The Sonos One (Gen 3) is the latest iteration of Sonos’ popular smart speaker, known for delivering impressive sound quality in a compact form factor. Building on the strengths of its predecessors, the third generation of the Sonos One offers improved performance, enhanced intelligent features, and seamless integration with various voice assistants. Whether you’re a music enthusiast, a smart home user, or someone looking to upgrade their home audio system, the Sonos One aims to meet your needs with its powerful sound, intelligent features, and versatile connectivity options.
This comprehensive review will explore the design, audio quality, intelligent features, connectivity, and overall value of the Sonos One (Gen 3). We’ll also compare it to other smart speakers in its class to help you determine if it’s the right choice for your home.
In this Sonos One (Gen 3) Review, we’ll take a look at:
Design and Build Quality
The Sonos One (Gen 3) maintains the same sleek and modern design, making the Sonos One series a favorite among users. However, this generation introduces subtle refinements that enhance its aesthetic appeal and functionality.
Elegant and Minimalist Design
The Sonos One (Gen 3) features a clean, minimalist design with smooth edges and a matte finish in two color options: black and white. The speaker’s compact size allows it to fit comfortably on a bookshelf, countertop, or nightstand, making it an ideal addition to any room. The absence of visible buttons on the front and sides gives the speaker a streamlined appearance, while the touch-sensitive controls on the top provide a user-friendly interface for adjusting volume, playing or pausing music, and activating voice assistants.
The speaker’s build quality is excellent, with a sturdy construction that feels durable and well-made. The Sonos One is also designed to be humidity-resistant, making it suitable for use in bathrooms and kitchens where moisture levels might be higher than in other home areas.
Compact Yet Powerful
Despite its tiny footprint, the Sonos One (Gen 3) packs a punch regarding sound quality. Its compact size makes it easy to place in any room, while its powerful audio capabilities ensure it can fill even larger spaces with rich, immersive sound. Whether using it as a standalone speaker or as part of a multi-room audio system, the Sonos One delivers impressive performance in a small package.
Audio Quality
The Sonos One (Gen 3) is known for delivering outstanding audio quality that belies its small size. Sonos has long been recognized for its commitment to sound excellence, and the third-generation Sonos One continues this tradition with several enhancements that elevate its performance even further.
High-Fidelity Sound
The Sonos One (Gen 3) features two Class-D digital amplifiers, a tweeter for precise high frequencies, and a mid-woofer for deep bass and mid-range tones. This combination of components allows the speaker to produce a well-balanced sound profile with crisp highs, detailed mids, and punchy bass. Whether listening to your favorite music, streaming a podcast, or watching a movie, the Sonos One delivers a full-bodied audio experience that rivals much larger speakers.
Room-Filling Audio
One of the standout features of the Sonos One is its ability to fill a room with sound. Thanks to its advanced acoustic architecture and precise tuning, the speaker can project immersive and evenly distributed audio throughout the space. Even when placed in a corner or against a wall, the Sonos One maintains its clarity and depth, ensuring that every note and beat is heard precisely.
Trueplay Tuning Technology
The Sonos One (Gen 3) is equipped with Sonos’ proprietary Trueplay tuning technology, which optimizes the speaker’s sound output based on the room’s acoustics. Using the Sonos app, Trueplay analyzes the room’s size, shape, and layout and adjusts the speaker’s EQ settings to ensure the best possible sound quality. This feature is handy for users who move their speakers around or have rooms with challenging acoustics.
Stereo Pairing and Surround Sound
For those looking to create a more immersive audio experience, the Sonos One (Gen 3) supports stereo pairing with another Sonos One speaker. When paired, the two speakers deliver authentic stereo sound with distinct left and right channels, enhancing the depth and clarity of the audio. The Sonos One can also be integrated into a Sonos home theater setup, serving as rear surround speakers when paired with a Sonos soundbar and subwoofer. This versatility makes the Sonos One an excellent choice for music lovers and home theater enthusiasts.
Smart Features and Voice Assistant Integration
The Sonos One (Gen 3) is more than just a high-quality speaker—it’s also a smart speaker that integrates seamlessly with popular voice assistants, making it a powerful tool for controlling your smart home and accessing information.
Dual Voice Assistant Support
One of the key features of the Sonos One is its support for both Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant. This dual compatibility allows users to choose their preferred voice assistant or switch between them as needed. Whether you want to ask Alexa to play your favorite playlist, control your smart lights with Google Assistant, or get weather updates from either assistant, the Sonos One makes it easy to interact with your smart home.
The built-in far-field microphone array is highly sensitive, ensuring the speaker can hear your voice commands even when music is playing at a high volume. The microphone can also be muted with a simple tap on the top of the speaker, providing peace of mind for those concerned about privacy.
Seamless Smart Home Integration
The Sonos One (Gen 3) integrates seamlessly with many smart home devices, making it a versatile hub for your connected home. The Sonos One allows you to manage your devices with just your voice, whether you’re controlling smart lights, thermostats, cameras, or door locks. The speaker also supports routines and automation, allowing you to set up custom actions that trigger multiple devices simultaneously. For example, you can create a “Good Morning” routine that turns on the lights, adjusts the thermostat, and starts playing your favorite morning playlist with a single voice command.
AirPlay 2 and Apple HomeKit
In addition to its support for Alexa and Google Assistant, the Sonos One is also compatible with Apple AirPlay 2, allowing you to stream audio directly from your iPhone, iPad, or Mac. With AirPlay 2, you can easily share music, podcasts, and other audio content across multiple Sonos speakers throughout your home. The Sonos One also works with Apple HomeKit, enabling you to control it using Siri and integrate it into your HomeKit scenes and automation.
