With the presence of Sonos One alongside Sonos Play 1, is Play 1 still worth buying?
This smart speaker provides multi room audio platform, and it is great to start having a Sonos system in your home by using the Sonos Play 1. Before this device was released in 2013, you need to spend more than £250 to get a typical Sonos system. But the price climbed upwards, depends on the speakers, and what speakers you planned to buy. The coming of Sonos changed the game, so that Sonos are more accessible with the help of more affordable price tag, which is £149.
With the coming of successor that has more seamless design, and better voice control, Sonos One and Sonos One SL, Sonos Play 1 is not alone. Even though Play 1 is the older one, is it still worth buying for those who want to add a smart speaker to Sonos System?
Should You Buy Sonos Play 1?
The Sonos Play is still a nice little speaker as the first to add to your Sonos system. Even though the smart speaker has been released ten years ago, it is still a nice smart speaker from Sono. But, if you are looking for much better option, with integrated voice control, more touch controls, and better design, then Sonos One is the winner.
However, if you have no concern on seamless voice control, and you only look for Sonos smart speaker with Alexa and Google assistant integration, then it is your choice. But again, the Play 1 is the predecessor of the Sonos Play 3, the better version. One thing for sure, Play 1 is still a good choice if you like streaming music.
Buy Sonos Play 1 if You Need Bookshelf Smart Speaker
You can add Play 1 to a shelf or a kitchen. The height of this smart speaker is about 16cm so it can fit in any room, in any condition. However, make sure that it is close to a power socket, since this smart speaker is not battery-powered option. If you want a Sonos smart speaker with portable and small design, then you should go with the newer product, Sonos Move.
If you compare this smart speaker to Play 3, then this version is quite heavy. Sonos Play 3 has flatter and wider design with the larger footprint. Meanwhile, Sonos Play 1 has more rounded design with external mesh patterns, just like the Sonos One and Sonos One SL. It goes with black or white finish to give you more color options.
The Button Design
The Play 1 has a minimum look for its buttons, just like the standard of Sonos speakers you can find on Sonos Beam, Sonos One, Sonos One SL, and Playbase. If the newer products of Sonos smart speakers go with capacitive touch controls, then this older speaker goes with physical volume buttons and play/pause button you can find on the top of the speaker.
The play/pause button has been there to replace the mute button that you can find on the older Sonos speakers, such as the Play 3 and Play 5. It works to pause streaming music, rather than just making it mute but still using bandwith and still playing.
Sonos Play 1 Smart Speaker with Hardwire
For the back of the Play 1, there is a screw hole so that you can mount the compact speaker to a wall and also an Ethernet socket that is useful to hardwire the Play 1 to the available network. Also, you can connect it wirelessly, thanks for a secure wireless network.
It is also a must to buy a Sonos Bridge to connect the Sonos speaker to the available WiFi network and enable the speakers to interact to each other and let you to control the devices from the app, so everything is easier.
The Features
Here are some interesting features to find in Sonos Play 1:
- Multi-room audio
- Stereo pairing
- Sonos app control
- Support more than 100 music streaming platforms
The Play 1 supports more than 100 music streaming platforms. For instance, Apple Music, Spotify, Tidal, Amazon Music, Deezer, TuneIn Radio, and others. Simply, sign into your account and you can start streaming music.
To control this smart speaker, you can use different methods, depend on the setup. From Sonos app, you can do anything such as controlling volume, creating playlist, or skipping tracks.
Voice Control
One of the biggest change it pushed was the voice control. Sonos One, Sonos Move, and Sonos Beam have integrated voice control along with built-in mic. However, the Play 1 needs an Amazon Alexa device such as Echo Dot or Amazon Echo, and Google Assistant device such as Google Home Mini or Google Home, Sonos One, Sonos Beam, or Sonos Move to control it with voice.
If you compare it to Sonos One, the Play 1 does not support a voice assistant. The Google Assistant and Alexa is only as the controller. Well, it is a great feature to voice control the Play 1.
Conclusion
Sonos Play 1 is the ideal smart speaker with voice control and some interesting features. You can use it to start creating or adding Sonos system. It is the right choice if you want to have a smart speaker that supports music streaming service. Here are more topics about this smart speaker to use it easier than ever:
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