Sonos Era 100 vs Sonos One: what's new in the updated wireless speaker?

The Sonos One has been sat at the top of our lists of the best wireless speakers as well as the the best smart speakers list for a long time. But Sonos has released a new speaker that looks set to take its place: the Sonos Era 100. 

The Era 100 was unveiled alongside the more high-end Sonos Era 300, and both speakers are available from March 28, 2023.

If you want to read more about our early impressions of the Era 100, read our hands-on Sonos Era 100 review – and we have our full Sonos One review, of course. But here's will summarize what you need to know about the new Sonos speaker and the model it replaces – especially since the Sonos One will remain on sale while stocks last (Sonos isn't make any more, though).

Both speakers are similar, but the Sonos Era 100 is certainly more feature-rich and versatile than the Sonos One. Does that mean the Sonos Era 100 is significantly better? Should you upgrade if you own a Sonos One? We'll answer those questions and more in our Sonos Era 100 vs Sonos One guide below.

Sonos Era 100 vs Sonos One: Price and availability

The Sonos Era 100 is released on March 28, 2023 and is priced at $249 / £249 / AU$399.

The Sonos One was released back in October 2017 for $219 / £199 / AU$319. Although these days you're likely to find the One reduced in sales sometimes cutting 20% off the price.

These price points make the Era 100 obviously more expensive, and we're not overall happy about that, but as we'll learn soon the new speaker does feel like a significant upgrade. There could be Sonos promo codes out there to bring the price down too.

In terms of the competition, the Era 100 is a little hard to place. It's more expensive than simpler, smaller and less powerful smart speakers, like the Apple HomePod Mini and Google Nest Audio. Instead, sitting somewhere between the more affordable Amazon Echo Studio and more expensive Bose Home Speaker 500.

Sonos Era 100 vs Sonos One: Features

At a fundamental level, the Sonos Era 100 and Sonos one are very similar speakers. But there are some key feature differences that are worth flagging. 

The Era 100 brings new kinds of connectivity, including Bluetooth 5.0 (although Bluetooth 5.2 will be coming later in a software update) as well as the Sonos Wi-Fi connectivity you expect. You can also use an adapter to to connect any 3.5mm audio source, such as one of the best turntables, to the Era 100 directly. An adapter can also allow for Ethernet connectivity.

The Sonos One doesn't have Bluetooth or any line-in support, but it does have Ethernet built-in.

The Era 100 works as a smart speaker with Alexa and Sonos' own Voice Control system, while the Sonos One works with Alexa, Google Assistant or Sonos Voice Control.

Both speakers support Sonos' TruePlay tuning system on iPhones, but the Era 100 also supports a new Quick Tuning version of this tech that works on Android as well.

Sonos Era 100 vs Sonos One: Sound quality

The Sonos One has been our top smart speaker for so long for many reasons, but we think it sounds fantastic. In our Sonos One review we wrote: "it’s underpinned by audio quality that’s a step above what’s available on Amazon’s current generation of Echo hardware, but it’s a speaker that also integrates fantastically well with the rest of Sonos’ multi-room lineup."

However, there's long been one thing missing from the Sonos One's sound: deep bass. The Sonos Era 100 improves on that, while also adding wide-dispersion audio that's designed to give some semblance of stereo from a single unit, and to eliminate the idea of a 'sweet spot' for listening.

While the Sonos One has one woofer and one tweeter, with a dedicated amp for each, the Sonos Era 100 has a 25% larger woofer and two angled tweeters, all with their own amplification. 

In our experience, the Era 100 absolutely builds on the few weaknesses of the Sonos One, while keeping the sweet and crisp sound that's made it such a hit. Bass is deeper and richer, and while the idea of stereo from a single box is a bit overblown, it definitely sounds more expansive, giving instruments space to stand out even more.

Sonos Era 100 vs Sonos One: Design

You'd be forgiven for mistaking the Sonos Era 100 for the Sonos One at first glance. Their dimensions are very similar, the Era 100 is ever-so-slightly wider and deeper, but by less than an inch. 

Look down at the tops of these speakers and there's more of a noticeable aesthetic difference. The Sonos One as a rounded rectangular shape whereas the Sonos Era 100 has a more rounded design, although not fully circular. 

Both speakers come in white and black versions. 

Sonos Era 100 vs Sonos One: Conclusion

The Sonos One has long been one of our favorite smart speakers for its fantastic sound and voice assistant integration. The Sonos Era 100 improves on the One, bringing us better audio with more bass and a wider soundstage, as well as improved connectivity with Bluetooth. 

It's hard to say whether you should upgrade from a Sonos One to a Sonos Era 100 – we need more time to compare the two to really test that. The improvements are good, but the new Sonos Era 100 (as with all Sonos products) isn't cheap. 

We think the Era 100 will likely be one of the best-sounding speakers you can get for its price, but it may be too high if you have have the Sonos One working just fine already.