust EQ, tune the speakers to your environment via the TruePlay feature, and pair other Sonos speakers together.
Best Portable Speaker With Bluetooth
The Sonos Roam (9/10, WIRED Recommends) is the company’s smallest and most portable speaker. With built-in Bluetooth connectivity (it’s one of our favorite Bluetooth speakers), you can easily throw it into a tote bag and play music on the go. Using the Sonos app, available for Android and iPhone, you also have the ability to stream from major services like Spotify, Apple Music (with support for AirPlay 2), Tidal, and more. And you can control the speaker via voice commands using Amazon Alexa or Google Assistant.
It may not offer audiophile-approved sound for its stature, but it’s still fairly impressive. The dual-driver system, subwoofer, and tweeter work in tandem to provide a bold bass and clear highs—with zero distortion when the volume is cranked up. And with up to 10 hours of listening, it’ll last you a full beach day—and then some.
Photograph: Sonos
The Sonos Move 2 (8/10, WIRED Reviews) isn’t as portable as the Roam—it weighs in at 6.1 pounds while the Roam is 0.95 pounds—but the second-generation version comes with a fair share of upgrades (which explains the higher price). It packs 24 hours of battery life (a major increase from 11 hours on its predecessor), a touch interface for media controls (instead of physical buttons), and the option to connect via Bluetooth 5.0 and Wi-Fi (the original Move was strictly Bluetooth or Wi-Fi when in use). It also comes equipped with a second tweeter (both of which fire on both the left and right above the mid/bass driver) and a third digital amplifier—delivering punchy, detailed sound. It’s worth noting that, unlike the first Move, the latest version doesn’t have support for Google Assistant. You’ll have the choice between Amazon Alexa or Sonos Voice Control. It’s a solid speaker for those who are already part of the Sonos ecosystem and are looking for a speaker they won’t take beyond their living room or backyard.
Best Sonos Soundbar (for Most)
As with the original Beam (8/10, WIRED Recommends), the second-generation Beam delivers impressive sound and has a sleek design. In terms of upgrades, it has a faster processor, support for Dolby Atmos (with compatible TVs and streaming apps) for enhanced sound, and an HDMI eARC port for higher-definition audio. You’ll also get hands-free Alexa and Google Assistant, and it works with Airplay 2. You can pair it with a Sonos Sub (an expensive subwoofer) and two other Sonos speakers for surround.
Sonos tweaked the design too, adding a polycarbonate grille to the front instead of a fabric cover as seen on the Gen 1 model. That’s supposed to make it easier to blend in with your interior decor. It’s $50 more than the previous model, which isn’t that much more expensive than the already expensive soundbar. For non-Sonos alternatives, read our Best Soundbars guide.
Sonos sub speaker gen 3Photograph: Sonos
The standard Sonos Sub will cost you $799 at Sonos. It’s superb but expensive. If you’re working with a smaller space, the less costly Sonos Sub Mini is $430 at Best Buy. Don’t bother buying surround speakers until you own a Sub, though. It will make a profound difference.
Best Small Soundbar
If you have an apartment or a smaller room, or are just getting started in the soundbar department, the Sonos Ray (9/10, WIRED Recommends) is a solid option for you. The Ray comes in a compact frame, but don’t let that fool you. The soundbar produces clear, crisp sound that easily fills your space with zooms and booms, quiet conversations, and any other moments you wouldn’t want to miss in your favorite movies and shows. Plus, with adjustable settings in the Sonos app, you can configure your ideal listening experience for every song on your favorite album.
This small soundbar easily fits on entertainment centers and dressers, or you can mount it on your wall to free up as much precious space as possible.
Wanna take it to the next level? You can pair the Ray with the aforementioned Sonos Sub Mini to round out the sound in your room. The Sub Mini is wireless (aside from a power cord), so it connects seamlessly to your current system through the Sonos app.
