Sonos introduces a smart speaker with support for alexa and google assistant

High-end sound company Sonos has been "promising" a smart speaker for a while that would work with multiple digital assistants. Well, yesterday the company officially announced the Sonos One , a speaker that will be released with support for Amazon's Alexa and that will add support for Google Assistant at a time yet to be determined in 2018.

Sotos One, a speaker with multiple assistants

Alexa compatibility will be available to users in the United States, United Kingdom and Germany, and can be used to control streaming music services such as Amazon Music Unlimited, iHeartRadio, Pandora, SiriusXM and TuneIn. Support for Spotify will arrive some time after the Sonos One is released, although no specific date has been revealed either.

Users will also be able to use Alexa to get information related to current news, sports and weather, as well as to set timers, alarms and much more. And of course, two Sonos One speakers can be paired for a stereo sound experience.

The Sonos One includes two Class D digital amplifiers, a tweeter, and a center woofer, along with a six-microphone array that is supposed to be able to understand voice prompts from users, even when playing music on it.

In 2018, the new speaker will also add support for Apple's AirPlay 2 technology, allowing iPhone and iPad owners to play audio on the Sonos One, in addition to being able to control music through Siri.

The Sonos One is priced at 229 euros and the reservation period has already been opened on the official website. The official launch is scheduled for October 24. Also, owners of older Sonos speakers in the UK, the U.S., and Germany can download a public beta that will allow them to control those devices with Alexa. For this they must have a product with Alexa and enable the Sonos option. Once set up, they'll be able to use voice commands to play songs, turn the volume up or down, and more on Sonos speakers, always via the paired Alexa device.