The first step was the radio, the second will be the voice assistant. According to several sources, Sonos is about to launch a feature that will allow you to play and control music on its speakers throughout the house.
Time should be short: already from the beginning of June, with a software update, all Sonos devices compatible with S2 software will therefore have an alternative to Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant, which Sonos already supports on its speakers and soundbars. intelligent. The feature will initially be available in English in the United States, and will later also arrive in other languages and other countries.
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Sonos recently posted job offers related to an unspecified “Sonos Voice Experience”, with the stated goal of “making voice interactions completely private, more personal and more natural”. The Sonos Voice debut will mark a pivotal moment in the company’s expansion into services, which in turn should boost the hardware business as well. The assistant will allow you to play specific songs, artists or playlists with voice commands, among other functions.
At first, Sonos Voice will be compatible with Apple Music, Amazon Music, Pandora, Deezer and Sonos Radio, but – it seems – not with Google’s Spotify and YouTube Music. The password to activate the assistant will be “Hey Sonos”. But the Santa Barbara company could have more ambitious aims: its products could in fact become a hub for streaming entertainment, going beyond audio to also incorporate video; it is no coincidence that there is talk in many parts of a “Home Theater OS” not yet announced, for which the company is recruiting engineers and programmers.
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It is not clear, however, if Sonos Voice will also allow you to interact with other connected devices, applying to compete with Google Assistant and Alexa for home automation. In line with Sonos ‘commitment to privacy, the assistant will not record users’ audio commands or transmit them to the cloud for processing. The opposite, in short, of what Alexa and Google Assistant do, which while offering guarantees of security and respect for privacy, work thanks to the cloud. On the other hand, for both companies the use of user data is an important business, because they use voice interactions for advertising purposes. Sonos, Google and Amazon continue to work together as partners, despite Sonos having publicly accused both companies of favoring their products and using some of its patents without permission. On this point, the Santa Barbara company has won a lawsuit against Google.
According to the latest rumors circulating on the Net, in addition to the voice assistant, Sonos is planning a cheaper soundbar, which will be added to the Beam and the top of the range Arc. It should cost around $ 250 and be called Sonos Ray; unlike the larger models, however, it will not have built-in microphones for voice controls.