The Sonos Roam has officially launched following a leak detailing the new product. The Sonos Roam packs an excellent range of features and will go on sale on April 20.
While there was a leak regarding the Sonos Roam, the official launch has filled in more details regarding the new portable speaker.
Sonos Roam: Smart and Cheap?
The Sonos Roam is set to become the companies smallest smart speaker yet, replacing the Sonos Move and delivering "A seamless listening experience, everywhere."
The Sonos Roam includes Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, along with support for Apple AirPlay 2. It'll fit into your existing Sonos speaker setup, and you can control the Roam from your existing app.
As with other Sonos products, you'll have much more functionality while using a Wi-Fi connection—think, no calls, Apple AirPlay 2, Alexa or Google Assistant, Sonos Radio—but the Bluetooth connection is more than suitable for use on the go.
The Sonos Roam will include the all-new Sonos Swap feature. The Roam can pass off the music currently playing to any other connected Sonos device by long-pressing the play button, which is a nice addition, especially for those with multiple speakers.
It's also built for durability, including a drop-resistant body and an IP67 waterproof rating to protect against dust ingress entirely and temporary water exposure for up to 30 minutes.
As Sonos is marketing the Roam as a portable speaker, let's talk size. The Sonos Roam is genuinely small, standing at 16.8 x 6.2 x 6cm and weighing in at just 430g (less than a pound). You'll get up to 10 hours of playback on a single charge, which is great for a day out, plus the Roam also supports Qi wireless charging.
Delivering the sound are 2 Class-H digital amplifiers working in conjunction with a precision tweeter and a mid-range woofer. There's also an integrated microphone that includes beamforming for voice clarity and easier use with voice assistants.
Sonos Roam Leak: Product Awareness
Sonos won't have been pleased that its new Roam portable speaker's details leaked ahead of time. However, the flip side of such a leak is that the Sonos Roam received double the coverage and double the views.
What remains to be seen now is if the Sonos Roam is as good as Sonos makes out. Its previous portable speaker, the Sonos Move, was a battery-powered version of its regular indoor smart speaker.
However, despite its excellent sound quality, it didn't truly fit the bill as a "portable" Sonos speaker and was more akin to something you'd take into the garden rather than stick in your bag for a day out.
So, with the Sonos Roam priced at $170 and launching on April 20, we still have some time to wait to find out.