New Sonos Move smart speaker could blow away Bluetooth rivals — here's how

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FCC filing hints at a more portable version of the Sonos Move smart speaker

Sonos Move
(Image credit: Tom's Guide)

A smaller successor to the Sonos Move wireless smart speaker could be on the way, according to an FCC filing. 

Spotted by The Verge, the filing details a Bluetooth- and Wi-Fi-enabled speaker that seemingly adopts a more portable, cylindrical design than the existing Move.

That’s an exciting prospect because while the Move is both one of the best waterproof speakers and one of the best Bluetooth speakers overall, it’s also a bit on the bulky side. A slimmer, lighter design would give Sonos a much better chance of challenging the likes of the UE Megaboom 3 as a go-anywhere speaker.

As the filing confirms the inclusion of 802.11ac Wi-Fi, this new speaker would likely follow the Sonos Move — Sonos’ first fully wireless speaker — in offering built-in streaming and smart assistant functions. 

One diagram also appears to have the device sat on a wireless charging dock, reinforcing it as a battery-powered speaker. And smaller dimensions are a safe bet, as this new device is listed with lower power usage than the Move.

Another diagram, showing laser-etched labeling that would appear on the underside of the device, puts the labeling in a circular pattern. This further indicates a thin cylindrical shape, more akin to that of the Megaboom 3 than the almost bucket-shaped Move.

As good as the Sonos Move is — it’s easily one of the best-sounding wireless smart speakers — a new model, with the features outlined in this filing, would make for a very tempting alternative. A smaller design would instantly fix the Move’s portability issues, and because it uses 802.11ac Wi-Fi, instead of the Move’s 802.11n, it could manage better wireless performance when at long range from a router. That’s particularly vital to a wireless speaker designed to be taken outside.

We’d also like to see improved waterproofing, as the Move’s IP56 rating makes it splash-resistant but not able to survive full submersion like the Megaboom 3 can. There’s nothing in the filing about this aspect specifically, though.

Still, this new speaker is definitely related to the Sonos Move: its model number is given as S27, while the Move’s is S17. Hopefully, a shorter stature and less powerful drivers also make it cheaper than the $400 Move as well.

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James Archer
James Archer

James is currently Hardware Editor at Rock Paper Shotgun, but before that was Audio Editor at Tom’s Guide, where he covered headphones, speakers, soundbars and anything else that intentionally makes noise. A PC enthusiast, he also wrote computing and gaming news for TG, usually relating to how hard it is to find graphics card stock.