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ZDNET Highlights
- Your Sonos speaker has a built-in voice assistant.
- Sonos Voice Control isn’t as smart as other assistants, but it’s not useless either.
- Daily alarms, weather reports and timers can improve your experience.
I’m not a smart-home aficionado, but I have several Sonos smart speakers around my house. Although I’m not a big fan of automated voice assistants, I use Sonos Voice Control frequently. Beyond basic play/pause instructions, I try to find every way to make my speakers smarter and more integral with my whole-home audio system.
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Whether it’s by my bed, in my living room, or on the kitchen counter, as someone who works, rests, and always tries to stay busy at home, I’m constantly ordering my speaker to do something. Here are my favorite commands.
bedside table
Command: Set daily alarm clock; report the weather
To start my day, I use the Sonos Play as an alarm clock. Using this speaker as an alarm clock helps me avoid the temptation to scroll through my phone as soon as my alarm goes off first thing in the morning. You can use the default Sonos chime to wake yourself up, or you can choose one of your Sonos favorite playlists.
Also: Sonos Play vs. Sonos Move 2: Why I’d go with the $200 cheaper Bluetooth speaker
I opt for the Sonos Chime, because instant doomscrolling in the morning is about as annoying as waking up to songs from my “Long Live the Boybands” playlist. You can set an alarm for any time of day in any room with a Sonos speaker or soundbar.
After waking up, I ask my Play speaker about the weather, and Giancarlo Esposito tells me if there will be storms in my future. You can be creative with your weather-related requests, like asking if you should wear a jacket for later or bring an umbrella.
living room
Command: Turn TV on/off; move room
I have a Sonos Arc Ultra connected to my TV, and my favorite magic trick is to show guests how I can tell it to turn my TV on and off. This command also comes in handy when I’m in a hurry to get out of the house and can’t find the TV remote.
Also: Sonos Era 300 vs. Denon Home 400: Why I’m turning down the more popular speaker
Also, I mostly command the living room to carry the music from there to other rooms in your house, and you don’t need to be too obvious about it. Sometimes, before I go to my home office, I’ll say, “Hey Sonos, bring the music to my office.” Other times, if I’m already in my office and there’s music playing in the living room, I’ll say, “Hey Sonos, move the music over here.”
kitchen counter
Command: set timer
The Era 100 speaker in my kitchen is my favorite Sonos speaker in my house. I love spending more time on the weekend cooking, but not without listening to something, be it TV shows, documentaries, YouTube videos or music.
Also: How I Upgraded the Audio Quality of My Sonos Soundbar – 3 Easy and Free Ways
When I’m cooking, I use all the basic commands: play, pause, skip, resume, and play some more. However, my favorite feature is using the Era 100 as a kitchen timer. This feature is especially useful when I have multiple items in the oven, as my oven turns off as soon as the built-in timer expires.
What Sonos Voice Control Can’t Do
Sonos’ voice assistant runs on the device and handles hardware controls exclusively. As a result, it may not be as “smart” as you would like. You can’t ask it to create specific reminders or add events to your calendar. The controls are simple, but may be useful if you’re not excited about automating your home.
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Although Sonos says its voice assistant can play specific songs, it’s often hit-or-miss unless you’re streaming from Spotify. If I ask Sonos to play my Sonos playlist or a specific song, it will either play the wrong thing or stream from Spotify, although Apple Music is my preferred service.
However, I have noticed that when I ask Sonos to play a specific song and follow “…on Apple Music” Sometimes Makes it right.
Is Google Assistant or Siri better on Sonos?
If you want the most utility from a third-party voice assistant with your Sonos speaker, Amazon Alexa may be the way to go.
To enable Siri on a Sonos speaker, you’ll need an Apple HomePod or HomePod mini as the anchor device. Google Assistant on Sonos products can be unreliable; The company does not advertise Google Assistant or Siri compatibility on its website, although it does claim compatibility with Amazon’s Alexa.
I noticed that I can add Google Assistant to my older products (Era 300 and Arc), but I can’t add it to my newer products (Arc Ultra and Play). I guess since Google aims to replace Google Assistant with Gemini, implementation has been slow.
