After a lengthy hardware hiatus, Sonos is back with its portable Play speaker. Between the impressive audio quality and AirPlay streaming, it's a solid choice for any Apple user.
Without getting too into the weeds, the last couple of years have been unusually tough for Sonos. The speaker maker took a lot of well-deserved flak for rolling out an app update that wasn't ready.
This update revamped the UI, but it was also temporarily lacking essential features that many users depended on. Sonos quickly went into damage control mode.
By all accounts, it did everything right following the app issues. It regularly launched new versions of the app to restore features, including with a public-facing roadmap to track changes.
It replaced its CEO with longtime board member Tom Conrad. Conrad has been regularly responding to user concerns on Reddit, Threads, and other social media.
Instead of launching an ambitious Apple TV competitor that wouldn't hit its standards, Sonos shelved it. Finally, before pushing out another big change to its mobile app, it publicly announced the update and started rolling it out in waves to opt-in beta testers.
At the same time, it has largely abstained from launching new hardware. Sonos did launch a few small products, such as a new compact amp, but the direct-to-consumer lineup has remained largely unchanged.
That's a lot of background, but it lends itself to the anticipation that I had for Sonos to launch something new. Something new is what I got with the Sonos Play, a mid-sized portable speaker.
Sonos Play review: Iconic Sonos design
The Play speaker is quintessentially Sonos. It has all the little touches and attention to detail that you'd expect from an Apple product.
Sonos Play review: You get the speaker, a dock, but no power supply
Available in both black and white, the Play is 7.57 inches tall and 4.43 inches wide. There are various controls on the top and a few extra IO on the back.
The speaker grille wraps almost entirely around the sides of the speaker. The grille culminates on the back, where it curves in just enough to provide a helpful grip when picking up the speaker.
Sonos Play review: The top has physical buttons to control playback and volume
Those top buttons are physical buttons, not touch-sensitive graphics. They also have tactile icons sticking up, making them easy to press without even looking at the speaker.
On the back, you'll see a USB-C port (which can be used for audio line-in with a USB-C to 3.5mm adapter), a power button, a mute toggle, and a Bluetooth button. There is also an integrated carry loop.
Sonos Play review: On the back is a USB-C port, mute toggle, power control, and Bluetooth button
I love the little loop, which is secured in place with a metal pin and can rotate up for use or down to be out of view. On the white version, it's a nice sage green color that looks great.
A soft-touch silicone goes down the back as well as covers the top and bottom. It's a good texture for holding the speaker, while also adding to its durability.
Sonos Play review: There's a silicone loop at the top to carry it
Like any silicone phone case, it can also attract lint or hair, too. Just a warning.
Speaking of durability, this speaker has an IP67 resistance rating, which means it can withstand ingress from dust, as well as submersion in a meter of water for up to 30 minutes.
Translation: The Sonos Play will be able to keep going, no matter if you leave it out overnight in the snow, rain, or even accidentally knock it into the pool.
It can actually "keep going" for quite a while thanks to its 24-hour battery life. To charge it, the speaker gets placed on its included charging cradle.
Sonos Play review: Pick up the Play to bring it with you wherever you go
The charger is an oval, matching the footprint of the speaker. Just like with the dock on the larger Sonos Move, the edges of the cradle are tapered, so as you place the speaker down, it will pull itself into position and self-align.
This helps ensure that when you haphazardly place your speaker down, it makes proper contact with the pogo pins and starts recharging.
Another nice touch, the inside of the charging cradle matches the carry loop. Here, it's that same soft sage green that's a perfect accent color.
There's a Fairfield microphone array on the speaker, used for either Amazon Alexa or the brand's own digital assistant. I use neither, but I did test out the Sonos one.
The Sonos assistant was okay, and preferable over Alexa, but I wish it had Siri built in. This is something Apple allows, and others, like Denon, have been doing this.
If you don't want to use the mic, the toggle on the back disconnects it, so you don't have to worry about it listening or inadvertently triggering.
Sonos Play review: Portable & home
One of the ways that Sonos sets itself apart from almost all other portable speakers is how it is designed for use both at home and away. Other popular battery-powered speakers sport these rugged, loud designs that are meant to stand out.
Sonos Play review: The Sonos Play is comfortable to hold and just the right size
The most popular ones on Amazon (Turtlebox, JBL, Sony, Marshall) all look good, but they're decidedly rugged-looking in their designs. Personally, they're not something that I'd keep on the counter around the clock as decor.
That's why I'm so smitten with the Play's design. It's understated, clean, and elegant, which I think works sitting in your home's kitchen, your work desk, your porch table, or by your pool.
