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It is smaller and more portable than the Brutal It movesbut large enough to look much fuller than a pint size wandering. It can be installed on its own charging base for home competition Sonos Era 100Or follow you anywhere. In other words, it’s the epitome of Sonos’ versatility, and now that it’s working properly, it’ll be hard to miss.
Play on
Opening the Play’s brown cardboard packaging feels equal parts Scandi simple and sustainable, in keeping with recent releases like Arc Ultra speakers. Inside, the white acoustic housing makes way for a sturdy tube tweeter with a rubber ring attached, measuring 7.6 x 4.4 x 3 inches and weighing less than 3 pounds. You’ll also find simple setup instructions and a wireless charging dock, but no wall adapter. You’ll need a device that can deliver at least 9V, 2A (18W), but a 15V, 3A (45W) model is recommended for “optimal” charging. Sonos says the omission of the adapter is about reducing e-waste, but that would be fortunate Selling you one for $29.
Otherwise, the Sonos app is all you need to get started. After the obligatory firmware update, my Play device was up and running on my home network within minutes. Sonos hosts more than 100 streaming services, and you can also stream via third-party services like Spotify Connect, Tidal Connect, Apple AirPlay, and more. You’ll find the speaker as its own “room” on the app’s home page, where you can swipe up to group it with other Sonos products on your network, or go into settings to tweak options like EQ, room name (important if you have more than one running), and Sonos Trueplay to automatically adjust the sound to your environment.
You’ll also find a battery saver toggle, which defaults to turning off the power when it’s been idle for too long. This feature is what, according to Sonos, caused connectivity issues when it tested the speaker’s 24-hour battery claim. Sonos says it identified the root cause, and after updating the firmware, I turned the speaker off multiple times, without any further network outages over the course of a week of additional testing.
Photography: Ryan Wanyata