The new Sonos Play has become my desk and kitchen speaker

I work from home, so I usually listen to audio through headphones or AirPods. But I’ve always wanted a desktop speaker that doesn’t take up too much space, which made the new Sonos Play the first proper Sonos product to review.

The Play, launched in March, is Sonos’ first new device in more than a year. The $299 speaker is a hybrid: part home speaker, part portable. It sits on your desk in a pill-shaped form, but at 1.3 pounds, with a “utility loop” on the back, it’s easy to carry around the house or out.

While I was testing it, I used to start a podcast at my desk and bring the Play to the kitchen while I cooked or made coffee. The great thing about wearing AirPods is that you’re always aware of your surroundings – you no longer miss what someone else is saying across the room. And you don’t need to rely on voice commands to control playback; The Sonos Assistant and Alexa are both built-in.

Physical control is another benefit. Skipping tracks or adjusting the volume with greasy hands is not easy on AirPods; Google Play buttons are very forgiving. That said, the controls themselves are easy to miss – they’re the same color as the silicone top and don’t lift up. After a few days I had their positions memorized, but the learning curve is a minor frustration that could have been avoided with better contrast or tactile buttons.

The speaker is rugged and IP67 rated, which means it can handle rain and brief submersion — I used it under the tap without a problem. It can also charge your phone slowly, doubling as a power bank, which is a welcome feature for outdoor use.

For audio, the Play relies on dual-angle tweeters, a mid-woofer, and three digital amplifiers, with two passive radiators to boost bass. The result is balanced and detailed at medium volumes – the separation of the instrument is excellent. The soundstage is narrow, however, which means music can feel somewhat contained rather than expansive, and at high volumes the mix loses its clarity.

The Play is perfect for a desk or balcony; it doesn’t try to fill the room. For that, Sonos’s Era 100 SL – launched alongside the Play – is a better choice. The two Play units can be paired in a stereo configuration, via the app or, more cleverly, by holding down the play/pause button on both speakers at the same time. It’s a useful feature that makes a noticeable difference in music, though less so in television audio – these speakers aren’t really made for it.

Sonos also builds on Trueplay, which uses the speaker’s microphones to automatically calibrate the sound based on the room. Previous versions of this feature required you to wave your phone in space to tune in — a chore that wouldn’t make sense on a portable speaker. New startups handle it automatically.

Sonos has had well-publicized struggles with its operating system — disappearing speakers, cheap volume controls — and while the company has made some meaningful improvements, a few edges remain. Syncing between the Play and my MacBook was sometimes difficult, for example, and playing or pausing audio on YouTube sometimes produced a noticeable delay before the speaker responded.

Switching the sound between the speakers worked reliably with AirPlay but failed repeatedly in the Sonos app until I installed the Apple Music integration – and even then, the process is more difficult than it should be.

The “Apply” button in the Sonos app, required to confirm speaker changes, feels like an unnecessary extra step. AirPlay handles the same action with one tap.

The Pocket Casts integration has a restart bug: podcasts restart from the beginning rather than continuing where you left off.

Overall, the Sonos Play is a solid speaker that delivers a lot in its segment. The app’s problems are real but they’re not outliers, and Sonos has shown it’s willing to iterate. If portability isn’t a priority, the Era 100 ($219) or Era 100 SL ($189) offer more volume for less money. If you’re looking for something rugged and truly portable, the Sonos Roam 2 or JBL Charge 6 are worth considering. But if you want a speaker that works equally well on the desk and on the back patio, the Play makes a convincing case for itself.