Connectivity and Compatibility
The Sonos One (Gen 3) offers a range of connectivity options that make it easy to integrate into your existing audio setup or smart home ecosystem.
Wi-Fi and Ethernet Connectivity
The Sonos One connects to your home Wi-Fi network, allowing you to stream music and other audio content directly from your favorite services, including Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, and more. The speaker also includes an Ethernet port for those who prefer a wired connection, ensuring a stable and reliable network connection.
Multi-Room Audio with the Sonos App
One of the defining features of the Sonos ecosystem is its ability to support multi-room audio. Using the Sonos app, you can group multiple Sonos speakers to play the same music throughout your home or different tracks in different rooms. The app provides a user-friendly interface for controlling your Sonos system, adjusting volume levels, managing playlists, and accessing a wide range of streaming services.
Compatibility with Third-Party Devices
The Sonos One (Gen 3) is compatible with various third-party devices, including smart TVs, streaming devices, and other audio equipment. The speaker can be easily integrated into an existing home theater setup, allowing you to enhance your TV’s audio with Sonos’ high-quality sound. The Sonos One also supports Bluetooth, making connecting to smartphones, tablets, and other Bluetooth-enabled devices easy.
Comparison with Competitors
The Sonos One (Gen 3) competes with several other smart speakers in its class, including the Amazon Echo Studio, Google Nest Audio, and Apple HomePod Mini. Here’s how the Sonos One stacks up against its competitors:
Amazon Echo Studio
The Amazon Echo Studio is known for its impressive sound quality and deep integration with Alexa. While the Echo Studio offers a more immersive audio experience with its support for Dolby Atmos, the Sonos One stands out for its superior build quality, dual voice assistant support, and seamless integration with the broader Sonos ecosystem. The Sonos One is a more versatile choice for users who value flexibility and the ability to create a multi-room audio system.
Google Nest Audio
The Google Nest Audio offers excellent sound quality and deep integration with Google Assistant. However, the Sonos One (Gen 3) outshines audio clarity, bass response, and intelligent features like Trueplay tuning and stereo pairing. The Sonos One’s support for both Alexa and Google Assistant also gives it an edge regarding flexibility and voice assistant options.
Apple HomePod Mini
The Apple HomePod Mini is a compact smart speaker with excellent sound quality and seamless integration with the Apple ecosystem. While the HomePod Mini is ideal for Apple users, the Sonos One offers broader compatibility with multiple voice assistants, AirPlay 2, and other streaming services. The Sonos One’s superior audio performance and multi-room capabilities make it a better choice for those looking for a more robust audio experience.
Pricing and Availability
The Sonos One (Gen 3) is priced competitively, offering excellent value for its advanced features, sound quality, and intelligent capabilities. It is available for purchase directly from Sonos, as well as from major retailers and online stores. Sonos also offers bundle deals that include the Sonos One with other Sonos products, providing additional savings for those looking to build or expand their Sonos system.
Conclusion
The Sonos One (Gen 3) is a powerful, versatile smart speaker with excellent audio performance and intelligent features. With its high-fidelity sound, support for multiple voice assistants, and seamless integration with the Sonos ecosystem, the Sonos One is an excellent choice for users who demand the best from their smart home devices. Whether you want to upgrade your home audio system, create a multi-room setup, or enjoy your favorite music with rich, immersive sound, the Sonos One delivers on all fronts.
Summary of Sonos One (Gen 3) Features
Feature | Description |
Design and Build Quality | Sleek, minimalist design with durable construction and humidity resistance. |
Audio Performance | High-fidelity sound with Trueplay tuning, stereo pairing, and room-filling audio. |
Smart Features | Dual voice assistant support with Alexa and Google Assistant, plus AirPlay 2. |
Connectivity | Supports Wi-Fi, Ethernet, Bluetooth, and multi-room audio with the Sonos app. |
Comparison | Outperforms competitors like Amazon Echo Studio, Google Nest Audio, and Apple HomePod Mini. |
Pricing and Availability | Competitively priced, available through Sonos and major retailers. |
The Sonos One (Gen 3) is a top-tier smart speaker that offers exceptional value for anyone looking to upgrade their home audio experience. Its superior sound quality, versatility, intelligent features, and seamless integration with the Sonos ecosystem make it a standout choice in the smart speaker market.
Sonos One (Gen 3) FAQ
What are the key differences between the Sonos One (Gen 3) and its predecessor, the Sonos One (Gen 2)?
The Sonos One (Gen 3) builds on the success of its predecessor with a few subtle yet impactful improvements. While the overall design remains similar, the Gen 3 model features an updated processor for faster performance and improved responsiveness. Additionally, the new model includes increased memory, which helps future-proof the speaker for upcoming software updates and features. However, both generations offer the same high-quality sound, dual voice assistant support, and seamless integration with the Sonos ecosystem.
Can the Sonos One (Gen 3) be used for a multi-room audio setup with other Sonos speakers?
Yes, the Sonos One (Gen 3) is designed to work seamlessly with other Sonos speakers as part of a multi-room audio setup. Using the Sonos app, you can group multiple Sonos speakers throughout your home to play the same music in every room or different tracks in different rooms. The app allows you to control volume levels, manage playlists, and access various streaming services across all connected speakers.
Is the Sonos One (Gen 3) compatible with Alexa and Google Assistant?
Yes, one of the standout features of the Sonos One (Gen 3) is its support for both Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant. This dual compatibility allows users to choose their preferred voice assistant or switch between them as needed. Whether you want to control your smart home devices, play music, or get answers to questions, the Sonos One makes it easy to interact with either voice assistant. The speaker’s built-in far-field microphones ensure accurate voice recognition, even in noisy environments.