The long-rumored Sonos voice control feature could be coming to your speakers as early as next month. Photo: Victoria Song/Gizmodo
Shouting out “Hey Sonos” to change music may become a reality in your home in the next few weeks. Sonos is gearing up to launch its anticipated voice-controlled feature in June, The Verge exclusive. It will exist as a replacement for Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa, which are already supported on select Sonos speakers and soundbars.
The leak says the Sonos voice control feature will be packaged as part of an upcoming software update coming June 1. All Sonos products running on S2 software will get this feature.
Presumably, Sonos Voice will work with a variety of music services at launch, including Amazon Music, Apple Music, Pandora, Deezer, and, of course, Sonos Radio. However, Google’s YouTube Music and Spotify are notably absent from the list.
As previously reported, “Hey Sonos” will be the wake word for your Sonos device, and any commands you issue will be processed on the device. You’ll be able to use your voice to skip songs, adjust the volume, and even check the battery level.
The leaker said Sonos’ internal tests showed that its voice controls performed “core music tasks” faster than two digital assistants from Google and Amazon. Presumably, its voice control feature will also be programmed to allow “voice concurrency,” which lets you use two assistants on a single device. For example, you can use Alexa and Assistant for smart control, and Sonos for music playback.
It will be interesting to see this. The only other experience I’ve had with a device-specific voice assistant is “Hey Portal” on Portal Go, and I can say from experience that I often think I’m talking to it when I’m not around. Portal Go also integrates with Alexa.
Sonos declined to comment to The Verge on the latest reports about its voice control, and despite past indications that the feature is coming, the company has yet to officially announce it.
Last year, Sonos began investigating how voice assistants would serve users as an alternative to Google and Amazon’s offerings. Several job listings are also up, suggesting the company is hiring in preparation for building this capability. With Sonos’ recent victory over Google for infringing its audio patents, it’s looking for an edge to keep its ecosystem thriving against the two giants that compete with it.
There appears to be a new Sonos hardware and software capability on the horizon. More recently, other reports have suggested that Sonos is working on an entry-level soundbar that could launch on June 7. Wouldn’t it be nice to pair it with an all-new, faster-than-existing voice assistant? We’ll see if that’s Sonos in the next few weeks.