Again in March, I informed you that Sonos is engaged on a second-generation Move speaker due for launch this 12 months. And now, as spotted by Janko Roettgers, the upcoming moveable speaker has made its manner through the FCC. The submitting matches up with my earlier report and identifies the subsequent Sonos {hardware} product as mannequin S44.
The FCC documentation additionally confirms one key improve that I discussed in March: the Transfer (Gen 2) will assist Bluetooth and Wi-Fi on the identical time as a substitute of constructing you toggle between them like the original speaker did (through a swap on the again). Because of this, identical to the Roam, Period 100, and Era 300, the subsequent Transfer will allow you to play one thing over Bluetooth after which relay that audio to the remainder of your Sonos system.
There’s not a lot else to glean from the submitting; Sonos has made the standard confidentiality request with the FCC to cover pictures, consumer manuals, and different goodies. However this step at the very least confirms that the Transfer (Gen 2) is getting nearer. Oh, and it’ll assist extra strong Wi-Fi 6 connectivity.
I don’t but know precisely when the corporate is planning to launch it. However I’d anticipate an announcement earlier than the tip of summer season; it’s a transportable speaker that’s nice for outside gatherings, in spite of everything. And there’s precedent for a brand new Sonos gadget to hit the market pretty quickly after its FCC debut; the Sonos Roam appeared at the FCC one month forward of the corporate’s announcement. Properly, I assume technically we announced it first.
The Transfer (Gen 2) will definitely be extra handy to make use of due to the dual-mode Bluetooth and Wi-Fi. However I’m hoping that’s not all there’s to this story; certainly, there may even be some audio efficiency enhancements. An improve to stereo drivers like the Era 100 would make an already-excellent speaker sound even higher. I additionally hope the Transfer (Gen 2) will protect the unique’s give attention to longevity; Sonos affords a $69 battery replacement kit to assist the music maintain taking part in far, far into the longer term.
In April, Sonos introduced its first software program as a service (SaaS) called Sonos Pro. The month-to-month subscription service offers companies with an easy-to-use dashboard for taking part in legally compliant music in industrial areas. That was the primary of 4 new product classes that the corporate has stated it should enter over the approaching years.