Sonos Move 2 Review: The Ultimate Portable Sonos Speaker

It was a big deal when Sonos released its original Move back in 2019. It signaled the start of an evolution of sorts; not only was it the company’s first portable speaker, but it was also its first to have built-in Bluetooth as well as Wi-Fi, enabling owners to use the Move both like a traditional Sonos speaker — one that you group with your other Sonos speakers in your home — or a conventional portable Bluetooth music player. It was Sonos’s first speaker that you could bring outside the home.

Since then, Sonos has continued the evolution of its portable music machines. It released the Roam and Roam SL, essentially ultra-portable versions of that original Move; they work the same way, but make a lot more sense for taking on adventures, since you can easily fit them in a bag. And then there’s the latest Era 100 and Era 300 speakers, which aren’t portable but do offer more ways to play music thanks to built-in Bluetooth and support for USB-C line-in.

Fast forward to this fall, and Sonos has released the Move 2. For those familiar with the upgrades Sonos gave to the Era 100 over the One, Sonos has basically done the same thing with its biggest portable speaker: the Move 2 has an extra tweeter so it can play stereo sound; it has the same connectivity (Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and USB-C line-in) and modern look and controls as the Era speakers; it has a drastically longer battery life; oh, and it now comes in an olive color option.

I’ve been testing the Move 2 for the last several weeks — I even brought it with me on my vacation — and it’s a rock star of a portable speaker. It’s both a refinement and a big upgrade over the original Move (which I’ve tested in the past, but wasn’t able to compare side-by-side with the Move 2 for this review). But it’s also a portable speaker primed for Sonos lovers — and, admittedly, it might be overkill for some.

Sonos Move 2: What We Think

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The Sonos Move 2 improves on what was already a great portable speaker. It sounds way better and has a greatly improved battery life. Sonos has also given the Move 2 a new look and a bunch of extra features — such as USB-C line-in, support for multi-room streaming over Bluetooth, reverse charging capabilities — that, if I’m being honest, most people will probably never use. The only downsides are that the Move 2 costs $449 (a $50 uptick over the original Move) and it doesn’t support Google Assistant.

The Move 2 is without a doubt the ultimate portable speaker for Sonos lovers — and as somebody who owns a bunch of different Sonos speakers, I love it. That said, I do think it’s for a particular purpose. Instead of a portable speaker that you take anywhere and everywhere with you, the Move 2 isn’t a speaker destined for long-distance travel. Instead, it’s best for backyard barbecues, pool parties and carrying room-to-room in your house.

Sonos

Best Portable Smart Speaker

Sonos Move 2

• $449.00 at Sonos

To learn more about our testing methodology and how we evaluate products, head here.

The killer feature? The extra-long battery life

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Battery life isn’t necessarily the sexiest thing to talk about, but it’s pretty important when it comes to portable speakers — and Sonos has managed to more than double the battery life of the Move 2. It is rated for “up to 24 hours” of playtime (at a moderate volume), which is huge — and a heck of a lot better than the original Move’s “up to 11 hours.” Sonos has managed this by putting a slightly bigger battery inside the Move 2, while also tweaking the software for efficiency gains.

And the battery life of the Move 2 really is great. I’ve spent the last several weeks carrying the Move from room to room around my house (and vacation rental), then bringing it outside to the beach for hours. At night, I would place it back on its charging cradle and I would do it all again the next day. It never fell below 15 percent on me.

That said, I will throw in a bit of a caveat here: the battery life of the Move 2 is only important if you use it as a portable speaker. I’m guessing that the vast majority of people will have the Move 2 docked 85 percent of the time. If you’re not bringing it from room to room in your house, or taking it outside and streaming via Bluetooth, the extra juice might not be the biggest selling point for you.

The Move 2 has a new stereo sound

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The Move was already one of the best-sounding portable speakers in the sub-$500 realm, and the Move 2 takes that up a notch. Sonos gave it the same treatment as the Era 100 compared to the One, adding a second tweeter and another Class D amplifier to the Move 2. These tweeters are also angled outwards so that the Move 2 can play true stereo sound.

