This is the Sonos Roam 2 portable speaker

The astir important upcoming hardware merchandise for Sonos is undoubtedly its long-anticipated Sonos Ace headphones. They will people nan company’s debut successful a monolithic (and highly competitive) caller category. But outpouring and summertime are ever nan seasons of caller portable speakers, and Sonos hasn’t forgotten astir that portion of its business.

The institution has been processing a sequel to the Sonos Roam, nan mini portable speaker it released 3 years ago. I’ve obtained images of a prerelease Sonos Roam 2 and tin stock a small much astir nan differences betwixt it and nan original model, which has been criticized by immoderate owners for unreliable artillery capacity and different issues.

In position of design, nan Roam 2 is fundamentally a c transcript of nan first-gen speaker. The main telltale quality betwixt them is that nan “Sonos” logo now matches nan speaker’s color, arsenic you tin spot connected this achromatic unit; it was achromatic connected nan original.

The different unsocial facet of nan sequel is that location are now 2 buttons connected nan rear of nan product. One of those is simply a dedicated Bluetooth pairing button. Yes, you’ll beryllium capable to brace nan Roam 2 pinch immoderate telephone aliases different audio root without first needing to spell done an first setup connected your location Wi-Fi utilizing nan Sonos app. Sonos is thankfully doing distant pinch that pesky requirement, which isn’t an obstacle that consumers person to woody pinch connected nan immense mostly of different Bluetooth speakers.

Bloomberg first reported connected nan Roam 2 a fewer months ago, indicating that nan caller Roam would person a capacitive measurement slider akin to nan Era 100, Era 300, and Move 2. But I tin corroborate that nan last creation has nan aforesaid beingness controls arsenic before, pinch nary slider. It’s imaginable a revamped power layout was tested early connected and abandoned during nan device’s improvement process. Some group usage nan Roam arsenic a ablution speaker, and capacitive buttons wouldn’t beryllium perfect for that.

As for immoderate soul driver improvements aliases changes Sonos has made to amended wide hardware reliability, I can’t speak to those conscionable yet. But I’m expecting nan Roam 2 to travel successful astir nan aforesaid value arsenic its predecessor and see galore of nan aforesaid cardinal benefits: 1 of those is nan expertise to stock Bluetooth audio crossed nan remainder of your whole-home Sonos speaker system.

I’m still very overmuch enjoying nan larger (in some size and sound) Move 2, which has fixed maine nary problem whatsoever complete respective months of usage. But whenever nan Roam 2 does arrive, I’ll beryllium mindful of nan antagonistic feedback that has built up astir nan first-gen speaker arsenic I reappraisal it.

Sonos is announcing its 2nd 4th financial net this day and will big a telephone pinch analysts afterward. I’ll beryllium listening on for immoderate absorbing tidbits from CEO Patrick Spence and nan company’s different executives.