Meet Sonos Play: the portable speaker that brings stereo sound anywhere – no Wi-Fi required
Sonos hits Play on two new speakers
🔊 Sonos reveals its Play portable speaker and Sonos Era 100 SL home speaker
🛜 The Play is the first Sonos speaker that can create a stereo pair or a larger listening group over Bluetooth
🧑🤝🧑 Sonos Play connects with up to three additional Sonos Play or Move 2 speakers
🔋 Rated for 24 hours of battery life and can be used as a portable power bank
📻 Sonos Era 100 SL, a SpeechLess version of the $219 Era 100
💸 Its lower $189 price point is a trade-off for no mic and smart assistant support
📆 March 31 release date for both the $299 Sonos Play and $189 Sonos Era 100 SL
Sonos has announced the Play, its first portable speaker that can create a stereo pair connection over Bluetooth – no Wi-Fi or Sonos app needed.
While you could create a stereo pair with the Sonos Roam 2, it required connecting the speakers together at home first while connected to Wi-Fi. The Sonos Play can create a stereo pair over Bluetooth simply by holding down play/pause button on a second Play or Move 2 speaker. The Play can even connect with up to three additional Sonos Play or Move 2 speakers over Bluetooth.
The Sonos Play speakers themselves fit in the middle of the company’s lineup of portable speakers and are IP67 waterproof. Sizewise, the speaker is bigger than two Sonos Roam 2 speakers taped together and considerably smaller than the Sonos Move 2.
The Sonos Play also stands out with its long 24-hour battery life, which can also be used to charge your smartphone and other devices. To make the Sonos Play easier to recharge, it also comes with a very convenient charging stand, like the Sonos Move and Move 2.
As with Sonos’ other speakers, the Play supports Automatic Trueplay tuning that allows the speaker to hear itself and adjust the audio to suit your listening space. The Sonos Play also supports Spotify Connect and Apple AirPlay 2.
The Sonos Play will be available starting March 31 for $299.
Sonos Era 100 SL
The new Sonos Era 100 SL is essentially a more affordable $189 “SpeechLess” version of the $219 Sonos Era 100 speaker.
By dropping the integrated microphone, the Sonos Era 100 SL loses support for smart assistants. Although it’s not as smart as the Era 100, the SL version of this speaker still features the same sound with its two tweeters and woofer arrangement.
While the Sonos Era 100 SL doesn’t have a microphone to tune itself, the speaker still supports Trueplay tuning through the Sonos App and iOS devices – sorry, Android users.
The Sonos Era 100 SL will also be available on March 31 for $189.
Kevin Lee is The Shortcut’s Creative Director. Follow him on Twitter @baggingspam.