Sonos opens early access to its new natural language voice assistant

[Hydra47]

Sonos speakers are about to get smarter. Engadget reports that Sonos 27voice, the company's new voice assistant, enters early access on 6 November in a software update rolling out this week

The assistant understands natural language and general knowledge questions, so you could ask it to play that Bowie album about an adventure in space. It can also play music by mood or genre in a chosen room, while still handling timers, smart home controls and weather

Early access must be requested in the Sonos app and approved, and only a small group will test it at first. It is limited to the US, English and S2 hardware, with a full release planned for 2027

The update also brings Presets for one tap playback and a System Health feature in the iOS app. Engadget suggests the slow rollout is designed to avoid a repeat of the company's disastrous 2024 app redesign

A cautious launch makes sense after the backlash Sonos faced over its app problems. Natural language requests are what people expect from voice assistants now. If it works well, it could make Sonos speakers much more convenient

Do you use voice control on your speakers? And has Sonos won back your trust after the app problems?

Sonoswww.engadget.com