Earlier today, Sonos introduced its latest soundbar, in the form of the Sonos Ray In addition to new hardware, the American company also comes with a new software function. Sonos Voice Control is Sonos’ proprietary voice control platform.
The Voice Control, which focuses on privacy, is the easiest way to control your music, according to the American company, because it gives you control of your Sonos system with just your voice. Sonos already offers some voice control options, such as the Google Assistant, but according to the company, many users say they are concerned about privacy and dissatisfied with the accuracy, speed and ease of use of existing voice services. With Sonos Voice Control, these points need to be addressed.
Sonos voice control works on any Sonos speaker with speech recognition and processes commands entirely on the device. This local processing ensures faster response times and easy follow-up. You only have to say “Hey Sonos” once. After that, no more activation words are needed. No audio recordings or transcripts are sent to the cloud, and they are not stored, listened to or read. Just like with the Sonos app, you can control music and speakers in any room, move music from one room to another, save and like your favorite songs in your own music library.
The voice of Giancarlo Esposito
The voice control uses the nuances of human communication and responds to natural commands like ‘turn it up!’ Sonos has chosen the actor Giancarlo Esposito – known for his roles in Breaking Bad, Better Call Saul and The Mandalorian – to bring a familiar voice to customers in the US. Sonos’ first voice will be added over time with other voices as Sonos expands the experience to new people and places.
The Voice Control is available on new products with speech recognition and as a free update for existing customers. In addition, it will be compatible with Sonos Radio, Apple Music, Deezer and Pandora at launch. More services and markets will follow in due course. Voice Control will be available to users in the US from June 1, and in France later this year. Other markets will follow at a later date.
