Yes, after numerous rumors, Sonos formally announced his entry into the world of headphones this morning. Ace seems to be competing with the likes of Apple’s AirPods Max And Sony’s WH-1000XM5 for $449, but the audio brand also quietly and casually launched the Sonos Roam 2.
That’s right, Sonos’ second-generation portable Bluetooth speaker is here and it has a similar look and largely the same features. Although for the same price it does include some subtle upgrades.
For the price of $179 you can choose from five colors – black, white, olive green, wave or sunset – and the Sonos logo, which is placed over the speaker grille and closer to the top of the front, is now in colour. matched, meaning it doesn’t stand out as much.
The main change here is the addition of a Bluetooth button, which lets you use this as a Bluetooth speaker straight out of the box – no longer having to connect it to the wider Sonos ecosystem from the start. You turn it on and press the Bluetooth pairing button instead of having to long press the power button to enable this pairing method.
The playback controls – backward, play or pause and forward – are still at the top and are physical buttons. You charge the Roam 2 via a USB-C port on the back and can charge the device wirelessly with an optional proprietary charger, which Sonos sells for $49/£45/AU$73.
However, current Roam owners looking to upgrade may be disappointed with the battery life, as it’s still rated at 10 hours. In the world of ultraportable Bluetooth speakers, that doesn’t really last long, and it lags far behind Sonos’ larger Move 2 speaker. We’ll have to see if there are any hidden improvements here, but that will have to wait until we test the Roam 2.
However, the Roam 2 should sound just as good as the Roam, with strong audio performance and great bass for its size. In our 2022 review, we called the Roam the “best Bluetooth speaker of 2022.” The only drawback would be the runtime. You can still integrate the Roam 2 with the wider Sonos ecosystem and control it from the app.
Finally, the Roam 2 is still dust and waterproof up to the IP67 rating, just like the original, and is the same price of $179 / £179 / AU$299. It’s now available in five colors from Sonos and the shipments are already underway.