Sonos Play: The Ultimate Portable Speaker for Home and Outdoor Use
The Lead
The Sonos Play represents a significant milestone for the audio company, marking their first truly new music speaker since the controversial app launch in May 2024. This versatile device aims to be a "jack of all trades" that combines the best of Sonos's home audio technology with portable functionality, serving as a reset point in the company's recovery from their app debacle.
Design and Build Quality
The Play sits above the can-sized Roam 2 in Sonos's lineup, priced at £299 (€349/$299/A$499). It's designed to be a speaker for all occasions, equally comfortable as a home WiFi speaker or a portable Bluetooth companion. The oval-shaped speaker features rubberized top and bottom to absorb impact, with IP67 water resistance allowing it to survive being submerged up to 1-meter depths. At 1.3kg, it's less than half the weight of the Move 2, making it relatively portable for home, garden, or car transport.
Technical Specifications and Connectivity
The Play's biggest strength is its integration with Sonos's ecosystem. It connects to routers via WiFi 6 for direct streaming from the internet, controlled through the Sonos app, Spotify Connect, or Apple AirPlay 2. It can be grouped with other Sonos speakers for multi-room audio and supports virtually all streaming music services. Two Plays can be linked to create a stereo pair. For portability, it features Bluetooth 5.3 and can connect to up to four other Play or Move 2 speakers to create a group playing from the same Bluetooth source. The speaker also supports Sonos's analogue line-in or combo ethernet adaptors.
Battery Performance and Charging
The Play houses a large 35Wh battery that can be easily replaced at home. It delivers up to 24 hours of battery life on Bluetooth and more than a day of listening at home on WiFi when used at 60% volume. The battery charges via the USB-C port or the included charging base, allowing for convenient topping up. Notably, leaving the speaker on the charging base doesn't affect the battery's lifespan. However, the Play doesn't ship with a charger, requiring an 18W or greater USB-C power adaptor (45W for fast charging).
Audio Quality and Performance
The Play can be thought of as an evolution of the larger Move 2, merging its best elements with Sonos's standard speaker, the Era 100, in a more compact form factor. Despite its bookshelf speaker appearance, it punches far beyond its size in terms of audio performance. The speaker also features Sonos's excellent local voice control system and is compatible with Amazon's Alexa, offering multiple ways to control playback.
Market Position and Competitive Edge
The Play represents Sonos's strategic response to the challenges posed by their 2024 app overhaul, which caused stability issues and lost customer trust. By combining home audio quality with portability, the Play aims to recapture market favor and demonstrate that Sonos can still deliver on its promise of excellent, expansive WiFi speakers that can play music from just about any source in just about any place. The device's ability to function seamlessly within the Sonos ecosystem while offering standalone Bluetooth functionality positions it uniquely in the premium portable speaker market.
Future Outlook
With the Play, Sonos appears to be refocusing on what made them successful while addressing the portability needs of modern consumers. The company's two-year effort to fix app issues and restore core features now allows them to return to their strength: creating high-quality audio products. If the Play receives positive reception, it could mark the beginning of a new product strategy for Sonos, potentially leading to more portable options that maintain the company's signature audio quality and ecosystem integration.