Sonos One Gen 2 review: Smart features and Alexa integration

Sonos One Gen 2 review: Smart features and Alexa integration

The Sonos One is one of the best Google Home compatible devices, best Apple HomeKit products and best Alexa compatible devices. However, connecting a smart assistant to the Sonos One was a bit more involved than I’d like.

After setting up the speakers using the Sonos app (which included authorizing Alexa), I then had to go into the Alexa app so that Amazon’s assistant could discover them and add them to my smart-home network.

I had a little trouble initially after pairing the speakers; Alexa wasn’t recognizing them properly, and wouldn’t play music, nor would Alexa realize that I started playing music using the Sonos app. However, a quick call with tech support resolved the issue.

From that point, I could start playing music using voice commands, or through either the Sonos or Alexa apps. I also liked that if I used the Sonos app to play music, I could ask Alexa what was playing, and move forward and back through the tracks.

The array of six microphones in the Sonos One speakers were nearly as sensitive as in other Amazon Echo devices. Without anything playing, I could talk in a low voice from about 10-15 feet away and it would hear my voice accurately. However, when I had the music cranking, I had to shout to make myself heard. When Alexa wakes, there’s a small tone of recognition, the volume of the music lowers, and there’s a pause of a second as the command is recognized and executed.

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