Sonos Ray: entry-level soundbar officially presented
Sonos just introduced a third soundbar with the Sonos Ray. This is cheaper than the other two models, which makes it the entry-level device, so to speak.
The Ray is Sonos' most compact soundbar, which means it can be placed on even the narrowest of shelves. Unlike them Beam or the Arc, this model only has front-facing speakers. To ensure that the entire room is filled with sound, specially developed waveguides and a new type of sound processing are used.
Touch buttons for controlling playback have again been integrated on the top. However, there is no microphone, so Google Assistant or Amazon Alexa are not supported.
As is known from Sonos, the Ray also has several options for playing content. Either you connect a music service via the Sonos app, you start something via AirPlay 2 or you connect the soundbar to the TV via HDMI. Then the volume can be controlled as with other models with the remote control for the television.
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Control music playback effortlessly: Sonos Voice Control
Some SonosProAs is well known, products can accept voice commands via Amazon Alexa or Google Assistant. Now there is a third service, namely the in-house Sonos Voice Control. This can be activated with the key phrase "Hey Sonos."
This supports commands for playing music via Sonos Radio, Apple Music, Amazon Music and a few other providers. More will be added over time. The new language assistant also understands commands such as "Turn it up!" to increase the volume. The entire processing of the inputs happens on the device, nothing is sent to the cloud.
Because the Ray does not house any microphones, Sonos Voice Control cannot be used directly with it. Instead, however, it is possible to control the volume with Sonos Voice Control via another speaker.
Sonos Voice Control launches as a free update in the US and France. Other markets will follow later.
Also presented: new colors for the Sonos Roam
In addition to the Ray, the manufacturer also announced new colors for its portable speaker, the Roam, at. While this was previously only available in black and white, you can now buy it in olive (green), wave (blue) or sunset (orange). Starting today, the new color options are available for 199 euros.
Sonos Ray pricing and availability
The Sonos Ray will go on sale on June 7th. The suggested retail price is 299 euros.