The Sonos One is among the best smart speakers on the market, and it just got a little bit better. The emphasis is certainly on the ‘little bit’ though.
The multi-room audio specialist has released a Sonos One Gen 2, which looks and acts the same as its predecessor, but has some updated components. The minor revamp gives the device an updated processor and a little more memory than before, which may lead to some minor performance improvements.
Perhaps most notable is the inclusion of Bluetooth Low Energy (LE), which should improve the pairing process with your Wi-Fi network, which will will still handle all of the music streaming duties.
There’s also a difference in price, with Sonos planning to sell the Gen 2 for $199, while the original device will remain on sale for a little while longer for $179.
Unfortunately, the update doesn’t bring the long-awaited, long-promised support for the Google Assistant. The Sonos One was launched with support for the Amazon Alexa assistant, with Google Assistant promised thereafter.
The addition was hinted at way back in October 2017 when the speaker was launched, but was absent for the whole of 2018, despite the company teasing it multiple times. Finally, at CES 2019, the company said Google Assistant would arrive in 2019, but refused to commit to a timeline.
“We’re working hard with Google,” explained Lidiane Jones, senior director, software product management at Sonos. “The Google experience has to be on a par or better than the current Alexa experience.”
In the meantime, the company added support for Apple’s AirPlay 2 streaming and pairing technology, while Assistant users remained out in the cold. Sonos’ last update to the One range came with the launch of some new colour options as part of a collaboration with Danish design outfit HAY.
Will you be picking up a Gen 2 Sonos One? Or is this a nothing update from Sonos that isn’t worthy of being advertised as a new product? Let us know @TrustedReviews on Twitter.
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Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
