Rumors about a new Sonos speaker have been swirling for some time and it looks like all the details of the new Sonos Roam have been leaked before its announcement.
The Verge has obtained images and specifications of the $ 169 Roam, a waterproof portable speaker that appears to be a EU Boom 3, but, you know, Sonos. The price, if accurate, places the Roam directly between the $ 150 Boom 3 and the $ 200 Megaboom 3.
According to reports, the speaker weighs about 1 pound and measures 6.5 x 2.5 x 2.5 inches, making it a smaller showcase than the Boom 3. And, like the Boom 3, can be charged wirelessly using a $ 49 charging cradle that will be sold separately. As you can see below in the image obtained by Virgo, the Roam has a pretty boom look (although a bit more triangular in shape and less absolutely gigantic volume buttons).
There are some differences between the new Sonos speaker and the popular Boom 3, according to these leaked details. For one thing, the Sonos Roam should use both Bluetooth and wifi, so you can connect to your home network while you’re at home and combine it with Bluetooth during your stay. And the Boom 3’s microUSB charging port is awkward for those of us who are completely USB-C, so I feel excited about what appears to be a USB-C cable in one of the filtered images. The Verge reports that the Roam will last about 10 hours on a charge, which is considerably less than the battery life of Boom 3 for 15 hours, although, to be fair, the claims about the battery life of the speakers depend on many factors, including volume levels.
G / O Media may receive a commission
And, according to the Virgin, the Roam has built-in microphones to activate voice assistants (Alexa and Google Assistant), support for AirPlay 2, and can be combined with another Roam over wifi for stereo sound. These advanced features make the Boom 3 look a bit basic.
Since someone is investing in the Sonos ecosystem and also owns a Boom 3 for outdoor hangers, I’m curious to see how the Sonos Roam builds up. I had thought about buying one Sonos Move, which is the only portable offering the company currently has, but this speaker is much larger and very expensive. I would love to stream music on my Playbase and then take the party outside (when we party again) with a smaller, sturdier speaker.
Sonos had previously announced that it would hold an event on March 9, presumably to launch this speaker. According to The Verge, the Sonos Roam will be shipped on April 20th.