Whenever Sonos releases a new speaker or updates an existing model, it's worth checking in and seeing what the smart speaker behemoth is up to. And, with the Sonos Roam SL, the company's smallest portable speaker receives an interesting update.

We say interesting, as updates usually bring bigger, better, and shinier features than the previous model.

But, Sonos is swimming against the tide here and has decided to remove a feature from the newly launched Sonos Roam SL, rather than adding something new.

So, what is the Sonos Roam SL, and is it worth your money?

Sonos Roam SL Launchers Without Key Feature

The new Sonos Roam SL launches with almost the exact same specs as the original Roam speaker—bar the integrated microphone that allows you to use Amazon Alexa or Google Assistant. Consequently, the Sonos Roam SL cannot use Auto Trueplay, the Sonos feature that tunes the speaker to its local environment automatically.

sonos roam sl speaker

However, other than those changes, the Sonos Roam SL remains effectively the same. The Roam SL will still connect to your Wi-Fi as normal, you'll still get up to 10 hours of battery life, and the Roam SL is still rated IP67 for waterproof and dustproof protection.

Is the Sonos Roam SL Worth the Money?

Now, the loss of Auto Trueplay and instant access to Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa isn't ideal, but Sonos has also dropped the price of the Roam SL—by a whole $20! Of course, twenty bucks isn't a huge price reduction, but if you're not worried about smart assistants or an integrated microphone (as you probably already have heaps of those lying around), it's okay.

The Roam SL isn't the first Sonos speaker to receive the "SL" branding, either. The Sonos One SL and the Arc SL both launched as more affordable versions of their originals, with Sonos aiming to bring as many new users as possible into its smart speaker ecosystem.

So, is the Sonos Roam SL worth the money? For someone like myself, who never uses smart assistants, the $20 reduction definitely increases the value for money of the Roam SL. The Sonos Roam SL will launch on 15 March, retailing for $159.