I tried the new Sonos Play and it’s reminded me | Tech News

I’ve at all times been a massive fan of Sonos gear. Over the years, my home has develop into full of these spectacular related audio system, which offer a seamless manner of filling rooms with sound. Then, back in 2024, every part modified. The launch of the ill-fated new Sonos app made my complete music system really feel virtually unusable in a single day resulting from annoying connection points, frequent crashes, and playlists that merely would not play.

After months of issues, I merely gave up. In truth, for the previous yr, I’ve been utilizing a humble Echo speaker in my kitchen to play radio stations, and I switched to a Beats Pill for these instances when I wish to take my playlists on the transfer.

So, when Sonos received in contact to ask if I’d prefer to review its newest Play speaker I wasn’t sure I might face going back and placing myself by way of a complete lot of ache again.

After some thought, I stated yes to the check, and I’m so glad I did. This new system is solely sensible and has rekindled my love affair with these audio merchandise.

It actually appears like Sonos has gone proper back to fundamentals and made sure the consumer expertise comes first.

Right out of the eco-friendly packaging, the Sonos Play is extremely easy to set up. In truth, it took much less than 5 minutes from the courier knocking at the door to this speaker belting out my favorite tunes.

The Sonos app, which I have not touched since my final nightmare, appears to be properly and really fixed, doing all the exhausting work, equivalent to linking the speaker to my Wi-Fi and to different Sonos gadgets. It additionally took me seconds to set up and set up the Alexa good assistant which suggests timers will be set and playlists performed by way of voice search.

There’s even the option to make use of intelligent Sonos Trueplay technology, which ensures the sound settings are completely suited to the room the place the system is positioned.

Once up and working it’s exhausting to not be impressed by the manner the Play sounds. Everything is wealthy, full of element and booming with deep bass. For such a compact system, it actually does punch properly above its weight, and it’s going to simply fill a giant room with enough noise to get a celebration began.

Thanks to its slimline design, it additionally appears actually good and blends in properly with the room slightly than protruding like a sore thumb.

There is one other bonus of shopping for the Play. Tucked below its shell is an in-built battery pack, which suggests you possibly can decide it up and transfer it round the home and even take it out on the street. There’s even a little carry strap included to make it simpler to deal with.

Thanks to its premium and water-resistant design, it will not be affected by the British climate and the battery lasts for up to 24 hours earlier than needing a refill.

Once it has run out of juice, you merely place it back on its neat charging stand for a high up.

It’s like getting two audio system for the price of one: it appears like a everlasting addition to the home however is totally succesful of delivering music on the transfer.

There’s actually not a lot mistaken with the Sonos Play.

Admittedly, the contact controls on the high of the speaker aren’t very clear, and I’d slightly the designers had spent much less time worrying about making it minimalist and more time on the precise consumer expertise.

There’s additionally no entry to Google’s good assistant, and for some weird cause, Sonos solely consists of a charging stand and cable, however no plug in the box.

Other than these minor niggles, that is a really sensible speaker.

It’s easy to set up, sounds unbelievable and is extremely versatile due to its moveable design.

For the first time, Sonos can also be permitting its audio system to be grouped collectively by way of Bluetooth. That means you hyperlink up a bunch of these boomboxes and create your very own mini-festival.

Since the Play arrived, it’s hardly been switched off, and the Echo and Beats Pill are actually feeling a little redundant.

So it feels like Sonos is firmly back on the map. And yes, that is now one of the best audio system I’ve examined in years.