ROAM FREE Sonos Roam

Offering Sonos slickness in a small package, this Bluetooth speaker is convenient and sounds good – but is for those who’ll use its portable side the most

£159 sonos.com

SPECIFICATIONS

Drivers 2 (tweeter, mid-woofer)

CPU Quad Core A-53

Memory 1GB SDRAM,4GB NV

Battery life Up to 10 hours

Connectivity USB-C,Wi-Fi 5, Bluetooth 5.0, AirPlay 2

Voice assistant Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant

Weatherproofing IP67

Dimensions 168x62x60mm

Weight 0.43kg

The Sonos Roam is the first truly portable speaker in Sonos’ line-up. Oh, the Sonos Move could certainly be moved around, but it’s too large and heavy to be very portable outside your own home. This is made for tucking in a pocket or tossing in a backpack for hitting the road.

When it comes to what it can do, the Sonos Roam is like a shrunk-down Sonos Move, but it actually has even more smarts going on than the larger speaker. Not only is this a Bluetooth speaker, but it’s also a Wi-Fi multi-room speaker, and works with Sonos’ system or in Apple’s AirPlay 2 multi-room system.

It’s also a smart speaker, using either Alexa or Google Assistant and far-field mics to act as a full-on Echo (4th gen) or Nest Audio alternative.

The Sonos Roam is clearly a Sonos product, with pale grey (aka ‘white’) or black finishes, and a curved grille that’s a close fit with the Sonos One or Sonos Arc. Its triangular design is meant to make it easy to grab and hold securely, and also means the sound is angled up and away from whatever surface you place it on when laid flat, for better audio quality.