• by Aaron Baar , January 26, 2018

As Apple gets set to enter the smart-speaker category — one that is dominated by Amazon and Google — Sonos is reminding consumers that it’s a pioneer in the space … and offers more options. 

Taking out an ad in Thursday’s New York Times, Sonos claimed it offered “Freedom of Choice,” along with a photo of its Sonos One speaker and the multitude of music services it offers, from iTunes and Google Play to Tidal, Spotify and SoundCloud. “Big Tech wants to lock you into one music service,” the copy reads. “We think what you listen to should be up to you. That’s why we support over 80 music services, more than any smart speaker system.”

As an enticement, the company announced it would offer its “Sonos Two” bundle (two Sonos One speakers that can be paired to work together or independently) for $349 — the same price as a single Apple HomePod speaker. The company also noted it would be bringing Apple’s Air Play 2 to its speakers this year. 

“We believe in freedom of choice and don’t want to lock people into a specific ecosystem. It’s why we support more than 80 streaming services globally and will take an agnostic approach to voice assistants as well,” said Sonos chief marketing officer Joy Howard, in a statement.