We all love a little extra convenience in our home, and smart technology has opened a door for us all to access an easier domestic life. A particularly popular smart home speaker brand, Sonos, is now a staple in millions of homes, but what does it actually provide? Where did Sonos come from, and what can it offer you in your smart home?
The Origins of Sonos
Sonos was established in 2002, though it was known as Rincon Audio for the first two years of its existence. A group of individuals founded the company, including Tom Cullen, John MacFarlane, Trung Mai, and Craig Shelburne.
The first Sonos products—the Sonos Digital Music System, Sonos ZonePlayer, and Sonos Controller—were announced in 2004. These were not wireless products, but were the foundation on which future Sonos smart tech was built.
Sonos now has more than 1,800 employees and is a favorite brand among smart tech lovers.
So, how does Sonos work? What does this company offer today?
The Sonos Speaker Range
Sonos has a wide range of devices available, including soundbars, portable speakers, subwoofers, and in-wall speakers.
Some of the most popular Sonos devices include:
Sonos’s soundbar range has been a huge hit with customers around the world, allowing people to enjoy high-quality sound from their TV, phone, laptop, or other wireless device.
Each soundbar has its own set of specifications, but the sound quality is nonetheless consistently high.
The latest Sonos soundbar is the Sonos Arc, a soundbar that uses Dolby Atmos audio processing, silk-dome tweeters, Class-D amplifiers, and elliptical woofers to provide crisp, clear sound to users. But you don’t need to break the bank on the newest Sonos soundbar if you’re working with a budget. The Sonos Beam is also a great option and provides stunning sound for your home.
But things don’t stop at soundbars. Sonos offers smart speakers of all shapes and sizes, from slim portable speakers to hefty at-home speakers that provide deep and powerful audio. The Era range, for instance, is perfect for the home or office, taking up less space than a soundbar but still producing great acoustics.
If you want high-quality sound on the go, Sonos still has you covered with its range of portable speakers. The Sonos Roam can be taken with you anywhere, though it is pricier than your standard portable Bluetooth speaker. However, with this increased price comes great sound, Alexa and Google Nest integration, shock absorbency, and an IP67 waterproof and dustproof rating.
Along with speakers, Sonos offers subwoofers, as well as Boost, a nifty device that creates a dedicated Wi-Fi network in your home for your Sonos speakers. This prevents other network traffic from causing connection issues, meaning your speakers can work seamlessly. It’s perfect for larger homes.
It’s also worth noting that Sonos has wireless headphones in the works, though we’ve only seen diagrams of them so far. It’s thought the headphones will be released in 2024, though nothing is for sure at the time of writing.
However, it’s at-home speakers where Sonos truly shines. While these may seem quite pricey, with the average Sonos speaker costing between $200 to $1,000, there’s a whole other level to Sonos, and that’s its role in smart homes.
Sonos In Your Smart Home
There are many good reasons why you’ll find Sonos products in a lot of smart homes. Not only do these speakers and subwoofers look sleek, they also offer a range of invaluable features. Sonos doesn’t just provide your average speakers—this brand’s range of speakers can interact with your smart home system and listen to voice commands.
Sonos uses both Wi-Fi and Bluetooth to connect to your other smart devices. There are over 100 streaming services that Sonos can seamlessly connect to, including Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, Deezer, and TIDAL. In less than 10 minutes, you can set up your Sonos smartphone app and connect your phone to your speaker or speakers.
You can connect Sonos to your Alexa or Google Assistant device to control the audio and sound levels remotely, using either your smartphone, smart home hub, or your voice. You can also connect your Sonos speaker to your smartwatch, allowing you to pause, play, and skip songs regardless of where you are in your home.
Using Sonos, you may receive reminders and weather reports, which is easy to facilitate if you connect it to a smart assistant. What’s more, Sonos can respond to voice commands without the use of a preexisting smart assistant. Using Sonos Voice Control, just say something like “Hey Sonos”, and the speaker will respond to your voice command.
There’s a list of Sonos voice commands you can use onSonos Support, so check this out if you want to control your speakers in this way.
Sonos can also connect to other Sonos speakers in your home, which is perfect for parties and surround-sound listening. you’re able to set multiple speakers to play the same audio at the same time, or have individual speakers play separate audio in different zones of your home.
What Else Makes Sonos Special?
If you want to alter the Sonos sound settings in each room to fit your home’s preferences, give Sonos Trueplay a go. Based on the size, shape, and contents of your room, Trueplay will select an audio setting that works best. Trueplay even determines how a room reacts to sound, including how a speaker’s sound waves reflect off walls and furniture.
You can find the Trueplay feature in the iOS version of the Sonos app. This is a unique feature native to Sonos, and can simplify your home’s audio system with just a few taps of the screen. Many Sonos speakers support the feature.
Another amazing feature offered by Sonos is the ability to listen to analog audio sources via your smart speakers. Say you have a record player and want to amplify its sound using your smart speaker. Connecting it to your speaker via a Sonos adapter cable (or theRCA cable of your preference) lets you instantly enjoy record-based music via your Sonos speakers.
Sonos Can Transform Your Home
While typical Bluetooth speakers are nothing to scoff at, if you want to elevate your smart home’s audio system, Sonos may be the answer for you. If you’re willing to spend a little extra on your speakers and want to access lots of additional features, take a look at the Sonos range to see if anything catches your eye.
