Portability and excellent sound guaranteed but there are some key differences
Estimated reading time: 1 minute
Four years after the original Sonos Move made its debut, Sonos officially unveiled its successor, the Sonos Move 2 towards the end of 2023.
The revamped Move 2 boasts several notable improvements and, given the original is still on sale – for just $50 / £50 less, it’s essential to examine how it stacks up against its predecessor, if you’re in the market for a Move.
In this Move versus Move 2 head-to-head comparison, we’ll delve into various aspects of these two high-end portable Sonos speakers, highlighting their design, playback options, ease of use, battery life, sound quality, price and more.
Read on to find out what’s different between the Sonos Move and the Sonos Move 2 and what speaker may be the right fit for you.
Learn more about Sonos:
The ultimate Sonos setup guide
Sonos tips and tricks – get more from your Sonos system
Move v Move 2: Design and build
There’s a significant difference between the Sonos Move 2 and the Sonos Move in terms of looks, albeit not at first glance.
The Sonos Move 2 retains a similar form factor to its predecessor, and the dimensions and weight are almost exact; in fact the Move 2 only adds 2mm to the overall footprint at 241 x 160 x 127mm (compared to 240 x 160 x 126mm). Both generations of the Move weigh 3kg / 6.61lbs.
The big difference is that the Move 2 features the capacitive volume slider that Sonos introduced on the Era 100 and 300.
Designed to be more intuitive than the regular tap buttons you’ll find on the original Move, the slider makes it much easier to achieve a precise desired volume.
As well as the new slider you’ll find the usual array of Sonos touch buttons; play/pause, track skip forward/back and also a button to summon a voice assistant.
On the back of the Move 2, and new to the line-up, a USB-C port that isn’t just used for charging, it can also serve as a charger for your other gadget.
You can also hook up the Sonos combo adapter ($25 / £25) to that USB port for 3.5mm audio-in (think hooking up your Sonos to a vinyl record player) and Ethernet access.
Both the new Move and the original also both ship with a charging dock too. Being portable speakers, the Move duo both feature a handle on the back to carry them around and they are both certified IP56, so you can take them outside.
Both 1st and 2nd-gen Moves comes in black and white but there’s also a new fancy looking olive green shade for the sequel.
Move v Move 2: Battery life
Four years is a long time in tech and the Move 2’s battery is life is proof of that.
It is up from 10 hours on the original Move to an impressive 24 hours; and all that from a battery than can be removed and replaced when it’s starting to fade.
Move v Move 2: Playback options
Both the Sonos Move 2 and the Sonos Move are portable Bluetooth speakers with Wi-Fi smart speaker capabilities.
However, the like the Sonos Roam, the Move 2 surpasses the first-gen Move in terms of Bluetooth functionality.
The Move 2 can use both Bluetooth and Wi-Fi simultaneously, enabling it to share music that it is receiving via Bluetooth, over Wi-Fi to other grouped non-Bluetooth Sonos speakers.
You can even stream via Bluetooth to a stereo pair of Move 2 speakers when connected to Wi-Fi.
This feature is not available for the Move, which requires you to choose between Bluetooth or Wi-Fi mode.
Move v Move 2: In use
Both the Sonos Move 2 and the Sonos Move offer an impressive feature known as Auto TruePlay.
This technology adjusts the speaker’s sound profile dynamically to optimize audio quality based on the surrounding environment, to ensure an excellent listening experience whether you’re indoors or outdoors.
Both the Move and the Move 2 can play a part of an AirPlay 2 multi-room system and boast Amazon Alexa and Sonos’ own voice assistant built in.
Only the original Sonos Move has the option of the Google Assistant though; the fall out from Google and Sonos’ legal spat is still being felt with new Sonos launches.
Move v Move 2: Sound quality
The Sonos Move 2 builds upon its predecessor with some notable enhancements in its sound quality. One of the key improvements lies in its amplifiers, featuring three class-D digital amplifiers precision-tuned for the speaker’s unique acoustic architecture, compared to a pair of class-D amplifiers in the original.
The Move 2 also boasts two angled tweeters, which play a crucial role in producing a crisp and accurate high-frequency response, contributing to superior stereo separation. This is a significant upgrade from the Move 1’s one downward firing tweeter.
The result is the Move 2 is the first portable Sonos speaker to offer stereo sound.
What to buy – Sonos Move or Move 2?
The Sonos Move 2 takes the already impressive sound quality of the Move 1 and refines it with enhanced amplifiers and improved tweeters, promising an even more immersive and satisfying audio experience.
It adds stereo sound, line-in capabilities, enhanced Bluetooth playback options and more than double the battery life… all for not a great deal of extra cash.
Price obviously plays a crucial role in the decision-making process. The Sonos Move 2 is priced at $449 / £449, representing a $50 / £50 increase over the original Sonos Move, which remains available for purchase at $399 / £399.
If the Move’s price dropped below $350 / £350 it’d be a fairer pound-for-pound fight but I really can’t recommend not forking out for the Move 2 right now when it offers quite a lot more bang for your buck than the original.
Sonos also states that the Move 2 reduces idle energy consumption by over 40% too, so that $50 / £50 could be chipped away at with a reduced electricity bill.
Get the Move 2. Treat yourself.
And, if money really is a big consideration, take a look at the Sonos Roam that is less than half the price but still features a heck of a lot of Sonos portability action.
Have a look at our Sonos Roam v Sonos Move (and Move 2) guide for more info on that.
FAQs
This depends on your priorities. If portability and long battery life are crucial, the Move 2 is the better choice. For casual listening at home where you can keep it plugged in, the Move might be a good value option, especially if you find a great deal, as it’s still a great speaker.
The Move 2 boasts stereo sound with dual tweeters, while the Move 1 is mono, meaning a wider soundstage and richer overall audio experience. Battery life is also much better, the Move 2 offers nearly double the playback time of the Move 1, lasting around 24 hours on a charge compared to 10 hours. The Move 2 also has a newer version of Bluetooth and Wi-Fi, a USB-C port for charging or using a line-in connection, and updated touch controls.
The Move 2 offers Alexa and Sonos’ own built-in voice control. If you heavily rely on Google Assistant, this might be a drawback.
