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Sonos is rolling out DTS surround sound support
Amazon Music Ultra HD and Dolby Atmos Music spatial audio will soon work on Sonos devices too.
Sonos Beam (Gen 2) review: A bit of Dolby Atmos makes all the difference
With the addition of Dolby Atmos, the second-generation Beam sounds far more immersive than before.
Sonos' second-gen Beam soundbar supports Dolby Atmos
Today, the Sonos Beam soundbar is getting a major upgrade. The new, second-generation Beam goes on sale today for $449 and will be available on October 5th. That’s $50 more than before, in line with the other price increases Sonos announced last week. The good news is that the new Beam is more capable than its predecessor in a number of ways. We’ll have to review it before we can really say if it’s worth the extra $50, but there are a number of notable new features here.
Sonos has a big sale on its Beam, One and One SL speakers
Sonos is currently offering a decent $50 off a number of its speakers, taking them down to some of the lowest prices we've seen since Black Friday. The Sonos Beam, Sonos One and Sonos One SL are all reduced, and with Sonos offering free shipping as standard, now's definitely a good time to buy if you're in the market for some new sound gear. Buy Sonos Beam on Sonos - $350 Buy Sonos One on Sonos - $150 Buy Sonos One SL on Sonos - $130
Bigelow Aerospace laid off all of its workers
Bigelow Aerospace -- the company that created the inflatable module attached to the International Space Station -- laid off 20 employees last week. Yesterday, it laid off its 68 remaining workers. According to SpaceNews, one employee described the company's decision to halt operations and let go of its employees as the results of a "perfect storm of problems," one of which was the coronavirus pandemic. A spokesperson told SpaceNews that Bigelow Aerospace plans on re-hiring the laid-off workers, but other sources are dubious of this claim.
Save $80 on a Sonos Beam this Black Friday
With just a couple of days before the official start of Black Friday, Sonos has detailed what you can expect from its sale. Later this week, you'll be able to save on the company's Beam, Playbar, Playbase and Sub speakers, as well as its Amp amplifier. Unfortunately, it doesn't look like Sonos plans to offer a direct discount on its music-focused speakers -- home theater products appear to be the theme this year. You'll be able to take advantage of all deals we detail below starting from midnight ET on November 28th through to December 2nd.
Mixer co-founder quits to work on lasers
Matt Salsamendi was just 18 years old when he co-founded Mixer, the site which has grown to be the third most popular video game streaming platform. Now, he's announced he is moving on from the company to take on new projects.
AirPlay 2 arrives on Sonos
AirPlay 2 has arrived on Sonos. From today, any app on your iOS devices can be streamed directly to Sonos speakers including Sonos Beam, Sonos One, Playbase and the second generation Play:5. Plus, Siri is on board with an extensive set of voice controls. Not only can you ask Siri to play songs on Apple Music, you can also specify which room or devices you want them to play on. The roll out comes a week ahead of the new Beam living room smart speaker, which ships with AirPlay 2 support as standard.
AirPlay 2 makes Sonos the best audio option for most iPhone owners
For a long time, Sonos was only capable of streaming music to its speakers through a proprietary app, but that's changed in the last few years. After working with music services like Spotify and Pandora, users can stay in those apps and stream music straight to your Sonos setup. That hasn't been the case if you're an Apple Music user, until now: as of today, Sonos supports Apple's AirPlay 2 protocol. After spending a week or so testing out a beta version of the software, I can say that pretty much all Sonos owners who use iOS devices will get a lot out of this update.
Sonos Beam review: Smart features trump minor audio compromises
Sonos has earned itself a dedicated army of enthusiasts. And with good reason, too: The company pretty much defined the multiroom/connected speaker space, bringing home audio into the internet era. So, it's no surprise, then, that when rumors of a new product appear, forums and fan pages start to fill up with theories.
A closer look at Sonos Beam: Smaller, smarter and more connected
Sonos just announced the Beam, a smaller, smarter Playbar. It's all good and well to see it on stage, but what does it sound like? Luckily I just got to spend some time with it to find out -- and on first pass it feels like a winner. Not just for the rich, cinematic sound (which it appears to have) though. The Beam is also an all-around tantalizing prospect: a compact soundbar, Alexa replacement, that could also replace your regular music system. This all-in-one configuration won't be for everyone, but for those without a lot of living space that want to avoid the clutter of multiple speakers, it's definitely appealing.
