Voice control of your Sonos speakers with Amazon’s Alexa
With Amazon’s voice controlled equipment yet to launch in the UK this may be something UK readers are unaware of. Voice control is something we feel will be the standard in the future but at present, maybe is not quite perfect. Yes Siri we are talking to you…
Enter Alexa,
At Smart Home Sounds we were lucky to demo the Amazon Echo Dot a few months back and were blown away by the results. It was the first time I've felt an electronic device was actually listening to me, if you forgive the pun. It responded quickly and accurately to 99% of my commands and the unresponsive 1% was normally down to user error.
Sonos & Alexa for us is a match made in heaven and we can't wait for our customers to experience it in their homes.
What can I tell Alexa to do…
Request your favourite playlist, album or song. Control volume, skip tracks or even ask Alexa what's playing. These are just a few of the possible commands the integration will offer.
A private beta of Echo support will launch later this year, with a public beta opening in 2017.
Use your Spotify App with your Sonos speakers
If you prefer the native Spotify app to browsing your Spotify account on the Sonos app, this feature may be for you. You will now be able to select your favourite Sonos speaker from Spotify’s native app without opening the Sonos app. You'll even be able to get music playing across multiple rooms, since all of your Sonos groups will appear inside Spotify. The Sonos app will also recognise the songs Spotify is playing, so if your friend is streaming a song you've never heard, you'll be able to add it to your library easily. “We’re excited to partner with Sonos and enhance the at home listening experience,” said Gustav Söderström, Chief Product Officer at Spotify. “Spotify listeners can now seamlessly transition their listening throughout the day from their headphones, to the car, to their computers, to their Sonos system at home with complete control of all their favourite Spotify features directly from the Spotify app.”
Native Spotify App control is launching in beta in October.
Other News…
You will also soon be able to control your Sonos speakers even when you're away from your home WiFi network. Sonos is also joining the Open Music Initiative which is a non-profit group dedicated to open sourcing access to music. For us, this is a sign that Sonos will open up its platform even more down the line.
ABOUT SMART HOME SOUNDS
Smart Home Sounds is a UK Sonos specialist. We provide expert advice on the full Sonos range, from a single PLAY:1 to a full Sonos surround system with PLAYBAR, SUB, and PLAY:1's.
All our blogs are written in conjuction with our sister site Play Audio.
