For owners of Sonos speakers, you’ll have to wait a little while longer to be able to use Google Assistant for your smart voice assistant needs. While it was originally planned to be available by this year, they have now announced that they are pushing back and will most likely launch it sometime in 2019. They have not announced a specific month or even quarter but assured their consumers that they are working on it and even invites those interested to a private beta program.
They did not also give a specific reason for the delay but they were honest enough to admit that they need a bit more time “to get the experience right.” While it may cause some frustration for those who really wanted Google Assistant support for their speakers, it is probably better to wait a little while longer than to use a product or feature that may not function as you expected it to.
Sonos is also encouraging those who want to help them improve the development of the integration by asking users to apply to get in the private beta program. But it’s not simply testing out something but you will have to put in the effort like listening at least 14 hours a week, using 10 voice commands every day, and answering surveys within 72 hours.
All this is of course needed to test that Google Assistant on Sonos devices should be working as it should be. After applicants have been screened after a few weeks, they will then start testing it in around a hundred homes and then expanding it to a few thousand homes over the next few months. If you’re interested, you can apply here.
One of the most frequently asked questions for Sonos is when will Google Assistant be available with their products, and so working on this integration is probably a priority for them. Let’s wait for when the official date or time period will be announced.
SOURCE: Sonos
