Image used with permission by copyright holderSonos is perhaps the most reputable manufacturer of smart speakers, having wowed us with the superb Play:1, the sublime Play:3, the sensational Play:5, and — most recently — the superlative-defying Sonos One. Featuring integrated Alexa voice support, it helps keep Sonos in line with popular speakers like Amazon’s Echo and the Google Home series.
Pandora, meanwhile, is one of the most popular music streaming platforms around, boasting more than 80 million active users despite flagging a bit over the past year relative to expectations. Now, the two companies are collaborating to help streamline users’ listening experiences by integrating Sonos support directly into the Pandora mobile app.
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Previously, users needed to access Pandora through the official Sonos app in order to listen to Pandora radio stations or on-demand content (except those with the Sonos One, which can select Pandora playlists via Alexa voice control). Now, the Pandora app allows for full Sonos control — you can play a selected playlist, on-demand music, or radio station, as well as group and ungroup speakers, split playback across different speakers, and adjust volume anywhere.
Subscribers to Pandora Premium (touted as “the Spotify Killer“) can also utilize the full complement of Premium perks — including on-demand music playback for artists, albums, and individual tracks — via the Pandora app to play through Sonos speakers. The update also allows other people to “DJ” with your speakers as long as they’ve got the Pandora app downloaded, no Sonos required. You’ll still need to download the Sonos app to set up your speaker initially.
Unfortunately, the Premium perks don’t work with Alexa on the One — not yet, anyway. Pandora Premium offers a vast catalog of on-demand tunes, comparable to Spotify’s (minus the endless stream of covers and remixes that few people actually want), thanks to deals with the three major record labels (Universal, Sony, and Warner), plus a number of indie music distributors, including Merlin. Subscribers to Pandora Plus and the free tier have full Alexa support.
Along with Spotify and Apple Music, Pandora is among the premier music streaming services on the planet right now. If it continues to collaborate with reputable companies like Sonos, its profile will only continue to rise.
Alexa can now tell you if you left the water on or the fridge door open
Amazon's Alexa has become a ubiquitous part of the smart home, capable of handling everything from our day-to-day routines to keeping up with our shopping lists. Now, the smart assistant has a new feature: The ability to tell you if your latest load of laundry is finished or if there is running water somewhere in the home.
These new features are called Sound Detectors. Alexa already had several of these, like the ability to listen for a baby crying or the sound of barking dogs. Through Alexa Guard, the assistant can also listen for the sound of breaking glass.
Should you buy a Sonos speaker on Black Friday 2021?
If someone asks you whether you should buy a Sonos speaker on Black Friday -- particularly if it's part of Black Friday deals or a Cyber Monday sale -- there is one answer and one answer only: Yes.
The thing about Sonos speakers is this: They're very good. They're also strangely immune to discounts, spending most of their lives at full retail price. So if you're in the market for a Sonos speaker, a Black Friday sale is definitely a good time to take a look and possibly snag a decent deal. We wouldn't expect bargain basement Black Friday pricing on Sonos speakers -- that's historically just not been the case. But some savings are better than no savings. Generally speaking, you're probably looking at $100 off the retail price, give or take.
Finally, you can use a Google Nest smart speaker or display to find an iPhone
How often do you put your iPhone down and then forget where it is? If you're like most people, it happens more often than you'd care to admit. There's good news -- Google Assistant can now help you find your iPhone. While this isn't new for Android owners, support for the iPhone is no doubt a welcome addition.
All you have to do is say, "Hey Google, find my phone," and Google will ring your number. It doesn't matter if you have your phone on silent or not; it will still ring. This works even on iPhones, so don't worry if you aren't an Android or Google phone user. You can still take full advantage of the feature.
