What just happened? Sonos has just unveiled two new speakers – the first from the company since 2024. With the portable Sonos Play and lower-cost Era 100 SL, Sonos will hope to put a turbulent stretch behind it and get back to basics.
The more interesting of the two is arguably the Sonos Play, a new battery-powered speaker that slots between the Roam 2 and Move 2 in Sonos' lineup.
It appears to be aimed at buyers who want something more substantial than the Roam without stepping up to the size and price of the Move 2. Several reports describe it as essentially a smaller Move 2, which gives a pretty clear idea of what Sonos is going for.
That middle-ground positioning extends to the feature set. The Play supports both Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, allowing it to work as part of a traditional Sonos multi-room setup at home while also functioning as a go-anywhere portable speaker.
Sonos is promising up to 24 hours of battery life, and the speaker ships with a wireless charging base for docked use around the house.
Other notable extras include an IP67 durability rating, a removable carrying loop, AirPlay 2 support, and even a built-in power bank for topping up a phone over USB-C. Sonos is also said to be offering an optional replaceable battery kit, which adds a little more longevity.
One of the more notable additions is that Bluetooth playback can reportedly be grouped with up to three other compatible Sonos speakers, including other Play units and the Move 2. That's a meaningful upgrade for a company whose Bluetooth features have often felt more limited than its Wi-Fi setup.
Sonos appears to have borrowed heavily from the Era 100 playbook. Reports describe a driver layout featuring dual angled tweeters and a mid-woofer, along with force-opposed bass radiators to squeeze more low-end presence out of the compact chassis.
The Play also supports automatic Trueplay tuning when its microphone is enabled, further reinforcing the idea that this is less a basic outdoor speaker and more a portable version of Sonos' current home-audio approach.
The other new addition is the Era 100 SL, which could end up being the bigger seller. As the name suggests, it's essentially an Era 100 without the microphones and voice assistant. That lets Sonos shave the price down to $189, offering a cheaper alternative to users who do not care about hands-free controls. It also gives Sonos a clearer entry point into its ecosystem, becoming the company's cheapest non-portable speaker.
Sonos CEO Tom Conrad has reportedly framed the Play as a new "front door" to the Sonos system, a role once filled by older, simpler products like the Play:1.
The Sonos Play will cost $299 when it releases on March 31. The Sonos Era 100 SL will launch on the same day for $189, $10 more than the Sonos Roam.