Sonos finally supports Google Assistant voice control (and it plays nice with Alexa)

I’ve been trying to avoid the word “finally” in my headlines, but I think this one gets a pass: Over a year and a half after it was originally promised, Sonos has brought the Google Assistant to its voice-powered speakers – namely the Sonos One and Beam. Finally.

The timing isn’t entirely a surprise; the company [announced]( an Assistant Beta late last year and has been testing it these past few weeks. The company says it took so long because it was trying to get it right.

After all, Sonos is the first company to combine Google Assistant and Alexa support on the same platform, and it worked to make sure the experience of multiple voice assistants is seamless. While you can’t use both Google and Alexa at the same time on a single unit, you can mix and match the assistants using separate units in a household. You could, for example, set a song to play throughout your house with Alexa, and stop it with the Google Assistant on another speaker.

There may come a day when the integration is even more seamless too. According to CEO Patrick Spence:

Today we’re the first company to have two voice assistants working concurrently on the same system, a major milestone for the industry. We imagine a day where we’ll have multiple voice assistants operating concurrently on the same device, and we’re committed to making that happen as soon as possible.

Google Assistant on Sonos can do almost everything you’d be able to on a Google Home device. You can change voices, reply without saying ‘Ok Google’ every time, control devices, and more. The biggest missing feature is the ability to make calls, although that might arrive at a later date.

Google Assistant is rolling out to the Sonos One and Beam today via a software update in the United States. Once updated, head to the Sonos app, tap on the more tab, and then Voice Services. From there simply select Google Assistant, follow the steps, and you’ll be good to go. Support in the UK, Germany, Canada, Australia, France, and The Netherlands are all slated to arrive in July, with more countries on the way.

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