Sonos on Wednesday introduced its all-new smart, voice controlled speaker in the form of the Sonos One. Available for pre-order today, the $199 speaker will begin shipping later this month, on October 24.
Out of the box, the Sonos One is equal parts Sonos and Alexa. Users can leverage the speaker in all of the same ways that an Echo might. This includes checking weather, traffic, adding to shopping lists and more.
At launch, music fans in the US, UK, and Germany can ask Amazon Alexa to control Sonos One out of the box, with full voice support for Amazon Music, iHeartRadio, Pandora, SiriusXM, and TuneIn. Alexa voice control for Spotify on Sonos One will be coming soon after launch. Voice transport controls like pause, skip, volume up and down, and even asking what’s playing will be available for all other music services Sonos supports.
As for the music side, it’s a perfect marriage. Sonos One is compatible with music, podcast, and audiobook sources from more than 80 streaming services. Want to play a bedtime playlist from Google Play Music? Looking to kick off your day with a little news from Stitcher? Whatever you’d expect to do with Sonos, you can do via voice — and the app, of course.
Although the Sonos One launches with Amazon Alexa, it will ultimately support Google Assistant, too. An update due in 2018 figures to add the competing and equally cool voice assisted service.
The Sonos One can be pre-ordered at the Sonos website for $199. Choose from either black or white.
