The newest Sonos speaker is the brand's most compact and most portable yet – the Sonos Roam is designed to be carried anywhere, supports Bluetooth and Wi-Fi connections, is fully waterproof and can be yours for US$169.
Less than six inches tall and weighing under a pound, the Roam is significantly smaller than the Sonos Move that launched in September 2019. The Move is more like a standard Sonos speaker with a battery, whereas the Roam feels like something significantly different.
That dual Bluetooth and Wi-Fi connectivity means you can beam tunes to it from laptops, phones and tablets while you're out and about, and still have it form part of your main Sonos system when it's back at home. The speaker will be smart enough to switch between the two, Sonos says.
What's more, a new feature called Sound Swap lets you transfer playback from the Sonos Roam to another nearby Sonos speaker with a single button-push – presumably so that when you get back from your travels, you can put whatever you were listening to on your wired Sonos system.
Like the existing speakers in the Sonos range, you can connect multiple music streaming services to the Roam through the Sonos mobile app. It also works with Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant, and the Apple AirPlay 2 streaming standard.
As you would expect, Sonos is promising punchy sound from this speaker – "big and genuine" audio will provide clear and rich sound despite the smaller dimensions, according to those who have helped develop it. It can be positioned horizontally or vertically as you prefer, too.
The Sonos Roam has an IP67 rating for full protection against dust and water, while the silicone end caps add some extra robustness to protect against drops and knocks. A battery charge will give you 10 hours of playback, Sonos claims, with 10 days of battery life possible when it's in standby mode.
"We built Roam to give customers a way to bring the Sonos experience with them wherever they go," Patrick Spence, the CEO of Sonos, said in a press statement. "It's not only our smartest and most versatile speaker, it’s also our most affordable."
The Sonos Roam goes on sale on April 20, with pre-orders open now. Your color choices are Shadow Black or Lunar White.
Product page: Sonos
