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Sonos Inc.’s home-audio equipment proved popular during the pandemic as people spent up on home improvements, but as the economy starts to reopen, the company is introducing a new portable speaker option.
Sonos SONO, +7.10% announced Tuesday its new Roam speaker, which weighs less than a pound and will sell for $169. The product will become available April 20.
The timing of the launch is more “happenstance,” the company’s global product marketing director Ryan Richards told MarketWatch, but it squares with the times as we move into “this next phase of the pandemic where more things are open.”
See more: Sonos says the growth can continue after big pandemic surge
The company already has a portable speaker, the $399 Move, but at more than 6 pounds, it’s not ideal for all types of on-the-go listening. The Move was “designed to be a backyard barbecue boombox,” Richards said, while the Roam is meant for uses like picnics in the park as well as moving between rooms of a house.
Within the home, the speaker is designed to work both on WiFi connections and through Bluetooth, with the ability to connect with other Sonos systems that a user might have. Users can hit the play/pause button on their Roam speaker and that will send whatever they’re listening to over to the nearest Sonos speaker in the house.
For out of home listening, the speaker is waterproof enough to sustain being submerged in up to a meter of water for up to 30 minutes, Richards said.
The device uses what Sonos calls “Automatic Trueplay” to tune the speaker for its surroundings, using feedback from the microphones. The device, which comes in either black or white, will work with wireless chargers, which are sold separately, as well as a USB-C connector that’s included with the purchase.
Richards said that the product could appeal to different sets of customers, including existing Sonos product owners who wanted a true portable speaker option and new customers who may not have previously considered Sonos due to the form factors and pricing of current models.
The Roam offers up to 10 hours of continuous playback on one charge or up to 10 days of battery life when it’s not being used, Sonos said in a release.
Sonos announced the product Tuesday afternoon ahead of its investor day presentation, at which it laid out new financial targets such as a goal for $2.25 billion in annual revenue in fiscal 2024, up from $1.33 billion in its last fiscal year.
