It’s been a busy few weeks for audio specialists Sonos. After ‘courageously’ stripping its app to accommodate the brand-new Ace headphones that dropped yesterday, Sonos immediately followed it up with a return to its speciality: portable speakers. Stepping into the ring is the Roam 2, a refresh of the company’s 2021 effort, the Roam.
When in Roam
If you’re still holding onto the original Roam, put that wallet away. The Roam 2 features the “same rich, detailed sound and bass with the clarity, depth, and fullness you’d expect from a larger speaker.” In other words, it’s left the innards alone because it felt the tech is still good enough to charge for again.
Instead, it’s gone after those bits customers hated the most in the original Roam: a dodgy control layout, and a slightly too complicated set-up process. It also looks more photogenic than its counterpart, as it now features a “sleek monochromatic” logo and… separate dedicated Bluetooth and power buttons around the back, solving those layout complaints.
Where the Roam required a setup on your home Wi-Fi before it could be used out and about, the Roam 2 just works right out of the box. You know, like most portable speakers out there. It’ll still need a more thorough set-up on your home’s Wi-Fi before it’ll connect to the rest of your Sonos system, which is reasonable.
Read More: Sonos Ace headphones are official, priced at R13,000
It’s still touting an IP67 rating and the same 10 hours of battery life, though according to Patrick Spence, Sonos’ CEO while speaking with The Verge, there are still some “under-the-hood tweaks” that’ll boost that battery life. “We’ve optimized the battery; there’s a little bit better battery life,” he said, without getting too specific. Yeah, thanks.
The Sonos Roam 2 is reportedly available globally from 21 May for an RRP of R4,500, though we have not yet found any listings in South Africa. It will only be available in black and white when it does inevitably turn up in the country.