The new Sonos Era 100 SL is the home wireless speaker Apple should have made

Sonos just released two new wireless speakers, the Play and the Era 100 SL. The Sonos Play might be the best portable wireless speaker for a wide range of people, but don’t forget about that other speaker.

The Sonos Era 100 SL is the same as the Era 100, but comes without the microphones. This means it won’t be able to do automatic Trueplay or listen for voice commands. But it also means that it comes in at a cheaper starting price. I’ve been using the regular Era 100 since it was first released three years ago, in 2023. It’s been one of the best wireless home speakers you can buy for the money. In fact, it’s such a great AirPlay 2 speaker, it’s surprising Apple didn’t make it.

However, with the introduction of the Era 100 SL, that may have just changed. I’ve been using the new home speaker before its launch. There are a few things to know about it, including whether it's worth the money.

What’s the deal with the Sonos Era 100 SL?

The Era 100 SL looks just like the regular Era 100. You’d be forgiven for not being able to tell the two apart right away. The differentiating tell is that the new 100 SL doesn’t have microphone holes on the top, like the regular one does. There’s also no voice icon glyph on the top or mute switch on the back.

If you’re familiar with the Era 100, the SL version will look a little plain. After a day or two, I began to prefer the sparse look. Ultimately, the design is minor compared to the functionality.

Without a microphone, you lose access to Sonos voice controls. You can use the feature to ask for music, like you might with Siri or Alexa. It’s semi-useful, but I just don’t find myself using the feature very often. I haven’t been sad to not have it directly on the speaker.

Automatic Trueplay is another feature you lose on the 100 SL. This does a quick listen to the room environment and adjusts the tuning for the best sound possible, in relation to walls or other objects.

If the Era 100 SL is your first and only Sonos speaker, then you do lose out on those two features. But if you have another Sonos speaker with a microphone, then you can use that one to ask for music to play on the 100 SL. You can also use your phone to perform Trueplay tuning for the 100 SL.

Is the Sonos Era 100 SL worth spending money on?

For its sound and feature set, I think the Era 100, and now Era 100 SL, is one of the best wireless home speakers. It sounds incredible for its size, and it’s just bursting with connectivity options. You can use it as a bathroom music speaker, as part of a home theater setup, or as a stereo pair for vinyl listening. The versatility also means that you can start with one Era 100 SL now and repurpose it for another task later. I’ve moved several Era 100 speakers around my house for different uses for that reason.

I’m a little confused about why Sonos is removing the microphone from its Era 100 speaker now, to save $30, but whatever the reason, I think the new speaker is still a solid purchase. It’s a great introduction to whole home audio or a great addition to an existing system.

As long as you don’t need battery portability to move a speaker outside, this is the Sonos one to buy first.