Best for Big Home Theaters
A soundbar can make all the difference in a home theater, and they cost a lot less than a full surround-sound setup. And if you’re looking for one that’s really powerful, the Sonos Arc (9/10, WIRED Recommends) is the way to go. It has full Dolby Atmos support, and in many rooms, it can bounce sound off your walls and ceiling well enough that it sounds like you have a surround setup.
With three tweeters and eight mid-woofers, it delivers deep bass and has more balance and depth than the Beam. It’s also a lot longer, stretching 45 inches, or about the width of a 55-inch TV. Its design is elegant and understated in the usual Sonos way—you won’t always notice the bar, but when you do, it’s not an eyesore at all.
If you’re looking to fill your life with more sound, there’s nothing like a good speaker. After thorough testing, we have a reliable list of the best speakers you can buy in 2024. Our list includes everything from $60 portable ones to $450 lounge speakers. It also covers a variety of use cases — from music production to easy listening in the shower.
The editorial staff of Gizmodo independently tests and reviews each product found in our Buyer’s Guides. If you purchase something using our affiliate links, G/O Media may earn a commission. Affiliate linking does not influence our editorial content.
If you’re new to Sonos and unsure about committing to this pricey speaker ecosystem, I’d say the Roam is the best option to see if the whole Sonos thing is your vibe. The $169 Roam may be the cheapest Sonos speaker. Not only is it relatively affordable, but even if the smart features aren’t your jam, at least you still have a great portable Bluetooth speaker.
At 6.6 inches long and 2.4 inches wide, the Roam is small enough to fit in your hand easily. Its triangular shape and matte finish also feel natural when you’re toting it around. It weighs in at slightly less than a pound, which feels substantial enough in your grip, but it’s not so heavy that you’re tempted to leave it at home. When you’re not moving around, you can stack it either vertically to save room or horizontally for more stability.
In terms of durability, the Roam is rated IP67 for dust and water resistance. I stuck it in a bowl of water for 30 minutes, and while it sprayed water all over my kitchen counter, it still worked afterward. It’ll be fine if you get caught in a downpour or accidentally knock it into a pool. Just don’t dilly dally when retrieving it. Read More — Victoria Song
The criteria for portable Bluetooth speakers are not complicated. They’ve got to be easy to carry, sound decent, and not get trashed if you have butterfingers or get caught in the rain. The Sony SRS-XB13 ticks off all these boxes. It’s not without flaws, and you’ll have to compromise. But considering it’s only $60? It’s easy to forgive its shortcomings.
The XB13 is actually portable. It’s a tiny, squat lil guy, measuring 3.43 by 3.43 by 4.41 inches. In-person, the speaker is way tinier than I thought it would be when Sony initially sent over the official images. It also weighs a mere 11.7 ounces, which is noticeably lighter than the Sonos Roam (15 ounces). It also has a removable strap so you can easily hook it onto a bag or off a tree branch—whatever, I’m not judging. Also, it fits in a cup holder for road trips!
It has an IP67 rating and did not die when I purposefully dropped it into a pool. So there’s that. Long story short, this speaker is ideal if you’re on a budget, spend a lot of time outside, or are particularly clumsy. Read More — Victoria Song
Considering this is the first-ever speaker to feature both Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant, it’s probably the smartest speaker you can get your hands on. Not only does it feature both assistants, it does it incredibly well. It’s impressive how seamlessly the Authentics 300 manages to juggle both while some speakers struggle to get even a single assistant to work flawlessly.
This speaker is gorgeous and justifies its $450 price tag. You get a premium leather-coated body with subtle golden accents on the front. There’s also a helpful handle for easy portability. Though, at around 11 lbs, it’s better suited as a lounge speaker that lives in one place. It lasts around 8 hours on a full charge, though, so if you ever need to move it for an event briefly, you can do that without having an ugly cable sticking out of it.
