Sonos Touts Smart Features in Bowing Its First 'Ultra-Portable' Speaker

Sonos waded into a new category Tuesday, taking the wraps off a voice-controllable hybrid "ultra-portable" speaker called Roam. Casey Clemens, director-Americas commercial sales, told Consumer Electronics Daily the Bluetooth/Wi-Fi device is the company's “smartest and most versatile” speaker -- at the lowest price Sonos has ever set for a speaker. The Roam, similar in form factor to a JBL Flip or an Ultimate Ears Boom, went on preorder at Sonos.com Tuesday for $169; it’s to ship April 20.

Sonos’ move into the portable Bluetooth speaker market comes during a post-peak period for the category, which declined in the U.S. recently. The category had an 8% year-on-year decline in 2018 and 7% in 2019 in the U.S., said NPD. Logitech, once a mobile speaker leader, has been reallocating resources toward other initiatives after a 42% June quarter revenue drop from the year-ago quarter, said CEO Bracken Darrell in July (see 2007210039).

But Bluetooth portables overall reversed course last year, growing 8%, led by JBL, Bose and Sony, said NPD. “After numerous years of strong growth in portable speakers, they hit a bit of a saturation point,” analyst Ashley McCann told us. “As that market cooled off, sales shifted over to smart speakers and we had years of explosive growth coming from voice-activated models,” she said. As smart speaker sales have slowed, “the pendulum is swinging back in the other direction and we’re starting to see some recovery in portables.” NPD sees “evidence of life” in the premium end of the business, said McCann.

Futuresource called the Roam's $169 price tag “smart positioning,” contrasting it with the industry average $87 sticker. This price delta is high enough to help maintain a distinction between Sonos and the mass market, analyst Guy Hammett told us, “but low enough that few consumers will be put off.”

On market potential for Roam, Hammett said the current component crunch makes it difficult to peg shipment potential since chip shortages are “severely impacting a lot of vendors’ planning for 2021.” The global market size for $100-$199 portable speakers was just over 15 million units in 2020, down about 14% from 2019 due to COVID-19. It “still represents a big target market for Sonos Roam.”

Sonos’ Clemens acknowledged declines in the Bluetooth speaker category over the past couple of years, but noted the recent uptick in sales globally. Portables aren't growing at the same rate as smart speakers, Clemens said, “but that’s why we chose to do something that has Bluetooth and Wi-Fi coexistence. It’s the best of both worlds.” Sonos sees Roam as a Wi-Fi speaker that can work with other Sonos speakers in a multiroom setup and can “take all the advantage of Bluetooth 5.0 as well.” Roam is voice controllable by Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant.

Roam’s Auto Trueplay feature automatically switches connectivity between Bluetooth and Wi-Fi, depending on whether the speaker is within reach of a Wi-Fi network. Bluetooth and Wi-Fi receivers are on a single antenna, said Clemens. “When you leave your Wi-Fi signal and it recognizes that it no longer can attach to your Wi-Fi, it will automatically jump to Bluetooth with whatever device you have that’s paired to it,” he said. It switches back to Wi-Fi automatically when a user returns home. The automatic switching is enabled by a combination of technologies, including Sonos' radio chip, antenna architecture and underlying software that allows for seamless transitions, a spokesperson said. The speaker can store six devices for Bluetooth pairing, said Clemens.

Futuresource's Hammett said room calibration technology is becoming increasingly common in Wi-Fi speakers, and the Auto Trueplay, previously available only in Wi-Fi mode on Sonos' 6.6-pound Move speaker, could be a "game changer" in Bluetooth mode on a portable. Sonos introduced Auto Trueplay in the $399 Move in September 2019 (see 1909050033). The heavyweight portable will get a software update enabling the feature in Bluetooth mode as well, the spokesperson confirmed.

As the most portable speaker Sonos has brought to market, the 0.9-pound Roam has a chance to open the company’s multiroom audio capability to a new demographic, said Clemens. “We do believe there’s a whole group of people who’ve never been able to have a Sonos experience who are going to be more interested in it” due to Roam's price point and feature set, he said. It allows consumers to listen to “whatever content they want however they want.”

Marketing will be key for Sonos, said Futuresource’s Hammett, as early portable speakers with built-in Alexa and/or Google Assistant “had little success.” Even Amazon yanked its Tap portable smart speaker from the market, he noted: “With the portable use case for voice control somewhat limited, focusing on the voice aspect of these portable speakers failed to resonate with consumers." Sonos and Bose have played up audio credentials on their higher priced Move and Home Wi-Fi/Bluetooth speakers, leaving voice control as just one of many extra features, said Hammett. Roam leverages the built-in microphones that enable Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant voice control for the Trueplay room tuning functionality. The speaker "listens" to a speaker’s environment before making sound adjustments to fit the space.

On whether Sonos is concerned the $169 Roam could cannibalize sales of its $179 One SL or $199 One single-room speakers, Clemens called the home speakers “great stationary products.” Users can pick up Roam and take it anywhere they go, he said: “They serve two different purposes in the Sonos portfolio.” A new Sonos feature called Sound Swap allows users to move music from room to room by holding the play/pause button on Roam to “throw” music from the Bluetooth speaker to the nearest Sonos Wi-Fi speaker in a multiroom setup. Sonos has submitted patent application filings covering Sound Swap, experiences involving the simultaneous connection to Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, and the ability to listen to a Bluetooth audio stream on other Sonos speakers throughout the home, the spokesperson told us.

Battery life is given as 10 hours continuous, up to 10 days in sleep mode, said Sonos. It's selling a $49 magnetic induction wireless charging accessory for Roam that allows users to set the speaker horizontally or vertically on the charging pad without having to plug in a power cable each time the speaker returns to the base. The wireless charger uses the same magnetic induction charging technology as Qi but is not Qi-certified, the spokesperson said; it's also capable of charging other Qi devices, she said. Sonos designed the speaker to “snap” to the base of the accessory, which is shaped to match the endcap of the speaker for a secure fit.

Roam meets IP67 ratings for protection from dust and water and can be submerged in water up to 1 meter for 30 minutes, said Clemens. He played up the sub-pound weight of the Roam, which Sonos believes plays to the device’s advantage as portable gear. Roam has silicon end caps that protect against bumps and drops, the spokesperson said. In addition to the durability tests the company put in place for Move in 2019, it added a “tumble test” for the Roam to ensure the portable speaker could withstand punishment over its lifetime, said the spokesperson.

Two Class H amplifiers, tuned to the drivers, power the Roam, which has a mid-woofer driver and a tweeter. Dimensions are 6.6 x 2.4 x 2.4 inches. Adjustable audio settings include bass, treble and loudness. AirPlay 2 is included.