Sonos Unveils New 'Sonos Beam' Soundbar With AirPlay 2, Alexa [Video]

Sonos today unveiled the Sonos Beam, a smart speaker for your TV that supports over 80 music services, multiple voice assistants, and Apple AirPlay 2.

Like all Sonos speakers, Beam is part of the Sonos home sound system, meaning owners have options like adding two Sonos Ones for surround sound, a SUB for more bass, or integrating Beam into their existing Sonos multi-room set-ups. Owners can also control Beam the way they choose, whether it be with voice, the Sonos app, third-party apps like Spotify, Audible, Pandora and Tidal, their existing TV remotes, and smart home gadgets like wall switches and remotes made by Sonos-certified partners. Out of the box, Beam comes with Amazon Alexa in the US, UK, Germany, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and soon, in France. Beam will support additional voice assistants as they become available on Sonos around the world and won't lock owners into specific streaming boxes or services.

"In a smart speaker category increasingly filled with tech clutter, poor audio quality and ulterior motives, Beam is the best example yet of what makes Sonos different," said Sonos CEO Patrick Spence. "Our open approach, obsession with design, maniacal focus on quality and commitment to building a system that's easy to use and gets better over time are at the heart of everything we do. We believe we've created the best, most versatile, smart speaker in the world."





Sound
Sonos Beam was tuned by a team of world-class acoustic engineers collaborating with leading sound experts from the worlds of film, music and television. The result is a product that faithfully represents the artists' work and delivers an unparalleled listening experience. Beam produces a surprisingly wide soundstage for a speaker of this size, with four custom-built elliptical full-range woofers and three passive radiators delivering deep, warm bass and superior mid-range performance, while a single tweeter ensures crisp and clear dialogue.




Sonos Beam Product Details:
● Low profile and compact size, Beam was designed to fit on credenzas or under wall mounted TVs, providing versatility. At only 25.6 inches long, Sonos Beam won't hang off furniture, block the TV or overwhelm your space.
● Five linear far-field microphone array used for advanced noise suppression and multi-channel echo cancellation for both music and home theater content.
● Beam has three ports – power, Ethernet, and HDMI-ARC.
● Use the HDMI cable to connect Beam to the TV's HDMI-ARC port. If your TV doesn't support HDMI-ARC, use the included Optical Audio Adapter to connect Beam to the TV's optical audio port.
● Comes in black and white fabric with matte finishes.
● Adding an Amazon video streaming device like Fire TV unlocks voice control for Alexa-enabled streaming services. Ask for a specific movie or show, get more info about a favorite movie director or control playback, all with voice.

AirPlay comes to Sonos in July
AirPlay 2 will be available on Sonos in July via a free software update. With AirPlay 2, customers can play music and podcasts from their iOS devices directly on their Sonos speakers, including the new Sonos Beam, Sonos One, Playbase, and the second generation Play:5. And, with a single supported speaker, AirPlay content can be streamed to other Sonos speakers in the system. Customers enjoying AirPlay 2 on Sonos will also gain a new voice experience with the addition of Siri. Ask Siri to play any track, album, or playlist on Apple Music by using an iOS device to start playing on Sonos.




Pricing and Availability:
The $399 Sonos Beam will ship globally starting July 17 and is available for pre-order today on www.sonos.com.