Plus, the fact that you can swap out the batteries after their lifetime is a bonus. At $399, the Sonos Move is an expensive smart speaker, even though it delivers dynamic audio. So, if you want to save a few bucks without compromising much on the sound quality, here are a couple of cool Sonos Move alternatives out there. Excited? Let’s dive right in. But first,
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1. For the Smarts: Bose Portable Home Speaker
It boasts of 360-degree sound and projects sound all around. The audio is louder, clearer, and punchy. The bass is balanced. However, it’s not as satisfying as the Sonos Move. Nonetheless, it comes with its own mono-signal tech. Like the Sonos Move’s Auto Trueplay tech, it tunes the audio output as per the surroundings. Battery life is decent at around 12 hours on a single charge. In fact, during one of their tests, the folks at Toms Guide found the battery to last around 20 hours. Now, that’s something. It’s durable and also boasts of an IPX4 rating. It’s not perfect. Unlike the Sonos Move, the charging cradle doesn’t come with the speaker and needs to be purchased separately ($30).
2. For the Apple Fan: Apple Homepod
The audio quality is premium and does justice to songs from all the genres. And the strong bass is the cherry on top. Like the Move’s TruPlay tech, the Apple HomePod also calibrates the sound as per the surroundings, thereby letting you have a fuller sound. What’s more, it can even detect movements, thanks to the built-in accelerometer. If you want to listen to songs from Deezer or Tidal, you will have to do so with AirPlay. For now, it supports Apple Music and Spotify through voice commands. One of the biggest limitations is that the Apple Homepod is strictly an indoor speaker and needs continuous power. The Apple HomePod Mini, which costs significantly less, has now succeeded the HomePod. Thankfully, there’s no indication of its discontinuation.
3. The Party Speaker: Sony XB501G Extra Bass
As a smart speaker, you will get all the Google Assistant quirks, though the number of supported music streaming services isn’t as impressive as the Move. The good part is that you also get to play around with Sony’s Music Center app. It sure packs a lot, from customizing the audio to enabling ClearAudio+ DSP mode (or tweaking the light settings). The SRS-XB501G truly shines as an outdoor speaker. Even outdoors, it tends to augment and reflect soundwaves, thereby giving you the taste of a true outdoor device. Aside from that, it gets loud, and the sound doesn’t distort even at high volumes. The battery life is decent, and you will get roughly 16 hours in a single charge. This, of course, depends a lot on the loudness of the speaker. At 6 pounds, the SRS-XB501G has almost the equivalent weight as that of the Sonos Move. On the upside, there’s a generous handle at the back of the device that would let you move it from one location to the other. Do note that it doesn’t ship with a charging cradle, and you will have to use the USB-C port or the barrel plug. Lastly, it supports Google Cast but not Apple Airplay.
4. Also Great: Ultimate Ears MegaBlast
The loud volume means that you can use it as an outdoor speaker as well. And if you need to stream songs at that particular point in time, just make sure to connect it to your phone’s hotspot. But at the end of the day, the Ultimate Ears MegaBlast is a tad old compared to its peers in this list. On the upside, it’s waterproof, and the lightweight nature makes it easily portable.
5. Best Bargain: JBL Link Portable
Compared to the Sonos Move, the Link Portable is considerably smaller and lighter. It weighs a mere 1.6 pounds as against the 6.6 pounds of the Sonos Move. And the small build means you can easily carry it in your backpack or tote bag. The battery life is a little disappointing. A single charge yields just around 8 hours. However, it’s safe to say that it will last you a day on the beach or outlive small gatherings and parties. It tries to make that up with a charging cradle. So you do not have to buy separately. Aside from the above, it has its own little bag of tricks. You can ask the Google Assistant to set reminders & alarms, play your favorite podcast, control smart home lights, or ask it to stream songs from Spotify. The number of supported music services is significantly small, but for $100, it’s one of the cheapest portable smart speakers around. And hey, it’s durable and has a rating of IPX7, making it fully waterproof.
6. For Bassheads: JBL Boombox 2
But at the end of the day, you can consider it as a Sonos Move alternative only from the audio point of view. It lacks a few important features, such as smart assistant integration, Wi-Fi, companion app, and EQ adjustments.
To Move or Not to Move
The Sonos Move is not just a premium speaker but also acts as a smart home base, making it a tad difficult to find the right alternative. The Bose Smart Portable Speaker is one of the best picks if you want the whole experience, while for the others, you have to let go of a few things, such as the option to pick the right assistant. The mantra here is to pick the right speaker, which suits your requirement the most. So, which one will you pick?
