The Sonos Roam 2 has long been expected to launch this year, with rumors pegging its release for some time in June. That long-awaited announcement seems even more likely with the appearance of the first leaked images of the audio device.
This leak comes via The Verge, which was able to obtain images of what it says is a “Sonos Roam 2 preview.” Not only does this serve as the most compelling evidence yet that a next-generation Sonos portable speaker is coming soon, but it also gives us insight into the product's design.
If you were expecting major changes, prepare to be disappointed.
The Sonos Roam 2 leak shows a device almost identical to its predecessor. The two most notable differences (the term “featured” is used liberally here) are that the Sonos logo now matches the body of the main speaker, so it's black on the black Sonos Roam 2 instead of white, as it was on the original, and that the bottom houses a dedicated Bluetooth pairing button.
The latter should make it much simpler to connect your Roam 2 to your phone or other Bluetooth device, hopefully eliminating the need to first pair it with your phone over Wi-Fi.
To what extent do the similarities go?
Unfortunately, the leak doesn't give us any idea of the Sonos Roam 2's significant sonic capabilities, although if it can improve on its predecessor, we shouldn't have much to worry about.
In our Sonos Roam review we praised the wireless speaker's “powerful audio performance,” especially for a small and “easily portable” speaker. Although the bass was described as “overwhelming,” bass haters may not appreciate the beats it puts out. If the Roam 2 can beat these results for around the same price, we'll be golden.
To find out exactly how the Sonos Roam 2 works, we'll have to try it out ourselves, and hopefully we'll get that chance soon. As always, we should take leaks with a grain of salt, but these images and other rumors point to a fairly soon release. We're patiently holding our breath until some official news comes.
