Sonos Roam SL: New edition without Alexa and Google Assistant

Sonos has introduced a new speaker with the Roam SL. However, this speaker will not seem all that new to connoisseurs of the US hi-fi company. After all, the Roam, the first truly mobile speaker from Sonos, went on sale almost a year ago. The entry-level model of the sound manufacturer, which is mainly known for its network speakers, now gets a light version with the Roam SL. What is different from the standard model, we want to take a closer look.

Sonos remains true to its strategy

The Roam SL is not the first model from Sonos to bear the epithet SL. So we know this already from the Sonos One SL. Like the SL version of Sonos’ smallest network speaker, the Roam SL is a slimmed-down version of the original. The abbreviation stands for silent. If you consider what is missing in the SL model in contrast to the original, this makes sense. Sonos simply does without voice assistants here. Otherwise, the Roam SL resembles its standard model like two peas in a pod.

WLAN or Bluetooth? Both are possible

It will be quite convenient for many that Sonos does without Alexa or Google Assistant with its SL versions. This is not only because they are bugged many. Rather, many simply do not use the support of the two artificial intelligences. The Roam SL is also a mobile speaker that can be supplied with music via WLAN as well as Bluetooth. Thus, the smart speaker can either be used in your own four walls as a supplement to the Sonos system or outdoors. The integrated battery is also supposed to provide up to ten hours of music enjoyment. The SL version also comes with a wireless charging option.

Price and availability

By doing without a voice assistant, Sonos also saves money in the production of the Roam SL. In addition to the microphone button, the microphone itself is also missing. Since the US company has consequently lowered the price of its One SL compared to the conventional One, we would have expected the same for the Roam SL. However, this is not the case. The newcomer at Sonos, which goes on sale on March 15, 2022, is also supposed to cost 179 Euros, just like its fully equipped brother. We cannot really understand this pricing policy. Those who are still interested can pre-order the device on the official website.