Sonos has been busy of late. Not content with launching its first wireless headphones (the Sonos Ace) it's also refreshed its truly portable speaker, the Sonos Roam. The Roam 2 is available now, and while it's not a great departure form the original, it does bring some sensible improvements that should make it more compelling.
Here's what's new.
Sonos Roam 2: release date and price
The Sonos Roam 2 was announced alongside the Sonos Ace on 21st May. But while the Ace won't go on sale until 5th June, the Roam 2 was available immediately.
It costs £179 / $179 / AU$299. That's slightly more expensive than the original Roam in the UK and US, but slightly cheaper in Australia.
Sonos Roam 2: what's new?
In short, not a lot. It's more of a refresh than a proper next-generation product, but the tweaks make sense and should make for some meaningful improvements in everyday use.
Perhaps the biggest change is that you no longer have to set it up on your home wi-fi network with the Sonos app before you can pair it to a device over Bluetooth. For us, that's a no-brainer (it's how pretty much every other Bluetooth speaker works), as it means you can start using it out and about before you even get it home from the shop.
Pairing is made easier with the addition of a dedicated Bluetooth button. The first-gen Roam required you to hold down the power button for a set amount of time, so a dedicated button is much more intuitive.
The design is more subtle, too. The Sonos logo is now monochromatic – i.e. the same colour as the device. It's the same design language as seen on the Sonos Ace headphones. On the original Roam in black, the Sonos logo was white, making it stand out much more and looking – dare we say it? – a bit cheap.
Other than that, the Roam 2 is pretty much unchanged from the original model. It should have the same sound (which we awarded four out of five), Trueplay for optimising the audio to your immediate environment, 10 hours of battery life and IP67 waterproofing. But there's one other change – it now comes in four colours (Olive, Sunset, Wave, Black and White) whereas the original only came in two.
Sonos Roam 2: early verdict
It's fair to say that the new Sonos Roam 2 is one of the more low-key Sonos launches. The new model is more of a correction of some of the original's faults than a full revamp. Plus the refreshed design is more in keeping with Sonos' other recent products. But all this comes at a higher price, in the UK and US at least.
Could the tweaks help the new Roam to that elusive fifth star? We should find out soon enough.
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