Mystery new Sonos Move could be company’s first portable Bluetooth speaker

Sonos is about to launch its first Bluetooth speaker, as the premium audio company looks set to broaden its portfolio.

Expected to be called the Move, this is the first Sonos speaker to have Bluetooth and be battery-powered — so the speaker can go into the garden, brought to play music on the beach, and still hook it up to an existing Sonos network when at home.

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According to leaked information and marketing images published by WinFuture, the Sonos Move will also include Wi-Fi, so it can be attached to the same network used by any other Sonos speakers someone might have in their home. This includes the Sonos One, Beam, and the company's new bookshelf and lamp speakers built in partnership with Ikea.

The new speaker is said to be slightly taller and wider than the Sonos One.

Where all previous Sonos speakers need a Wi-Fi or Ethernet connection to work, by streaming music over an internet connection, the Move will work like a regular Bluetooth speaker, pairing to a smartphone and streaming music directly, without connecting to the internet.

The Move will also be the first battery-powered speaker from Sonos. It sits on a charging dock, but can be lifted up and taken wherever someone chooses. The leaked images suggest the speaker can be charged by sitting in its dock, but also via a USB-C port on the back.

The Move, then, is designed to work as just another Sonos speaker in the home, or extend a Sonos network to the garden (if the Wi-Fi network can reach outside), then take the speaker further afield and tap into the Bluetooth connection instead. The report claims the Move appears like any other Wi-Fi connected speaker in the Sonos smartphone app, but with a battery indicator too.

As with the Sonos One and the company's recent sound bars, the Move is said to offer voice control via both Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant, although these will not function when used as a Bluetooth speaker, as they require an internet connection. AirPlay 2 support means you can stream music from your Apple device to the Move.

The Move is also said to be the first Sonos speaker to use microphones to automatically fine-tune its audio output. Similar to how the Apple HomePod works, this system, called Auto Trueplay, uses a speaker's microphones to understand the local acoustics, then adjust the output accordingly. Older Sonos speakers use microphones to adjust their sound, but this is part of a one-off process done while setting up the speaker for the first time, and is not done continuously.

Although this is quite a major leak from Sonos, the company still has plenty to reveal about the Move. We don't yet know how much it will cost, what the battery life is, if it has any waterproofing, and if it can be used as part of a home cinema surround sound system, or if two can be synced together to create a stereo pair. Sonos is expected to formally reveal the speaker at a press event on August 26.

Check out The GearBrain, our smart home compatibility checker to see the other compatible products that work with Google Home and Home Mini as well as Amazon Alexa enabled devices.