Sonos Play review: The white looks fantastic, but the silicone can attract lint and hair
Thanks to its charging dock, this helps sell this experience more. Your portable speaker has a home on your counter, and not something you'll just keep in a bin by the door.
While audio quality isn't quite as good as the Era 100, it's easily good enough to earn a perpetual spot on my counter.
It's hard to put concretely into words with enough emphasis how important this little detail is. In usability, it's everything.
If your portable speaker is always kept in a bag or by the door, you're less likely to charge it. Not to mention, when you do need to charge it, it will get plugged into any errant USB-C cable you have plugged in somewhere.
You'd likely have a different speaker for your in-home use. Sonos helps reduce the need for that necessary second speaker.
The Sonos Play has a dedicated space. As you come home or come inside, it just gets placed on that dock and instantly starts charging and is ever-ready to play.
This means you don't have to think about it, ever. It's always charged and connected, and you can still use it in your house.
The other way that Sonos enables this fluid in/out use case is how it connects. The Sonos Play isn't an average Bluetooth speaker, but it works with Wi-Fi, too.
Sonos Play review: Connectivity
Around 90% of battery-powered speakers on the market rely solely on Bluetooth. For a lot of users, that's absolutely adequate for what they need to do.
For me, though, I'd like a bit more. Anywhere around the house, Bluetooth is not the best option.
You have to turn the speaker on, go into your settings, and make sure the speaker connects when you want to use it. If you have multiple devices like an iPhone, iPad, Mac, or other family members' devices, you need to put it into pairing mode again each time, too.
With Wi-Fi, it's as easy as using AirPlay to play content. Anyone in the home can just cast to the speaker through the native AirPlay menu in Control Center.
Swipe down, tap the AirPlay icon, and choose the Sonos Play from the list of speakers, and your audio will be routed through the speaker. This works whether the speaker is on the dock or being carried around the home.
Sonos Play review: The Sonos Play can stay out all night in the rain
Even better, you can use Siri to cast the speaker if you'd like. I can tell Siri to "play my Jams playlist on the Sonos Play," and it will make that happen.
As an AirPlay speaker, you can add it to automations as well, such as playing your morning playlist when your alarm goes off. It could start to play a pump-up playlist as you start a cycling workout.
AirPlay gives you multi-room support, too. So you can cast to multiple AirPlay speakers at once, irrespective of the manufacturer.
Sonos Play review: Send audio to the Play via AirPlay
I can play music, podcasts, or a book through AirPlay to my portable Sonos Play, my full-size HomePod, and my new Denon Home 400 all at once, located in different rooms of the house. Since it doesn't require immediate proximity like Bluetooth, I'm free to move anywhere in the home.
The more we've used the speaker, the more we've come to appreciate its portable nature. It's similar to having a HomePod on the counter, but you can pick it up and take it with you from room to room.
Sonos Play review: It's so portable my toddler steals it
Our toddler has especially taken to this, carrying it around, listening to Disney hits, and driving it around in a pirate ship. Even if it's more expensive than an above-average Bluetooth speaker, its versatility and value are higher.
Bluetooth, however, is crucial when you step outside the house and beyond the bounds of your Wi-Fi signal. Even the backyard may not have enough Wi-Fi coverage to adequately playback your audio, so you need another solution.
To switch from Wi-Fi to Bluetooth, you tap the Bluetooth button on the back. The light on the front will switch to blue to indicate you're in Bluetooth mode, and if you hold it, the light will start to flash to show it is ready to pair.
It was easy to move to Bluetooth and back to Wi-Fi, but I wonder if a toggle switch would have been simpler. Of course, in that case, you'd need to find a new way to initiate pairing mode.
I should also mention the Sonos app, since it is what got Sonos into hot water in the first place. For me, the Sonos app is fantastic these days.
Most of the features that were missing have now returned. New features are also still coming, like support for Apple's Live Activity interface when content is playing.
Sonos Play review: The Sonos app has gotten so much better
Through the Sonos app, you can pair multiple speakers together into groups, perform updates, and play audio from various streaming services. There is Tidal, Apple Music, Spotify, and many other platforms to choose from.
Honestly, though, I don't use the Sonos app all that much. For me, it's about AirPlay or moving to Bluetooth when I need to, rather than going through the Sonos app directly.
That isn't the case for everyone, so I'm glad to see Sonos putting so much effort into continuing to improve that experience. It's getting very close to having a near-perfect audio app.
Sonos Play review: Audio quality
I tested the Sonos Play both as a single unit and as a stereo pair. I'll talk more about their stereo experience in a moment.
Inside each speaker, there is a mid-range woofer and dual tweeters that fire off to each side. The tweeters are solid, delivering respectable stereo separation even with one speaker.
