Sonos Voice Assistant Code Leaks
The long-rumored Sonos voice assistant may be imminent, according to some code strings first shared on Reddit. The Sonos app code appears to be “Sonos Voice Control” commands, and, as hinted in a recent survey to Sonos customers, the feature looks to be compatible with Alexa, but not Google Assistant.
Sonos Voice Control
The shared code strings describe voice commands for playing and pausing music, adjusting the volume, changing the device the music plays from, and reporting the remaining charge in a mobile device’s battery. The logos discovered in the code strings are why there’s a question of compatibility. The icon for the Sonos voice assistant is replicated next to the Alexa and Google Assistant symbols, but with an ‘X’ above Google Assistant’s logo instead of the checkmark hovering over the other brands. That all fits with the voice assistant sketched out in Sonos’ survey two years after the $37.5 million purchase of voice assistant developer Snips. Sonos Voice Control would use Hey Sonos as its wake word and search for content as well as play it, according to the questions.
Sharing Sounds
The question of compatibility is where Sonos looks most likely to shift from its current standards. Sonos speakers can currently add both Alexa and Google Assistant, and Google Assistant can even make a Sonos speaker a default player. Sonos and Google have waged legal battles over patent infringement since early 2020. Sonos has claimed that Google used Sonos patents without permission or licensing in its smart speakers, leveraging its size to escape consequences. Sonos has levied similar charges against Amazon but said the risk of retaliation led to choosing to sue only Google for now. Sonos CEO Patrick Spence has testified to that point in Congressional hearings, claiming that tech giants like Amazon and Google are unfairly pressuring companies like Sonos to limit competition and force them to do whatever the bigger company wants. Suits and countersuits are ongoing, with an early win from the US International Trade Commission for Sonos, but nothing close to a resolution.
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