Sonos just launched its new Play wireless speaker, bringing back the moniker for its portable range from over a decade ago.

This versatile model is equally comfortable on a bookshelf and a campsite: it boasts 24 hours of play time outdoors on a full charge, and can connect to your other Sonos speakers indoors over Wi-Fi to stream tunes across your home.

The Play basically sits between the compact Roam and the larger full-range Move 2, both in size and price – and it's closer to the latter in terms of features. Weighing about 2.9 lb (1.3 kg), it should be easy enough to lug around for road trips, days at the beach, and cookouts.

Equipped with three Class-H digital amplifiers, two angled tweeters, and a mid-woofer, the Play should be up to the task of filling any room with Sonos' signature sound. You can group up to four of them via Bluetooth for synced audio when you're outside; Move 2 speakers will work with it this way too.

When you're home, it can pair with another Play speaker for wide stereo output. It can also stream music around your house like other Sonos multi-room speakers by hopping onto your Wi-Fi network.

There are a bunch of features that should make this easy to live with. For starters, it comes with a dock that keeps its 35-Wh battery juiced up and powered for use at home. That battery can also serve as a power bank to top off your phone in a pinch via the USB-C port. Plus, it's replaceable, so you should be able to extend the speaker's life span by swapping in a spare when the time comes.

The Play is IP67 rated for dust and water resistance – which means it'll survive being dunked in a pool – and includes a line-in for turntables and other audio sources. And lastly, as with the company's other speakers, it includes a mic for voice control.

My only gripe with the Play's feature set is that you can't leave the dock behind and simply charge the speaker using just a Type-C cable that you'll almost certainly have on hand for your other gadgets. It's not a deal breaker, but this annoyingly adds one more single-purpose item to your packing list for longer trips.

The Play goes on sale on March 31 at US$299, slotting neatly between the $179 Roam and the $499 Move 2. At that price, it goes up against well-regarded options like the Marshall Tufton, JBL Extreme 4, and Ultimate Ears Everboom – but it beats the smaller ones here with longer battery life, and could make for a handy extension of your existing Sonos setup at home .

You can pre-order the Play now on Sonos' site; a two-pack will net you a $30 discount.

Source: Sonos

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