Sonos Announces Lower-Priced Soundbar With AirPlay 2 Support, 'Hey Sonos' Voice Control for Apple Music

[MacRumors]

Sonos today unveiled its lowest-priced soundbar, the Sonos Ray. Priced at $279 in the U.S., the compact soundbar is said to utilize "advanced processing" to create a "surprisingly wide soundstage," and AirPlay 2 support allows for audio to be wirelessly streamed to the soundbar from Apple devices like the iPhone, iPad, and Mac.

The soundbar will be available starting June 7 in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, United Kingdom, Ireland, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Poland, France, Italy, Spain, Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Finland, Portugal, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, and select other countries and regions.

The complete Sonos soundbar lineup now consists of the Ray for $279, the second-generation Beam for $449, and the Arc for $899.

Sonos also announced that it will be launching its own voice control system for its speakers, allowing users to say "Hey Sonos" to control compatible music services, including Apple Music, Amazon Music, Deezer, Pandora, and Sonos Radio.

Sonos speakers already support Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant, and now users will have access to Sonos voice control as a third option.

Sonos said the voice control feature will be available in the U.S. starting June 1, and in France later this year, with additional markets to follow. The company ensures that all "Hey Sonos" voice requests will be processed entirely on device, with no audio or transcripts sent to the cloud, listened to, or read by any party.

Last, the portable Sonos Roam speaker with AirPlay 2 support is now available in three new color options: Olive, Wave, and Sunset.

Article Link: Sonos Announces Lower-Priced Soundbar With AirPlay 2 Support, 'Hey Sonos' Voice Control for Apple Music

 

[LoveToMacRumors]

does it work as a computer speaker (wired)

 

[JoEw]

Crazy to me that a soundbar doesn’t have HDMI-CEC/ARC. What an odd omission presumably to get folks to jump up to the next price ladder the $450 Beam.

 

[jaw04005]

Can I get an Apple version of this? The new thinner HDTVs have horrible speakers.

 

[SSDGUY]

To better differentiate from Siri and Alexa they should change it to "Whaddup Sonos!"

 

[nutmac]

does it work as a computer speaker (wired)

Yes but only optical audio. This soundbar lacks HDMI and analog audio input.

Older Mac's headphones jack can output optical audio, but that ability has been eliminated on Macs made from mid-2015 and on.

You can of course get a dongle, but that can contribute to a bit of latency.

 

[rgwebb]

Does not seem like a compelling product without ARC/eARC

 

[Shreducator]

Just in time for inflation.

 

[icanhazmac]

Am I the only one that doesn't want every speaker in my house acting as an assistant? Seems redundant, isn't that what my iPhone is for? I also doubt Sonos has the skill or money required to implement an assistant.

 

[Wayfarer]

Looks like a Sonos beam, but knocked over on it‘s side.

 

[DribbleCastle]

Am I the only one that doesn't want every speaker in my house acting as an assistant? Seems redundant, isn't that what my iPhone is for? I also doubt Sonos has the skill or money required to implement an assistant.

I know this is not the point you are making, but Sonos is unique as they are one of the few companies that specifically sell models without microphones. They are branded SL and typically are $20-$30 cheaper. They understand they're are people who don't want it and don't just want a mute option.

 

[robinp]

Still no cheaper sub ?

 

[Razorpit]

Can I get an Apple version of this? The new thinner HDTVs have horrible speakers.

The HomePod was awesome.

 

[snipr125]

Yes but only optical audio. This soundbar lacks HDMI and analog audio input.

Older Mac's headphones jack can output optical audio, but that ability has been eliminated on Macs made from mid-2015 and on.

You can of course get a dongle, but that can contribute to a bit of latency.

The 2015 Retina Macbook Pro does have the optical out via the headphone jack, I think its the 2016 models onwards that do not have optical toslink via the headphone jack.

 

[japasneezemonk]

I have an older Panasonic Plasma TV that this will work perfect with. Depending on the reviews I think I’m going to get it. However, that SUB mini will be an insta-buy if it happens.

 

[alfonsog]

I have an arc and sub that blew away my previous sound bar. I know I can get a proper receiver and speakers for the same price but its just not as convenient, another remote, settings and all.. I mean I used to when I used physical media but that seems to be going away. I know the quality is better but I can't tell the difference anymore. I still have some physical UHD's and bluray's and an Oppo player I never use.. I even have a SACD collection and a hifi stereo system and some Laserdisc's I need to get rid of. Now streaming in Hi-Res Lossless, times have changed fast.

 

[Godspeed8230]

I was hesitant at first when they announced yet another voice control system.

However, after hearing who will be answering my commands I am all in now
It is Giancarlo Esposito aka Gus Frings

Super awesome!

 

[waloshin]

does it work as a computer speaker (wired)

Yes through optical.

 

[Kardinal1911]

SONOS needs to implement SIRI SUPPORT!!! It's beyond time and I have the Arc and Sub...

 

[mw360]

Am I the only one that doesn't want every speaker in my house acting as an assistant? Seems redundant, isn't that what my iPhone is for? I also doubt Sonos has the skill or money required to implement an assistant.

Asking Siri doesn’t work, and asking Alexa is a clunky workaround. Both of these are no doubt by design on the part of Apple and Amazon. As a Sonos owner myself I can tell you that I’d happily have another assistant if it’s focussed 100% on assisting me to control my Sonos.

 

[mw360]

SONOS needs to implement SIRI SUPPORT!!! It's beyond time and I have the Arc and Sub...

It’s not happening. Apple requires 3rd parties route Siri commands through a HomePod Mini, which is a ridiculous position to put Sonos in.

Read this complete list of all the 3rd party product that support Siri. Don’t worry, it’s a very short article.

 

[orbital~debris]

I’m interested to know if “Hey Sonos…” been well-tuned to work with the inevitably different pronunciations of ‘Sonos’ (for example USA “Sow-nos” vs. UK “Sone-os”)?

 

[twistedpixel8]

Am I the only one that doesn't want every speaker in my house acting as an assistant? Seems redundant, isn't that what my iPhone is for? I also doubt Sonos has the skill or money required to implement an assistant.

It will be as useless as my car’s voice control: “hey VW… set temperature to 65”

“I can’t find a street named ‘temperature to 65’”.

 

[AndreaCicca]

SONOS needs to implement SIRI SUPPORT!!! It's beyond time and I have the Arc and Sub...

The problem is how Apple implements Siri on third-party devices.

 

[christiaanb]

The question is, when is Apple going to produce a Soundbar?