That is the Sonos Roam 2 moveable speaker

A very powerful upcoming {hardware} product for Sonos is undoubtedly its long-anticipated Sonos Ace headphones. They may mark the corporate’s debut in a large (and extremely aggressive) new class. However spring and summer season are at all times the seasons of latest moveable audio system, and Sonos hasn’t forgotten about that a part of its enterprise.

The corporate has been creating a sequel to the Sonos Roam, the tiny moveable speaker it launched three years in the past. I’ve obtained photos of a prerelease Sonos Roam 2 and might share a little bit extra concerning the variations between it and the unique mannequin, which has been criticized by some homeowners for unreliable battery efficiency and different points.

By way of design, the Roam 2 is principally a carbon copy of the first-gen speaker. The principle telltale distinction between them is that the “Sonos” emblem now matches the speaker’s coloration, as you possibly can see on this black unit; it was white on the unique.

The opposite distinctive facet of the sequel is that there are actually two buttons on the rear of the product. A type of is a devoted Bluetooth pairing button. Sure, you’ll be capable to pair the Roam 2 with any cellphone or different audio supply with out first needing to undergo an preliminary setup on your house Wi-Fi utilizing the Sonos app. Sonos is fortunately casting off that pesky requirement, which isn’t an impediment that customers need to cope with on the overwhelming majority of different Bluetooth audio system.

Bloomberg first reported on the Roam 2 a number of months in the past, indicating that the brand new Roam would have a capacitive quantity slider much like the Period 100, Period 300, and Transfer 2. However I can affirm that the ultimate design has the identical bodily controls as earlier than, with no slider. It’s potential a revamped management format was examined early on and deserted in the course of the gadget’s growth course of. Some folks use the Roam as a bathe speaker, and capacitive buttons wouldn’t be splendid for that.

As for any inner driver enhancements or modifications Sonos has made to enhance general {hardware} reliability, I can’t communicate to these simply but. However I’m anticipating the Roam 2 to return in across the similar value as its predecessor and embrace most of the similar key advantages: a kind of is the power to share Bluetooth audio throughout the remainder of your whole-home Sonos speaker system.

I’m nonetheless very a lot having fun with the bigger (in each dimension and sound) Transfer 2, which has given me no hassle in anyway over a number of months of utilization. However at any time when the Roam 2 does arrive, I’ll be aware of the destructive suggestions that has constructed up concerning the first-gen speaker as I assessment it.

Sonos is saying its second quarter monetary earnings this afternoon and can host a name with analysts afterward. I’ll be listening alongside for any fascinating tidbits from CEO Patrick Spence and the corporate’s different executives.