You are seeing the first images of the next Sonos speaker. Priced at $ 169, the new device – called Sonos Roam – is much smaller than Sonos Move, which was the company’s first take on portable speakers. This product is much more similar to popular Bluetooth speakers, to take anywhere, such as the UE Boom.
According to a source with direct knowledge of Roam, it measures 6.5 x 2.5 x 2.5 inches and weighs about a pound. It will come with a USB charging cable and a wireless charging dock will be sold separately for $ 49. Like many of the company’s other speakers, Sonos Roam will be available in black or white.
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The Verge contacted Sonos for comment. The new speaker first appeared in a Federal Communications Commission lawsuit. Since then, Sonos has confirmed that it will announce a new product on March 9. Current plans call for Roam to be launched a month later, on April 20.
Like the Move speaker, Sonos Roam will be able to play audio both over Wi-Fi (when at home, on your regular Sonos system) and over Bluetooth on the go. On Wi-Fi, Roam will work like any recent Sonos speaker and will run on the company’s S2 platform. There are built-in microphones for hands-free voice commands for Amazon Alexa or Google Assistant, and AirPlay 2 is also supported. Two Roams can be paired in stereo in Wi-Fi mode.
The battery life is expected to be around 10 hours on a full charge, and the Roam is fully waterproof, which will help you to compete against similarly tough competition.
With Roam, Sonos will expand its line of speakers to several divisions to go far beyond the home environment. Move’s weight has made it impractical to take anywhere other than short trips to a backyard or balcony, but Roam will fill the role of a true travel announcer.