In brief: At IFA 2019, Sonos made its entry into the world of portable speakers with the Sonos Move. It's got all the usual Sonos features plus a couple of new ones like Bluetooth support and an internal battery to play your tunes for up to 10 hours on a single charge.
The Sonos Move is a speaker that the company wants you to take outdoors. With an IP56 rating, the portable device is meant to withstand rain, humidity, extreme temperatures, UV rays, dust and salt sprays. It also helps that the hard-wearing shock-resistant case will protect it from accidental falls (and deliberate ones too).
To help with sound quality, the speaker has two Class-D digital amplifiers, one downward-firing tweeter for high frequencies and a mid-woofer for mid-range and bass, enclosed in a casing designed to evenly disperse punchy sound in an ultra-wide soundscape.
The Move has Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant for issuing voice commands. For privacy, an LED indicator lets users know when the mic is active. Connectivity options include Wi-Fi, AirPlay 2 and Bluetooth (a first for Sonos) to give users added flexibility for the outdoors, albeit with limited functionality like not being able to pair it with another Move speaker for a stereo sound effect or using a voice assistant while connected over Bluetooth.
There's a charging base included in the box for when the battery runs out and a USB-C port on the back of the Move for juicing it up with another power source. A concave handle designed into the back of the speaker case helps in carrying it around, something buyers are less likely to do that often, given the Move's rather hefty 3 kg (6.61 lb) weight and a height of just under 10-inches.
Being a premium Sonos product, the Move is also heavy on the wallet. It costs $399, which is expensive compared to most Bluetooth speakers, but it tends to justify that with a rich feature-list.