Sonos Roam Portable Speaker Debuts in Canada for $229 CAD

Sonos roam white black

Sonos has debuted its latest portable speaker and it may be familiar-looking based on leaks last week—the Sonos Roam.

The Sonos Roam is available now for pre-order in Canada for $229 CAD on Sonos.com. Next week, Sonos Roam will hit traditional retailers such as Amazon.ca.

This is what Sonos is calling a small speaker with big sound, as it weighs less than a pound and has a smaller footprint than a water bottle. The Roam has an IP67 certification meaning it’s dust and waterproof, able to survive 30 minutes under 3 feet of water. Silicone end caps protect the Roam from drops.

The Sonos Roam features both Wi-Fi and is the second speaker to feature Bluetooth, like its larger sibling, the Move. According to an online press briefing we attended, Sonos says the Roam is the “best sounding ultra portable speaker, ever made.”

The new Sonos speakers works seamlessly between Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. It will connect to your Wi-Fi network when you’re at home, then re-pair with your smartphone’s Bluetooth automatically when you’re out.

“We built Roam to give customers a way to bring the Sonos experience with them wherever they go,” said Patrick Spence, Sonos CEO, in a statement to iPhone in Canada.

“It’s not only our smartest and most versatile speaker, it’s also our most affordable. Roam provides the opportunity for millions of new customers to get started with Sonos, and is the right product at the right time as we begin to gather again with friends and family,” added Spence.

In terms of size, the Roam is the smallest speaker ever designed by Sonos, at one-sixth the size of the Move. The portable speaker measures 168mm x 62mm x 60mm and weighs just 430 grams (0.95 lb). It can be play music in both vertical and horizontal orientations.

Here’s how it compares to Sonos’ other portable speaker, the Move, below:

CleanShot 2021 03 08 at 21 42 03

The Sonos Roam has two Class-H amplifiers, one custom-racetrack mid-woofer, one-tweeter, and one high-efficiency motor. There’s a far-field microphone array for the speaker to support Amazon Alexa or Google Assistant, while Roam features automatic Trueplay tuning, available on Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. The new speaker will be controlled by the Sonos S2 app, like its latest products.

Instead of touch buttons, there are tactile buttons to accommodate those times owners are at the pool or the beach and to protect against accidental presses, says Sonos. LED lights are also on the Roam like any other Sonos speaker, to indicate various states of status related to the speaker, microphone, battery and voice feedback.

Roam supports Bluetooth 5.0 and also Apple’s AirPlay 2, while battery life is pegged at 10 hours of continuous playback on one charge, while sleep mode lasts up to 10 days (it kicks in automatically when there’s no sound being played). You can also make stereo pairs with Roam and group it with other Sonos speakers.

Sonos Roam Supports Qi Wireless Charging

The new portable speaker charges via USB-C (cable included) and for the first time in a Sonos product—can be charged via Qi wireless charging. Sonos has a new custom wireless charger being sold separately ($69 CAD; $49 USD) and Roam snaps magnetically into place.

Sonos qi wireless charger

New Sound Swap Feature ‘Magically’ Sends Music to Other Sonos Speakers

A new feature exclusive to the Sonos Roam is called Sound Swap. All you do is hold down the play button and whatever playing on your Sonos Roam is magically ‘thrown’ to the nearest speaker in your home; it basically is an automatic version of room grouping. If you continue to hold down the play button, music is then sent to all of your Sonos speakers at home.

Sonos told iPhone in Canada in an interview Sound Swap works by using ultrasonic sound technology, with the Roam emitting a chirp, and it knows what other Sonos speakers can hear it, to make the connection. This technology is dog-friendly, says Sonos.

Sonos roam setup

As for the target market of the Sonos Roam, aside from its core customers? Sonos said the Roam debuts at a new price point that’s “accessible” for new customers and the speaker “ticks all the boxes” with its Bluetooth and Wi-Fi features, it says.

We’ll have more on the Sonos Roam coming soon, so stay tuned. It’ll be available in Shadow Black and Lunar White.

Click here to pre-order the Sonos Roam for $229 in Canada (free shipping and returns). The Sonos Roam launches on April 20, 2021, in Canada and beyond.

Other Sonos Roam launch countries will include: United States ($169 USD), Mexico, United Kingdom (159 GBP), Ireland, Australia ($279 AUD), New Zealand ($319 NZD), Germany, Switzerland, France, Italy, Sweden, Poland, Spain, Netherlands, Denmark, Norway, Finland, Belgium, Austria, Luxembourg, Latin America, Singapore, Hong Kong, Eastern Europe, Portugal, Greece, Cyprus, Morocco, Egypt, South Africa, Israel, UAE/KSA and Turkey. EU pricing at 179 Euro. Japan to follow soon, says the company.

P.S. - Like our news? Support the site with a coffee/beer. Or shop with our Amazon link. We use affiliate links when possible--thank you for supporting independent media.