Sonos is reportedly readying to release its new Move 2 speaker at the end of September, which will feature a similar design to the first Move model albeit with improved audio performance, battery life, connectivity, charging and other improvements.
The news was first reported in an exclusive article with The Verge, which cites sources familiar with Sono’s plans.
According to the website, the biggest upgrade for audiophiles is true stereo playback thanks to dual angled tweeters, whereas the original Move only had one. The speaker will contain a woofer for bass frequencies, similar to the original model. The company’s automatic True play will again optimize sound.
The Sonos Move 2 will also reportedly have a much longer battery life if up to 24 hours, which blows the original Move’s 10 hours out of the water. Like the first Move, the Move 2 battery will be replaceable, according to The Verge.
The Move 2 will reportedly take some features from the Sonos Roam, allowing users to play Bluetooth audio across the rest of their Sonos system in their home. This improves upon the original Move, which couldn’t support this due to not being able to use Wi-Fi and Bluetooth simultaneously.
The Verge also notes that the Move 2 speaker will support Amazon Alexa and Sonos Voice Control, but not Google Assistant, which is noteworthy as this comes shortly after Sonos officially won a $32.5 million patent infringement lawsuit over Google.
Originally coming together as partners to integrate Google Play Music into Sonos products in 2013, the legal battle began in 2020 when Sonos sued Google alleging the company had unlawfully incorporated Sonos’ multiroom audio technology into Google’s own offerings because of the partnership. The accusation has since led to a broader legal war between the two companies with lawsuits being filed across multiple countries and complaints being filed with the US International Trade Commission to block imports of specific products.
However, Sonos CEO Patrick Spencer told The Verge in March that the Era line of speakers don’t include Google Assistant due to Google changing how they work with third party providers.
Other features include the ability to charge mobile devices via a USB-C port and three color variations. The Sonos Move 2 speaker will be $449, according to The Verge.
