New portable Sonos Roam speaker leaks, coming in April for $169

A new portable speaker by Sonos, Sonos Roam, just leaked online. It will measure 6.5 x 2.5 x 2.5 inches, which is smaller than the company’s first portable speaker Sonos Move and similar to other speakers in the market, such as UE Boom and JBL Xtreme.

Sonos Roam’s image and features were leaked by the Verge. The portable speaker is set to be priced at $169 and will come with a USB charging cable. Roam will also be able to be charged with a wireless charging dock, sold separately for $49.

Available in either black or white, the Sonos Roam will be able to play audio over both Wi-Fi and Bluetooth on the go. Battery life is expected to be around 10 hours on a full charge, and it will be fully waterproof.

Sono has confirmed that is going to announce a new product on March 9. According to the Verge, current plans call for the Roam to ship a month later on April 20.

While Sonos Move had loud and full sounds and integrated with AirPlay 2 and Siri, the portable speaker was criticized for being too big and heavy to travel with, and 10-hour battery life wasn’t enough. It is, however, unclear if the new Sonos Roam will feature AirPlay 2 integration.

For $169, Sonos Roam’s price is in between HomePod and HomePod mini. While the HomePod needs to be connected all the time to power, we will have to wait and see if Roam behaves like the Move speaker, connecting to other Sonos speakers for whole-home audio, or will have a different approach.

With a smaller form factor and lower price, the Sonos Roam could be what the company was missing the first time, but we’ll have to wait and see for sure.