Sonos released a budget version of the Arc SL Soundbar without a microphone

In the United States and Canada, a “MIC — free version” of the Sonos Soundbar, the Arc SL model, has appeared. From the premium sound panel with Dolby Atmos Sonos Arc, the appearance of which we reported in the spring, the novelty does not differ in anything — but it does not have a microphone.

The “SL” index that is added to the model name is already known. A little earlier, it was received by Sonos one speakers, also devoid of a microphone. Accordingly, they will not be able to work with the voice assistants Alexa and Google Assistant.

On the other hand, the new product will become especially popular among supporters of conspiracy theories, who fear that electronics equipped with microphones eavesdrop on all their conversations. Voice assistants can be returned by adding standard Sonos One speakers to the Sonos Arc SL (without the “SL” index).

The other parameters of the Sonos Arc SL are the same as the Sonos Arc. Obviously, system updates (for example, the Arc Soundbar recently received support for multi-channel LPCM surround sound via an eARC HDMI connection) will also work.

So far, the Sonos Arc SL Soundbar in the United States and Canada is available exclusively on the costco self-service network. The novelty costs $ 750, while the standard Sonos Arc model will cost $800.