Sonos Play review: This is the go-to speaker for me to bring with me
For fun, I had to crank up the volume, and it got impressively loud for the size and was largely distortion-free. This was the case for a varying lineup of music from rock to rap.
My musical taste leans more towards classic rock to alternative pop, especially with some instruments being played, be it guitars, piano, or brass.
What I tend to look for is some realness to the instrumental aspects of the track. The scratch of a guitar string or the reverb of a horn makes the track feel more alive.
Listening to one of my current favorite summer hits, "Just a Little While" by the 502's, the backing track was clear and well accentuated. The emphasis on the mids instead of just the bass pays off by creating a larger soundstage from such a compact speaker.
Sonos Play review: The Sonos Play has TruePlay tuning to adjust the audio no matter where you have it
Playing the remastered version of Queen's "Seven Seas of Rhye," the piano was crisp, and Mercury's vocals sounded broad and room-filling. It was a great song to highlight some of the bass, highs, and a complex soundstage.
It didn't have as much bass as others, like the JBL Xtreme speaker, but it was good enough for my preferences. Some users may just want a punchy party speaker, and I wouldn't call the Play one of those.
In comparison to the Sonos Era 100 or the similarly new Era 100SL, the Play falls just short in volume and bass, but that's to be expected. The Play is a bit smaller than the other two and also houses a battery.
If you'd like, you can adjust the EQ manually from the Sonos app. Using the onboard mic, the Play has automatic TruePlay tuning as you move the speaker around, helping it adjust to its space.
Sonos Play review: Stereo pairing
My favorite time using the Play was with a stereo pair. It's not hard to argue that two speakers are better than one.
When I had them on my desk, they provided fantastic stereo sound while I worked, which filled the room. With two, it seemingly was able to free up the woofer to focus more on the low-end.
They were also great outside. If you're having an outdoor get-together, these are great to put into a paired setup like this and can be spread apart.
Sonos Play review: They sound even better in a stereo pair
Putting them into a synced pair while on Bluetooth was surprisingly easy. I put the first speaker into Bluetooth mode, then I pressed and held the play button on the second speaker.
This creates a direct wireless connection between the two without the reliance on Wi-Fi.
I didn't know how to make this Bluetooth duo originally, and I opened the app to look for some answers, but Sonos anticipated my query. As soon as I opened the app away from my home, it popped up with a tutorial on how to pair them together.
This is just another nice touch that Sonos thought of to focus on the user experience.
Sonos Play review: Should you buy the Sonos Play (or maybe two)?
There's no shortage of Bluetooth speakers out there. They come in all shapes and sizes from a ton of companies, big and small.
I've regularly recommended those from Anker's Soundcore, Marshall, JBL, Beats, Bose, and of course, Sonos. Sonos has had two in this space until now: the Sonos Roam and Sonos Move.
Sonos Play review: The Roam (left) is great for going places, the Play (center) is good for the home, yard, and on the go, and the Move (right) is good for the home and yard
The Roam is the smaller of the two and lacks the line-in support and a proper charging base. It also looks more like your traditional portable speaker that would slip into the water bottle pocket of your backpack.
On the other hand, the Move is much larger and much more expensive. It's hefty and something I take out into the yard, but don't take with me away from the house.
The new Sonos Play hits that sweet spot, right in the middle. It's significantly more powerful than the Roam, with more than double the battery life, while being far more portable and cheaper than the Move.
It's the absolute Goldilocks of the Sonos portable lineup. It's more expensive than many alternatives, but I think it's still well-positioned.
The Sonos Play sounds comparable to the Bose SoundLink Max, which is similarly priced, but the former also has Wi-Fi/AirPlay and looks better in your home. This makes it easier to recommend to Apple users out there.
Sonos Play review: The ultimate mid-size portable speaker for Apple users
If you want a premium experience for a mid-sized portable speaker, the Sonos Play is the one to go for. It's been a while, but it's exciting to know that Sonos is back.
Sonos Play review: Pros
- Sleek, modern design in black or white
- Battery-powered to carry around the home, yard, or anywhere
- Works with both Wi-Fi and Bluetooth
- Support for Apple AirPlay and Apple Home
- Adjustable EQ and automatic TruePlay tuning
- Great 24-hour battery life
- Handy charging dock
- Can use Sonos assistant instead of Alexa for voice controls
- Sonos app works great
Sonos Play review: Cons
- Monochromatic color options
- Somewhat expensive
- White gets dirty outside
- No option for Siri integration
Sonos Play speaker rating: 4 out of 5
Where to buy the Sonos Play
The Sonos Play portable Bluetooth speaker retails for $299 and can be purchased from the following retailers:
