Rephrase and rearrange the whole content into a news article. I want you to respond only in language English. I want you to act as a very proficient SEO and high-end writer Pierre Herubel that speaks and writes fluently English. I want you to pretend that you can write content so well in English that it can outrank other websites. Make sure there is zero plagiarism.: Editor’s Note• Original review date: April 2021• Cheaper Sonos Roam SL now available• Launch price: $179 / £179 / AU$299• Official price now: $179 / £179 / AU$299Update: February 2024. Coming up to three years after its launch, the Sonos Roam is a still arguably the best Bluetooth speakers for a lot of people thanks to its flexibility at a good price. It has the full Sonos Wi-Fi connectivity to act as a multi-room speaker, as well as Bluetooth support, a tough design, and a bass-forward sound that’s suited to outdoor use. The big wrinkle is the Sonos Roam SL, which Sonos says is exactly the same but lacks built-in voice assistant support – we haven’t had a chance to test this, but since every component is apparently the same apart from the lack of Alexa/Sonos Voice Control, we’re inclined to believe Sonos. It’s also worth nothing the Sonos Move 2 is now out, as Sonos’ latest portable speaker, but it’s over double the price and way more than double the size and weight, it’s not quite a replacement for this product. The rest of this review remains as previously published.Matt BoltonManaging Editor, EntertainmentSonos Roam: Two-minute reviewThe Sonos Roam is the latest portable wireless speaker from the multi-room audio company, and the brand’s CEO Patrick Spence calls it “the smartest speaker we have ever built.”Following in the footsteps of the larger Sonos Move, the Roam comes with both Bluetooth and Wi-Fi connectivity, which means it can work as a portable speaker as well as part of your wider multi-room Sonos system – and with Google Assistant and Alexa onboard, it doubles up a smart speaker too. At $179 / £179 / AU$299, it’s the cheapest and smallest Sonos speaker to date, and therefore the most affordable entry point into the brand’s multi-room audio ecosystem. For the avoidance of confusion, the Sonos Ray is a newer product from Sonos, arriving on June 7, 2022, ($279 / £279 / AU$399) but the Ray is a demure plug-n-play soundbar, rather than this portable Bluetooth beauty. Back to the Roam then, and in spite of its (relatively) low price you’re getting a lot for your money here. Its slick design means the Sonos Roam won’t look out of place in your home, while a rugged, waterproof and dustproof build and a decent battery life make it ideal for listening to music outdoors. It also comes with Google Assistant / Alexa support, so you can control it with your voice alone, and use it to control your other smart devices. If the idea of a Bluetooth speaker with built-in microphones makes you feel uneasy, Sonos also offers a version of the Roam that comes without them – the Sonos Roam SL is also slightly cheaper owing to the omission of mics, in a similar vein to the Sonos One and Sonos One SL speakers.To make that transition from indoors to outdoors as seamless as possible, the Sonos Roam comes with a host of cool features. The first of these is Sound Swap – simply hold down the play button and the Sonos Roam will ‘throw’ your audio to the nearest other Sonos speaker available. Another, Automatic Switching between Bluetooth and Wi-Fi connections, means you can simply walk into your home and the Sonos Roam, having previously been paired with your Bluetooth device, will connect to your Wi-Fi, without the need to set it up and reconnect manually. Finally, the Auto TruePlay feature first introduced with the Sonos Move has been upgraded here, so the Roam will automatically tune its soundstage to your environment, whether you’re on Bluetooth or Wi-Fi. Of course, all these flashy features would be pointless if the Sonos Roam didn’t sound great – but we’re happy to report that, despite its small stature, the Roam delivers a powerful sonic performance, with remarkably prominent bass, even if it does lack the rhythmic accuracy you’d expect from an audiophile speaker. If you do count yourself among the audiophiles of the world, you may find the bass to be slightly overpowering – though those forceful low frequencies work well outdoors, where there are no walls for the sound to bounce off. The Sonos Roam’s combination of class-leading connectivity features, powerful sound, and excellent design means it’s our pick for the best portable speaker of 2021 and 2022, though take note: it doesn’t beat the seriously talented Sonos One in terms of audio quality.In any case, we think Sonos has achieved its aims of creating the smartest Sonos speaker to date, and for that reason, we’d absolutely recommend buying it if you’re looking for a portable speaker that can slot into your existing home audio system as easily as it can provide tunes around a campfire or at the beach. And Sonos isn’t one for resting on its laurels either. In September 2021, the Sonos Roam got even better thanks to an upgrade that brought improvements to connectivity and battery life. Downloading the update via the Sonos S2 app improved the Roam’s power management to help extend the Roam’s battery life when not actively being used. Neat! The Roam is the cheapest Sonos speaker to date. (Image credit: TechRadar)Sonos Roam review: Price & availabilityAvailable to buy now$179 / £179 / AU$299Cheapest Sonos speaker to dateThe Sonos Roam is available to buy for $179 / £179 / AU$299; that’s $20 / £20 / AU$20 more than its original launch price in April 2021, after Sonos announced a nearly product-wide price hike.That price tag makes it the level-cheapest Sonos speaker to date in the US and UK, equalling the Sonos One SL, which also costs $179 / £179 (although it gets a bit confusing in Australia, because here the One SL costs AU$269). It’s also cheaper than Sonos’ first portable smart speaker, the Sonos Move, which costs $399 / £399 / AU$649 – a price that puts that speaker firmly at the top end of the Bluetooth speaker market, although it earns that price tag thanks to its array of Sonos smarts and powerful audio.It’s still not cheap by any means though; one of our favorite Bluetooth speakers, the UE Boom 3, costs $129.99 / £129.99 / AU$199.95, and the cheap and cheerful Tribit Stormbox Blast is only $199 (which is around £163 or AU$290, where sold) – although of course, neither come with the smart assistant compatibility of Sonos’ latest device.If you don’t want your Roam to come with voice assistant capabilities, you can save money on the new Sonos Roam SL. It’s available for $159 / £159/ AU$269.The rugged Bluetooth speaker comes with a IP67 water-and-dust-resistance rating. (Image credit: TechRadar)Sonos Roam review: DesignIP67 water-and-dust-resistance rating0.95lbs / 0.43kgRugged buildWhile the Sonos Roam retains the minimalist aesthetic of the brand’s previous devices, its design is still quite the departure for the audio company, with a focus on ruggedness and portability. It’s longer and thinner than the comparatively squat Sonos Move, and is similar in size to a water bottle – or the newer Cleer Scene (which is very similar in shape to the splendid JBL Flip 6). It’s far lighter than the Move too, weighing in at 0.95lbs / 0.43kg, and you can easily hold it in your hand or sling it in a bag when on the move.That light build, combined with an IP67 water-and-dust-resistance rating, makes it more easily portable than its predecessor, and rugged enough to withstand the elements. In fact, Sonos says it can survive being three feet underwater for 30 minutes.On the front of the speaker is an embossed Sonos logo in white; above this, is an LED that indicates the speaker’s connection status, while an LED on the opposite end indicates battery life.The control buttons are on the left end of the speaker when it’s placed horizontally – you can also orient the speaker vertically, with the buttons on the top. There are volume up and down buttons, a play/pause button, and a button for turning the microphone on and off. The play/pause button can be double-pressed to skip to the next track, or triple-pressed to go back…
