New Sonos One speaker with Alexa announced for $199

Sonos has a message for the Amazon Echos, Google Homes, and Apple HomePods of the

world: not so fast. In an attempt to fend off the growing competition from companies trying to invade (and make smarter) its specialty of multi-room audio, today Sonos revealed an updated speaker, the Sonos One, with far-field microphones that allow it to work with digital assistants — beginning with Amazon’s Alexa. The new Sonos One costs $199 and launches October 24th. Preorders begin today. The Sonos One is basically a Play:1 speaker that’s been refreshed for the era of voice-based assistants. The existing Play:1 already sounds better than the Amazon Echo and Google Home, so Sonos is no doubt hoping that consumers will favor its own offering over those products. The company could eventually update its other speakers like the pricier Play:5 in a similar way, but the One’s price point makes it the most sensible first step. A light on top of the Sonos One lights up when the microphone is listening and is off when the device isn’t; the mic and light are hardwired together, Sonos said, which is meant to be a privacy measure. In addition to Alexa, Sonos plans to add support for Google Assistant to the One in 2018.                                                                                                                                                                        https://www.theverge.com/circuitbreaker/2017/10/4/16418136/new-sonos-speaker-announced-price-release-date-specs