Sonos Move: New portable, bluetooth speaker leaks weeks before release date

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Sonos's brand new speaker appears to have been revealed in full, weeks before it is supposed to be announced.

The smart speaker company's latest product, which appears to be known as the "Sonos Move", is a bluetooth speaker that can be carried around the house as well as being part of a more traditional internet set-up, according to the new leaks.

The Move will live in a base station where it can be charged up and work like any other Sonos speaker. But it can also be picked up by a built-in handle and used like any other Bluetooth speaker, according to the leaks, which were posted by German website WinFuture.

While it is being carried around, it can be powered by the battery that is part of the unit. That is then charged up by putting it into the dock or being plugged into USB-C, the images show.

The website also shared marketing images of the speaker, which showed details of how it looks in pictures that do appear similar to Sonos's publicity shots.

The Sonos Move would be Sonos's first ever speaker designed to be carried around. Everything else made by the company plugs into the wall and is intended to be placed inside and left, though it has offered a range of options including speakers meant to live outside.

It would also be the first time that Sonos users have been able to play music over bluetooth. It has always been resistant to adding the option to its speakers, arguing that wifi connections are more reliable and allow for better quality music.

The new bluetooth and battery setup would allow people to take their Sonos speaker on the move for the first time, however, as well as letting it be placed in harder to reach places like bathrooms.

The speaker looks broadly similar to the One and Play:1 speakers, which are Sonos's entry level options. But previously leaks from The Verge have suggested that it is actually a little bigger than those products.

It is also said to largely work like any other Sonos product: it can connect over wifi and be controlled as part of a whole-house audio setup, like its other products, and used through the app, which will show a battery indicator.

It will also include support for Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant through the built-in microphones, and support for Apple's AirPlay 2 streaming technology. It will also introduce a new feature called Auto TruePlay which will allow it to adjust its sound to the room it is placed in, which has not yet featured on any other Sonos products.

But when it is taken out of its dock, and changed into bluetooth mode using a switch on the back, it will be able to connect directly to a phone. At that point it will leave the more traditional Sonos setup and allow phones to connect to it directly, allowing people to keep listening to music wherever they are.