How to pre-order the powerful, portable new Sonos Roam speaker
Sonos's latest speaker is its most intriguing portable yet.
Credit:
Sonos
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After plenty of rumors and leaks, Sonos has revealed its latest take on modular audio in the new Roam portable speaker. Whether you think of Roam as a Bluetooth speaker you connect to your Sonos WiFi system or a Sonos WiFi speaker you can take on the road, the company wants you to know one thing about its new “ultra-portable” speaker: it’s a cinch to use in either scenario. It’s also by far the cheapest mobile speaker Sonos has ever made, rugged as you’ll find in the genre, and available for pre-order now at $169, ahead of its April 20, 2021 release date.
Pre-order the Sonos Roam now for $169 from Sonos
At a virtual event, Sonos’ product team laid out the biggest benefits of Roam, starting with its price point. While $170 may sound a bit expensive for a portable speaker, it’s a fraction of what you’ll pay for Sonos’ previous portable, the Move, and the Roam is seemingly a lot more versatile than its larger sibling, to boot.
That versatility starts with a slimmed-down design and a truckload of handy features, including IP67 dust and water resistance, meaning that like a lot of portable speakers these days, the speaker can actually be submerged in shallow water for up to 30 minutes. It also offers a solid (if not amazing) 10 hours of playback time per charge; support for Google Assistant, Amazon Alexa, and Apple AirPlay 2; Qi-compatible wireless charging; and a sleek design that optimizes playback for both horizontal and vertical speaker orientations.
Speaking of audio optimization, unlike the Sonos Move, Sonos says the Roam will constantly optimize its sound for any room whether it's using Bluetooth or WiFi.
The Sonos Roam in white set on its side orientation.
Even more intriguing when it comes to ease of use is the speaker’s claimed ability to seamlessly transition from Bluetooth connection to your phone while you’re out and about to WiFi connection at home. And the speaker goes further, allowing you to quickly group it with other Sonos speakers in your home with the touch of a button, or even “throw” the audio you’re currently playing on the Roam to your Sonos soundbar or smart speaker setup, so you never need to kill the groove, inside or out.
All in all, the Sonos Roam may look a lot like portable Bluetooth speakers from top brands like JBL and Ultimate Ears, but it’s all Sonos inside. From what we can tell, the Roam looks to be one of the company’s most enticing speakers yet. It’s certainly the most versatile speaker we’ve seen in the lineup, especially for those embedded in the Sonos ecosystem, allowing you to cruise to the beach with optimized audio, and come back home to open things up to your full Sonos home theater setup with nary a hiccup.
We’ll see if and when those hiccups occur when we actually get the chance to test the speaker soon. But if you’re already sold, you can pre-order the Sonos Roam now ahead of its April release at the link below.