Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Audio / Video
  3. News

Sonos could soon be the soundtrack for your next shopping trip

By

Sonos has announced Sonos Pro, a new way for companies with multiple locations to manage all of their Sonos wireless speakers from a central, web-based command center. The software-as-a-service (SaaS) product has subscription pricing: each location you want to control costs $35 per month. It’s a U.S.-only service for now, with additional markets planned for the future.

Store manager using Sonos Pro to control a local speaker.
Sonos

The system is flexible, letting companies decide how much control over individual locations should be in the hands of their employees — all the way from full control to no control at all. The days of your local Kroger running its own quirky playlist could be over if that sort of thing goes against the brand’s standards for its in-store experience. Or, companies could decide that a local flavor is exactly what they want to promote and give their store managers a big influence on the music their customers hear.

Recommended Videos

The system also includes a feature called schedules, which is effectively an enhancement of the alarms option within regular Sonos home systems. Playlists or other music can be set to play at specific times of day, in specific locations, or even in specific zones within locations. As part of a subscription, companies will get access to “on-demand premium support from anywhere,” although no mention was made of the support hours that customers can expect.

Example of a Sonos Pro dashboard.
Sonos

In addition to providing an intuitive dashboard that lets companies see the exact state of each Sonos speaker in each location, Sonos Pro also provides subscribers with a new way to steer clear of the potential licensing headaches that could result from using a personal Apple Music or Amazon Music account in a store. It’s called Sonos Backgrounds, a commercially licensed music service featuring a range of music from independent artists.

Related

When Digital Trends asked if Sonos Pro users would still be able to play music from non-commercially licensed subscription music services if they chose, we were told that Sonos planned to take an active role in educating its customers about the appropriateness of such a decision, but that it would not ultimately interfere.

Apart from the centralized control and availability of commercially licensed content, Sonos Pro works just like a regular Sonos system. It’s compatible with every Sonos product that can be controlled via the company’s S2 app, including the newest Era 100 and Era 300 smart speakers.

Employees who have been granted some level of control over their local Sonos system will be invited to log in via the Sonos app on their smartphones. Sonos Pro administrators can decide which product-specific features will be accessible. For instance, the line-in feature supported by products like the Era series could be locked out.

For companies that already have a cloud-based smart control system, there’s a good chance that Sonos Pro will be able to play nicely — it already works with Crestron, Lutron, and Control4.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics
Simon Cohen
Simon Cohen
Contributing Editor, A/V
Simon Cohen covers a variety of consumer technologies, but has a special interest in audio and video products, like…
Sonos’ new search feature needs work
An iPhone 14 displaying the Sonos app search feature, sitting in front of a Sonos Roam speaker.

Shortly after Sonos showed off its new wireless speakers -- the Era 100 and Era 300 -- the company quietly released a new version of the search feature that’s built into the Sonos app. Sonos says the new version (which is slowly rolling out) is a better overall search experience. And yet, it's a big departure from its normal search, which is now called "classic search," and I think it’s still very much a work in progress.

Sonos says that for now, the classic search isn't going away. But come April 25, everyone will have access to the new search. Here's what you can expect when you use it.
A service-first, service-only approach

Read more
Why Sonos Era 300 buyers should switch to Amazon Music
Sonos Era 300.

If you’re thinking of buying the new Sonos Era 300 — the company’s first smart speaker designed specifically for spatial audio with Dolby Atmos Music — and you’re not currently an Amazon Music subscriber, listen up: you definitely need to consider switching from whatever music streaming service you’re currently using.

Don’t worry, I’m not getting a kickback from Jeff Bezos for saying that. It’s a simple matter of compatibility and audio quality. And, unfortunately for services like Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube Music, and Tidal, none of those services can provide a speaker like the Era 300 with the same level of support as Amazon Music. At least, not for the immediate future.

Read more
Sonos has always been expensive — but that doesn’t mean it’s overpriced
Sonos Era 300 and Era 100 side by side.

It's been a long while since we saw a proper refresh of Sonos' wireless speakers. Not new soundbars. Not something portable. We're talking about the bread-and-butter of what made the company so popular in the first place. Wireless speakers that are simple to set up and play damned near anything you want.

And it just so happens we've got two new speakers on the way. The Sonos Era 100 and Sonos Era 300 effectively replace the aging Sonos One (released in October 2017, refreshed in 2019, and still available while supplies last) and the already-defunct Sonos Play:3, which was discontinued way back in 2018 after a seven-year run.

Read more