Sonos Play vs Move 2: what’s the difference on paper?
Sonos has a new portable speaker. And, like the Move 2 and Roam 2, the Play has wi-fi and Bluetooth, so it’s equally at home playing music on the go or as part of your multi-room home setup.
It sits between the smaller, cheaper Roam 2 and the bigger, more expensive Move 2. It’s a little cheaper than the Move 2, but that’s not the only difference between them, as we’ll see based on our initial comparison of the two.
Sonos Play vs Move 2: price
As we say, there is a big price difference between the two speakers. The Play costs £299 / $299 / AU$499 – pre-orders are live now, with shipping starting on 31 March. That’s a good deal cheaper than the Move 2, which costs half as much again, coming in at £449 / $449 / AU$799.
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While the price of the Move 2 has dropped by around £100 during the big sale since its launch in 2023, it has remained stable throughout. Which makes this round an easy win for Play.
** Winner: Sonos Play **
Sonos Play vs Move 2: build & draw
The Sonos Move 2 may be a portable speaker, but it’s anything but small. Standing at 24.1 x 16 x 12.7cm, it’s about the size of a standard food waste caddy, but at 3kg, it’s quite heavy (unless the caddy is overloaded, that is).
Thankfully, there’s a handle on the back to help you lift it with one hand.
The Move 2 is built to Sonos’ usual high standards, and looks to be on par with other speakers in the lineup. It’s one of the few speakers in the range that doesn’t only come in white or black; there is also green color. That option is not available through Google Play.
But the Play is better equipped to deal with the elements, rated at IP67 compared to the Move 2’s IP56.
The Play has the same button layout as the Move 2, but its controls are designed to feel like you’ve found them with your fingers. The Move 2 controls are only touch sensitive.
The Play is much smaller than the Move 2, measuring 19.2 x 11.3 x 7.7cm. And, at 1.3kg, it’s very light. It also comes with a “removable accessory loop” that you can attach to your finger for easy portability.
With its greater resistance to the elements, more portable nature and textured buttons, we give this round to the Sonos Play. But it will be interesting to see how it stands up under the scrutiny of reviews.
** Winner: Sonos Play **
Sonos Play vs Move 2: features
Both the Move 2 and Play are similar propositions – portable speakers that can be plugged back into mains and join your home wi-fi network to act as part of your Sonos multi-room system. It is therefore not surprising that they share many common characteristics.
Bluetooth and wi-fi are present, although newer, the Play supports Bluetooth 5.3 compared to the Move 2’s 5.0. Both pack 24 hours of battery life, and you can customize the sound to your environment using Automatic TruePlay. Their microphones also feature advanced beam shaping and multi-channel echo cancellation for easy voice control and TruePlay adjustments.
Both have wireless charging bases for home use, so you can keep the battery topped up ready for your travels. And when you’re out and about, you can pair the Play and/or Move 2’s four speakers via Bluetooth for bigger sound (like JBL PartyBoost/Connect+/Auracast).
Both speakers work with all kinds of streaming services and wireless technologies, including Spotify Connect, Apple Music, Tidal and AirPlay 2.
Both also have stereo sound, although their arrays are slightly different. The Play sports three class-H amplifiers, while the Move 2 has three class-D amps. Both have two angled tweeters and one midwoofer, although the components themselves differ. The Move 2 also doesn’t have the Play’s two power-absorbing radiators (which create deeper bass while reducing vibration).
It doesn’t support high-quality codecs like aptX HD or LDAC, but it can stream up to 24-bit/48kHz quality from a compatible streaming service.
Both speakers only have a USB-C port in terms of physical connectivity, but you can use this to connect an external audio source like a music player or turntable using a line adapter. Sonos also sells an adapter that adds an ethernet port for a more robust wired Internet connection; this adapter works with both speakers, but of course it costs more.
One thing to note about the Move 2: you need to set it up using the app and connect to your wi-fi network before it works via Bluetooth. So don’t buy it on your way to a festival and expect it to sing on your camping trip. Not so with the Play – it works via Bluetooth straight out of the box.
** Winner: Sonos Play **
Sonos Play vs Move 2: sound
We’ll have to wait until our review is complete before we pass judgment on Google Play’s audio quality. Move 2 received four stars in our review – a good score, but not great. Its sound was one of the main reasons it missed out on a fifth star.
Make no mistake, it has a lot to recommend it. Its sound is wide-spread and has plenty of heft, all while remaining “well-balanced, clean and detailed, and easy to listen to”, we wrote in our Sonos Move 2 review.
“Play Coi Leray’s Players and the speaker handles the playful, funky tunes wonderfully with clean, precise highs and powerful beats – it gets your toes tapping and fingers snapping,” we added.
Taylor Swift Exile it has a pleasing level of intensity to the piano notes, while Bon Iver’s voice has depth and depth. But it’s outshone by rival Bluetooth speakers, which also tend to be cheaper.
Compared to the best in class, the Move 2 is a little heavy on the bass. It’s still a solid four-star performance, but nothing more than that, sadly. For a popular brand like Sonos, that would be a disappointment.
We’ll update this once we’ve reviewed the Sonos Play.
** Winner: TBC **
Sonos Play vs Move 2: early decision
Play looks like a good proposition. It already addresses two of our three main criticisms of the Move 2, being that it’s small and affordable. It’s also designed to be more resistant to the elements, and has textured buttons that should be more tactile.
The big question is: how does it feel? To that we must reserve judgment until we have subjected it to our usual treatment of a thorough review. If it can match the four-star sonic performance of the Move 2, it should do well given its improvements in other areas. And if it can improve on that audio performance? That fifth star may be within reach…
We’ll update this article once we’ve reviewed the Sonos Play.
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