Smart display button puts GIFs on your shirt
The odds are that you've shown your support for a cause with a button on your shirt or backpack at some point in your life. But there's only so much button real estate you can offer, isn't there? That's where BEAM Authentic thinks it can save the day. Its BEAM button pairs to your phone through an app and lets you display virtually any image you want on its circular AMOLED screen, including slideshows and GIFs. You could promote an environmental cause one hour and a dank meme the next.
NASA's inflatable ISS habitat could stay in space until 2020
The Bigelow Expandable Activity Module (BEAM) was only supposed to stay attached to the ISS for two years. It's been performing well enough in its technological demonstration, however, that NASA now wants to extend its stint for three more years. Astronauts aboard the ISS installed BEAM in early 2016 as an experiment, with the intention of regularly checking its integrity, conducting radiation shielding experiments and collecting microbial air and surface samples from within its confines. The results of those tests prove that the module is tough enough to survive the harsh conditions of outer space for far longer than its original lifespan.
Microsoft's Twitch rival gives mobile streamers a new option
If Microsoft has any hope of taking on Twitch with its Mixer (formerly Beam) game streaming service, it's going to need strong mobile host software. Luckily, Mixer Create, which has been in beta for awhile, has been released to all. It lets you broadcast mobile games and yourself from a phone, with no extra software or equipment needed. You can also do something called Co-Streaming, which lets you combine up to four streams "into a single viewing experience," Microsoft says.
Xbox One is getting a completely new customizable interface
Microsoft just updated its suite of products for online gamers a month ago, adding a few quality-of-life features to Xbox Live and its streaming service Mixer (previously Beam). But today, they've announced an even bigger overhaul, revamping the user interfaces Xbox One and Windows 10 users.
Xbox Live update makes co-op live streams a reality
Xbox Live keeps adding and updating features in response to its multiplayer community. Last year, the service added support for "clubs" along with improved friend-finding options. According to Xbox Live's Major Nelson, Live users will get a host of new tweaks today as Microsoft's gaming division adds quite a few new features to its console and mobile apps, including custom Gamerpics, the ability to stream your games with up to three friends and a way to tie a single controller to your login to make it easier to sign in and play. The Xbox mobile apps get a few additions as well, including new ways to look for groups and to browse the titles in your Game Pass subscription, and users can now create their own Killer Instinct tournaments.
Wearhaus 'social' earbuds share music with your gym buddies
Wearhaus' Arc social headphones are clever: you can share a new song with your friends without asking them to plug in or borrow your gear. However, not everyone can use over-ear cans -- you aren't about to bring the Arc on a run just to broadcast a few tunes. Thankfully, you don't have to. Wearhaus is crowdfunding the Beam, which crams that social experience into a set of fitness-friendly earbuds. They still include Bluetooth-based music sharing (including to Arc owners) and color-changing light rings -- they're just much smaller and sweat-resistant. If you want to share tracks with a gym buddy or just don't want to be quite so conspicuous at a silent disco, this is your better option.
Microsoft’s Twitch competitor gets a new name and co-op streaming
While Twitch has been busy expanding the breadth of what you can watch on its platform, Microsoft has been quietly improving how you watch and broadcast with its Beam service. Just to get it out of the way, Beam will henceforth be known as "Mixer." There's a PR-speak reason for the change in nomenclature, but it doesn't really matter. What does is how the service is improving. Specifically, Mixer now offers co-operative streaming and broadcasts in 4K UHD.
Microsoft's Twitch competitor can remind you to stretch
Microsoft's Twitch competitor, Beam, has arrived on Xbox One. And seemingly in an effort to keep streamers healthy, there are a few tools in the back-end to remind folks to do things like eat and stretch. Simply check the "Enable Health Reminders" box and at a user-defined intervals you can get pings to stand up and shove some food in your face.
Xbox One's faster, simpler interface is available to everyone
After no small amount of hype, the Xbox One's big spring software refresh is finally rolling out to everyone. The March update centers around a redesigned interface that's designed for speed above all else. It's quicker to perform more than a few tasks, such as finding a group to join. The revamped Guide should be much quicker, too -- it promises faster access to recent apps, background music controls and game recording. A few tweaks are designed with multitasking in mind, such as a brand new achievement tracker and a Cortana rework that puts the voice assistant into an overlay that won't disrupt what you're doing.