Connectivity: Bluetooth, Wi-Fi | Assistant assistance: Amazon Alexa, Sonos voice control | Maximum power: 10W | Battery life: 10 a.m. | Height: 6.6″ | Width: 2.3″
Although many people will be happy with a few strategically placed speakers in their home, you may want something that works just as well outdoors as it does indoors. Fortunately, you can find speakers that combine voice controls and solid music playback performance with portable, weatherproof form factors. For my money, it’s hard to beat the Sonos roaming for great versatility, not to mention audio quality.
When used inside the home, the Roam functions like any other Sonos speaker. It fits into an existing multi-room Sonos setup, or you can get a pair for stereo playback. Like most other Sonos speakers, it works with the Sonos voice assistant or Amazon Alexa and supports virtually every major music service available. This sounds great considering its small size; it’s quieter and not as clear as the Sonos One or Era 100, but it still delivers surprising bass and distinct highs.
Since it was designed for use on the go, the Roam has a battery and Bluetooth so you can take it anywhere and use it away from your Wi-Fi network. And its small size means it can be used anywhere. easily take anywhere, at home or outside. It’s also the first Sonos speaker to be fully waterproof, as well as dust and drop resistant, so you shouldn’t worry about taking it to the pool or the beach.
The Roam gets around 10 hours of battery life, whether you’re on Wi-Fi or Bluetooth. There are other portable speakers that last longer, so if you really want to push the battery, you may be better served by another option.
Another portable wireless speaker option is the $449 Sonos Move 2. It’s much larger and louder than the Roam, which isn’t surprising given its much higher price. It’s a nice upgrade over the previous Move, with dual tweeters for more detailed sound, a battery that lasts more than a day, and redesigned touch controls up top. It also has a line-in jack via USB-C, so you can connect a turntable when using it indoors. If you’re willing to sacrifice portability for power and better sound quality (and can afford it), the Move 2 will be more satisfying than the Roam.
A better choice than the Move, unless you already have other Sonos products, is the $399 Bose portable smart speaker. It supports Alexa and Google Assistant commands, and since it can connect to WiFi, you can ask your favorite assistant to play music from Spotify, Amazon Music, and other services. On top of that, it produces full sound, sports an IPX4 design with a convenient carry handle, and will last up to 12 hours on a single charge.
Bose also offers a good alternative to Roam. The 149$ SoundLink Flex supports Siri and Google Assistant commands, and has an IP67 design that’s about the size of a small clutch. It produces clear, dynamic sound and can also pair with other speakers for stereo sound – it’s excellent and slightly cheaper than the Roam.
While this guide is all about smart speakers, we’d be remiss if we didn’t mention all the solid portable speakers that have limited, if any, smart features. We have a comprehensive guide to the best portable Bluetooth speakers, so if you’re only concerned about portability and less about the availability of a connected speaker ecosystem, there are plenty of options worth investigating.
