Sonos Announces New Soundbar, Voice Assistant, More

Sonos today announced Sonos Ray, a new compact soundbar, Sonos Voice Control, new colors for Sonos Roam, and a new partnership.

Sonos Ray is a new low-end soundbar that will be sold alongside the more expensive and cable Sonos Beam and Arc soundbars. It will cost $279 when it becomes available on June 7, and it comes in just one color, black.

“Homes have become movie theaters, fitness studios, gaming hubs and so much more, all supported by a streaming era that is no longer exclusive to just TV, music, and film,” Sonos CEO Patrick Spence says. “Ray makes it easier than ever to enhance those listening experiences, thanks to its smaller size and impressive sound.”

Sonos Voice Control will work on every voice-capable Sonos smart speaker and will work with Sonos Radio, Apple Music, Amazon Music, Deezer, and Pandora at launch; note that Google’s YouTube Music is conspicuously absent. It uses the “Hey, Sonos” key phrase, as one might expect, and you can provide follow-up commands without any additional wake words.

“Sonos is committed to delivering new experiences that effortlessly connect listeners to the content they love.” Sonos vice president Joseph Dureau says of Sonos Voice Control. “One of the most natural ways to connect to your music is with your voice, but when we speak to our customers, we hear that privacy concerns mean many are choosing not to use voice control. Created purely for listening on Sonos and designed with privacy at its core, Sonos Voice control delivers the Sonos app experience using only your voice.”

Sonos also announced that it will make its Sonos Roam portable speaker available in three new colors, Olive, Wave, and Sunset, in addition to the existing white and black options. The price is unchanged at $179, and each is available now.