Admittedly, I don’t own a Move speaker — even though I’ve tested it in the past — so I wasn’t able to test the speakers side by side. But the Move 2 does play a wider sound where you can actually hear the left and right channels. There’s a depth and vibrancy that you don’t often get in most portable speakers.

The other important thing to point out is that, like the Move and Roam, the Move 2 supports Automatic Trueplay, meaning you don’t have to constantly calibrate the speaker every time you move it — the Move 2 will auto-calibrate itself so that it always sounds best for the space it’s located. And yes, Automatic Trueplay works when the Move 2 in either Wi-Fi and Bluetooth listening modes.

It’s a smart speaker, but don’t expect Google Assistant

Photo by Tucker Bowe

If you’ve got an ear to the ground on Sonos news, you’ll know all about its ongoing legal battles with Google. The result is that the last several Sonos speakers, including both Era speakers and the Move 2, don’t support Google Assistant. You can only add Alexa and/or Sonos Voice Control (“Hey Sonos”) as your smart assistants.

Admittedly, it’s a bit of a weird situation considering you can buy the original Move — which Sonos will continue to sell while supplies last — and configure it with Google’s voice assistant, but you can’t do the same on the Move 2. And it’s actually pretty frustrating for somebody like me who has Google Assistant set up on a number of other Sonos speakers, because you can’t interact with every Sonos speaker the same way.

It’s definitely a bummer, but not a game-changer. I’ve been using “Hey Sonos” voice commands to control music more than I have ever in the past, but also using it to do more. Fun fact: you can ask ‘Hey Sonos’ about the battery life of your Move 2 and it’ll tell you.

The USB-C port is more versatile that you think

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The Move 2 and Move both have USB-C ports on their back, but the one on the Move 2 is significantly better. It supports a line-in connection, which is a feature on Sonos’s Era speakers as well, and allows you to connect the Move 2 to analog source, like a turntable, CD player or even your computer. I haven’t been able to test the Move 2 in this way, however, as you need Sonos’s special Line-In Adapter ($19) … and I don’t have it. I wish it were as easy as connecting to the Five or Play:5 (which I have connected to a turntable), but alas.

The other neat thing about the Move 2’s USB-C charging port is that it supports reverse charging. If you have a smaller device like an iPhone or other smartphone, you can simply plug in a USB-C charging cable and charge your other gadget. It’s actually a pretty convenient feature that takes advantage of the Move 2’s extended battery life.

The Move 2 is a more versatile Bluetooth speaker

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It’s admittedly niche, but one other thing the Move 2 can do that the original Move can’t: stream Bluetooth audio to other Sonos speakers. Essentially, Sonos has improved its Bluetooth integration in its portable speakers and, like with the Roam, you can actually group the Move 2 with other Sonos speakers in your home and play Bluetooth audio to them in a multi-room group. Basically, it’s a way to play Bluetooth audio to Sonos speakers that don’t support Bluetooth audio.

Why would you ever use this ability? You probably wouldn’t. The only realistic reason I could see somebody taking advantage of it is if you’re having a party and somebody wants to play their own music but you don’t want to give them your Wi-Fi credentials. They could switch the Move 2 to Bluetooth mode and, while it’s already grouped with other Sonos speakers via Wi-Fi, they could play Bluetooth music to all the speakers throughout the party.

The Move 2 isn’t exactly a small speaker

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The Move 2 is roughly the same size as the original Move — which isn’t small. It weighs the exact same 6.61 pounds; basically, you’re not going to put it in a backpack and truck long distances. An ultra-portable speaker like the Roam, which weighs less than a pound, is a much better fit for those situations.

Sonos Move 2: Alternatives

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An obvious alternative to the Move 2 is one of Sonos’s other portable speakers: the Roam or Roam SL. Both have similar “magic” as the Move 2, allowing you to play music indoors and outdoors. However, they’re significantly smaller, more affordable and more waterproof (IP67 vs the Move 2’s IP56 rating), and I just think they’re probably a better fit for most people with an existing Sonos system.

As good of a speaker as the Move 2 is, I also think it’s pretty much made for a specific audience. You really have to want to use it in and around your home. And you also have to be ready to drop $449 on it — you can get two Era 100s ($249/ea) for nearly the same price.

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