The company announced this morning that the Sonos Move 2 will be released on September 20th for $449. I’ve already reported extensively on the new product, which is Sonos’ third portable speaker after the original Move and the much smaller ROM. The second-generation Move has several meaningful improvements: it outputs stereo audio (the original was only capable of mono), offers twice the battery life of its predecessors, and has redesigned speaker controls to match the latest. Era 300 and Era 100.
The exterior design is very similar to the original move. It’s still a bulky “portable” speaker, but at least it still has a built-in handle for carrying it around your home (and out). Inside the Move 2 are two tweeters — that’s where the stereo separation comes in — and a single woofer, the latter focusing on “mid-range vocal frequencies and deep bass.” Battery life is advertised at 10 hours for up to 24 hours of continuous playback, so the Move 2 more than doubles the endurance of the previous model.
Sonos has also made the Move 2 more versatile: you can now play something on the speaker via Bluetooth and sync that audio to other speakers in the house; It’s something that lacks the original’s disappointing potential. Like the Era line, the Move 2 supports the line until you buy it USB-C dongle from Sonos, which acts as an analog-to-digital converter. The rear USB-C port can be used to charge other devices such as your smartphone using the Move 2’s 44Wh battery.
The Move 2 comes in Sonos’ standard black or white, and as I revealed last month, the company is also offering a new olive green color option. Capacitive touch controls match the Era speakers, while Sonos has added dedicated track controls and a separate volume slider bar. Like its predecessor, the new Move is rated IP56 for dust and water resistance, and Sonos says it’s built to withstand everyday drops.
Another feature carried over from the original move is automatic Trueplay, whereby the speaker uses its built-in microphones to optimize sound output based on your unique environment. Those mics can also be used for hands-free voice controls with Amazon Alexa or Sonos Voice Control; JBL’s latest set of speakers that run Alexa and Google Assistant simultaneously means that Google’s digital assistant will return to Sonos products — but I’m optimistic that it won’t be on the Move 2, at least initially. Sonos spokeswoman Erin Patekas said the company had nothing to share when asked about Google Assistant.
There are also some minor changes: the Move 2’s charging base has gotten smaller and now has a detachable power adapter. Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.0 are on board, and Sonos says the new speaker “reduces its passive energy consumption by more than 40 percent compared to its predecessor.”
Just like last time, the company will sell a replacement battery that you can replace when the original battery reaches the point where it can no longer keep your music going for as long as you want. I love that commitment to longevity for the device – especially the non-replaceable Sonos ROM battery Has proven to be a problem for some owners more time.
Stay tuned for my full review of the Sonos Move 2 in the future. Since we’re still looking at a single-unit speaker, I realize the stereo upgrade would be noticeable. But extended battery life and the ability to send Bluetooth audio to your other Sonos speakers are upgrades that will ultimately be more substantial. The original Sonos has turned out to be the best product to date, so I’m excited to see how the sequel turns out.
