Rumors about a new Sonos speaker have been circulating for some time and it seems that every detail of the new Sonos Roam has been leaked before the announcement.
The Verge got images and specifications for Roam for $ 169, which is a waterproof portable speaker that looks like a EU Boom 3, but, you know, Sonos. The price, if correct, places Roam clearly between the $ 150 Boom 3 and the $ 200 Megaboom 3.
The speaker weighs about 1 pound and measures 6.5 x 2.5 x 2.5 inches, making it smaller than Boom 3. And, like Boom 3, it can be charged wirelessly via a charging cradle. of $ 49, which will be sold separately. As you can see below in the image obtained by Verge, Roam looks quite Boom (although a bit more triangular in shape and minus the absolutely gigantic volume buttons).
There are some differences between the new Sonos speaker and the popular Boom 3, but according to these disclosed details. First, Sonos Roam will use both Bluetooth and wifi, so you can connect to your home network while you’re at home and pair with Bluetooth on the go. And the Boom 3’s microUSB charging port is awkward for those of us who are fully USB-C, so I’m encouraged by what appears to be a USB-C cable in one of the leaked images. The Verge reports that Roam will take about 10 hours to charge, which is considerably shorter than the 15-hour Boom 3 battery life – although, to be fair, speaker life claims depend on a whole range of factors, including volume levels.
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And, according to Verge, Roam has built-in microphones for activating voice assistants (Alexa and Google Assistant), support for AirPlay 2 and can be paired with another Roam over wifi for stereo sound. These advanced features suddenly make Boom 3 seem a little basic.
As someone has invested in the Sonos ecosystem, which also owns a Boom 3 for outdoor blocks, I’m curious to see how the Sonos Roam is stored. I was thinking of buying one Sonos Move, which is the company’s only portable offering today, but the speaker is much larger and more expensive. I would love to listen to music on Playbase and then bring the party outside (when we have parties again) with a smaller and more robust speaker.
Sonos had previously announced that it would hold an event on March 9, probably for the launch of this speaker. According to The Verge, Sonos Roam will be delivered on April 20.