The Sonos assistant is voiced by an actor who should be familiar to fans of Breaking Bad and The Mandalorian.
It’s time for Sonos fans to rejoice! Sonos’ new Voice Control feature is now available for any speaker from the company sporting a built-in microphone. Let’s take a closer look…
“Hey Sonos” Is Made for Music
Sonos’ new Voice Control feature was first announced by Sonos in May 2022. And the company has now mentioned its activation in a Tweet.
To activate the feature, you’ll need to set it up using the Sonos app for iOS or Android. Use the wake word “Hey Sonos” to call the assistant.
Voice Control is compatible with Sonos Radio, Apple Music, Amazon Music, Deezer, and Pandora. More services are planned in the future.
You can ask the assistant to play artists, albums, songs, or playlists from a compatible service. A voice command can also be used for other familiar commands like volume adjustment and overall music control.
It can also be used to control an entire whole-home Sonos system and speakers in other rooms.
Fans of Breaking Bad and The Mandalorian should definitely notice the voice behind the assistant: Giancarlo Esposito. But I wouldn’t recommend asking your Sonos speaker for directions to the nearest Los Pollos Hermanos.
The assistant was designed with privacy in mind. All the requests are processed on the device and not sent to the cloud. That also means there is no transcript or recording of what was said.
Do We Really Need Another Voice Assistant?
Sonos continues to expand its reach into new areas of both hardware and software. Like with the low-cost Ray soundbar, its voice assistant is made to provide a new way for fans of the company’s products to interact with their speakers.
While many Sonos speakers already feature voice control from familiar names such as Amazon’s Alexa and Google’s Assistant, the company’s own take might seem like too much in an already crowded market.
But with a singular focus on music control, by far the most popular way users interact with their smart speakers, it provides a unique and privacy-built way for anyone to rock out. As Spinal Tap once said, it’s time to turn the music up to 11.