This speaker means it when it claims that it will fill your space with music. Its sound carries immense power and is always more than enough for my two-bedroom apartment. It never sounds muddy, even at higher volumes, and retains that strength regardless of how much pressure you put it in.
I saved the best for the last. You can (low-key) DJ on this by tweaking your music in real time. Thanks to a pair of huge bass and Treble dials on the top of this speaker, you can customize exactly how much low and high end you want and on which track. My friends and I sometimes like to constantly play around with them during tracks for a fun and hands-on listening experience. I can promise you that the dials work and aren’t just a marketing gimmick. In fact, maxing out the bass will make your entire floor vibrate.
These speakers scream that they’re studio monitors. They have an 8-inch woofer and standard tweeter ensconced inside an unusual oval cone that works to shape the sound. Bass response is excellent and the resulting stereo projection of having two of these in a close position to your mixing desk or computer is amazing. They are big at 15.5 inches high and 13 inches deep and weigh a hefty 21.38 lb.
I tested it using a number of song genres, from techno to jazz. Playing these songs through the VM-80 was like running a DJ booth in my attic office. I had excellent reproduction through most volume levels, and even at max volume, the sound wasn’t muddy or confused. Read More — John Biggs
The Sonos Era 300 is an impressive speaker, even at its eye-popping price point. But don’t think about it unless you’re in an Apple-dominant household.
It has one forward-firing tweeter routed through what the company calls a “custom waveguide” and one tweeter firing upward so that sound bounces off the ceiling. There are also two side-firing tweeters, one on each side, plus two woofers underneath those. I was impressed by the speaker’s ability to thump through deep bass while listening to techno with the volume up high.
I compared the Sonos Era 300 to the discontinued Google Home Max. I also listened to it against the second-gen Apple HomePod, which is not as loud as the Era 300, though it has similar specs (five tweeters and one woofer vs four tweeters and two woofers). In almost all cases, I preferred the way the Era 300 sounded to the aging Home Max and the second-gen HomePod.
But with no Google Cast integration, this speaker doesn’t make a lot of sense in a Google-led household. I would have to rebuild my entire smart ecosystem to integrate the Sonos Era 300—and even then, it would only work with the few AirPlay-capable devices rather than the mass of Google cast devices I have throughout my abode. Read More — Florence Ion
Suppose you’re willing to splurge just a little bit or can split the cost with roommates/a significant other. In that case, the Kohler Moxie is actually a convenient way to get a nicer showerhead and a good quality shower speaker in one easily installed package.
Initially, I was nervous about installation, but it was so easy that even a disaster-prone klutz could do it. All you have to do is unscrew your current showerhead and screw this one on. That’s it!
The speaker’s sound quality was also pretty good, which, in retrospect, shouldn’t have been super surprising as it’s the result of a partnership with Harman Kardon. Once I enabled Amazon Alexa, asking Alexa to play a certain artist or playlist was very easy. Sometimes, it struggled with less common names, but for the most part, Alexa got the job done. It was also nice that I could ask what events were on my calendar or opt for a little news update.
However, if it creeps you out that some Amazon stooge is listening to you in the shower, know you can use this speaker without ever enabling Alexa. Read More — Victoria Song
This list is updated regularly with new recommendations and product forecasts.
Sonos is readying the release of its followup to 2021’s Roam speaker, and it should be here in time for all your outdoor summer excursions. In the newsletter this week, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman says Sonos is planning a June release for the Roam 2 speaker. The was Sonos’ second attempt at a portable speaker, with a slim, triangular build that weighs less than a pound but produces impressive sound.
According to Gurman, this version of the Roam will feature the same touch-sensitive control panel seen in some of the company’s other speakers, like the Era 100. Sonos is also reportedly working on a new app to pair with its devices, starting with the Roam 2 and an upcoming set of premium headphones that are positioned as an AirPods Max rival. Those headphones will cost $450, Gurman reports, and are also expected to be released in June a bit behind their original schedule.
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