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Tag: sonos

Spotify joins forces with Amazon and Bose

Just like arch-rival Apple, Spotify cares first and foremost about its music streaming service’s number of paying subscribers. Unlike Apple Music, though, the global leader of this thriving industry also welcomes people unwilling to pay for their favorite tunes, allowing them to listen to songs they might enjoy with ads, no offline support, and shuffle-only playing capabilities.

In addition to those compromises and a sound quality downgrade, Spotify Free users were imposed several restrictions until recently in terms of devices they could stream their music on, but now a bunch of restrictions are being lifted, which is likely to further expand the platform’s reach and boost its already impressive tally of 248 million monthly active users (including both paying and non-paying subscribers).

Shortly after Sonos, Amazon and Bose are joining the list of major Spotify partners supporting free streaming on their popular smart speakers. That’s right, you can now ask Alexa to play Today’s Top Hits or a custom-made playlist on an Echo device or Fire TV. This is an especially notable event given Amazon’s own music streaming service includes a free, ad-sponsored tier as well, once again proving the e-commerce giant knows how to collaborate with rivals in mutually beneficial ways. It’s also interesting to point out Spotify has a history of high-profile marketing alliances with Google, so who knows, maybe its Premium subscribers will be offered free Echo Dots too in the near future.

Linking your free Spotify account and setting the service as a default on an Echo or Echo Dot is as simple and straightforward as you imagine, with your detailed instructions available at this link here.

Meanwhile, if you’re the proud owner of a high-quality Bose Home Speaker 300, Home Speaker 450, Home Speaker 500, Portable Home Speaker, Soundbar 500, or Soundbar 700, you’ll need to follow a set of even simpler instructions after updating your Spotify Connect or Bose Music app to the latest version to be able to stream and control your tunes over Bluetooth or Wi-Fi without spending a dime this holiday season.

November 29, 2019
More Spotify users can now stream their music on popular Sonos sound systems
Unlike arch-rival Apple Music, Spotify has both free and paid service tiers, which explains why the industry-leading streaming platform jumped to a mind-blowing 248 million monthly active users at the latest quarterly count while racking up “only” 113 million premium subscribers.

Of course, it can be profitable to get people to use Spotify without paying a $9.99 standard monthly fee too, both because those users are likely to be inclined to upgrade to a Premium subscription in the long run and because one of the downsides of not paying for unlimited music streaming is being served the occasional ad, which naturally makes the company quite a bit of moolah.

As such, it shouldn’t come as a big surprise that a basic feature previously offered exclusively with Spotify Premium accounts is finally extending to Free users. Starting now, you can play your tunes on Sonos sound systems without having to sign up for a premium Spotify subscription. All you need to do after updating the Sonos app to its latest version is head to its Settings menu, then Services, and finally, tap the Spotify option to link your free account.

Apart from having to learn to live with ads constantly interrupting your jam sessions, opting for free Spotify access means listening to (most) tracks on shuffle and being unable to skip songs at will.

Like Spotify, Sonos has been taking a number of steps meant to further widen the appeal and reach of its high-quality but often expensive speakers and soundbars recently, adding Google Assistant support at long last and releasing the company’s first portable model that’s unsurprisingly costly.
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November 21, 2019
Sonos just the start of Ikea’s investment in smart home

Ikea Australia is previewing its highly anticipated collaboration with Sonos in its Tempe store, ahead of the national launch of the Symfonisk range in September.

The range, which includes a table lamp and bookshelf with built-in connected speakers, is just the start of Ikea’s push into the smart home space, the retailer said in a statement circulated on Friday.

“Ikea sees great potential in the smart home business,” Ikea Australia spokesperson Mark Mitchinson said in a statement.

“We strive to make solutions for life at home by integrating technology into our home furnishing offer that is easy to use and affordable, thereby making smart home technology accessible to many people.”

Mitchinson said there will be additional launches, enabling people to build onto their smart home solution in the years to come.

The Symfonisk range, which Ikea first announced in a video in January, will be available in-store and online from September 27.

Designed in collaboration with US smart speaker company Sonos, the range aims to “democratize music and sound in the home”, the retailer said in a statement.

“Sound enhances our life at home and the collaboration will enable many more people to create an atmosphere in the home with great design and sound,” Mitchinson said.

The range includes a table lamp with a built-in speaker, which Ikea said will help de-clutter homes by eliminating cords. Priced at $269, the lamp-speaker partly springs from the idea of a fireplace, the retailer said – one single piece that spreads warm light as well as sound.

It also includes a wi-fi bookshelf speaker priced at $149, which can double as a shelf that holds up to 3kg with the bracket. It can also be attached to almost any kitchen rail, the retailer said.

Both products are compatible with Sonos’ own product range and can be steered through the Sonos app.

They can also be steered via the Ikea Home Smart app, which is part of the retailer’s range of connected products, from speakers and charging pads to bulbs and light panels. The products are newly categorized under the collective name ‘Home Smart’, and share the common goal of saving customers time, money and energy.

Customers can experience Ikea’s new Symfonisk range and take part in immersive experiences at the retailer’s Tempe store in Sydney from yesterday, July 25, through to August 4.

August 9, 2019
Sonos to bring Google Assistant to its smart speakers
The neverending saga regarding Sonos connected speakers and Google Assistant is about to end next week if the American company keeps its most recent promise. After a few years of uncertainty, the situation is about to get out of limbo with Sonos finally delivering Google Assistant support to its high-end speakers.

As the company announced back in January, the Sonos One and Sonos Beam will receive an update that will make Google Assistant available to users. The information has been confirmed by Sonos in a shareholder letter released ahead of the company’s quarterly earnings call.

The update that will add Google Assistant support will be available next week in the United States, but Sonos plans to bring it to other markets as well in the “next few months.” Although Sonos’ previous statement confirmed Google Assistant will be added to older speakers as well, the shareholder letter doesn’t include any mentions to these devices.

We’ll update the story once Google Assistant support hits the Sonos One and Sonos Beam, but if what the US company says it’s true, you should be able to start using Google’s personal digital assistant no later than next week.
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May 30, 2019