Google Assistant, Nest devices can now make Sonos their default speaker
While Sonos may be involved in an uphill legal battle against Google, the two previously worked to bring Google Assistant and devices that have the digital assistant to Sonos devices. That project is now paying off as you will now be able to set Sonos devices as the default speakers for your Nest Hub, Google Home, and other Google Assistant-powered devices that you have. We don’t know yet if the beef between the two companies will eventually affect this so while it’s still working, you should take advantage of this integration.
Google Assistant devices could already set default speakers like Google Home to play music or podcasts or audiobooks. However, even though Assistant support finally arrived on Sonos devices, you could not choose Sonos One or their Beam soundbar as the default speaker. But now that the integration that they have been working on for some time now is getting updated, you will be able to choose either as your default speaker.
9 to 5 Google tells us how relatively easy it is to set this up. Open the Google Home app and then select an Assistant device. Tap the gear icon in the upper right and choose Device settings then scroll down until you get to the “Default music speaker” section. Then choose the Sonos device that you’ve already previously connected and it will become the default speaker when you tell your Assistant to play music.
When you give a command, Assistant will give you a verbal confirmation that your music is playing on another speaker but the controls will still appear on your smart displays. You will still be able to give other commands to your Nest Hub or your Google Home but the music will still continue to play on your default Sonos speaker. Just make sure that you turn off the mic there so your Assistant will not get a double pickup.
To be able to use this integration, make sure both your Sonos and Assistant speakers are running the latest firmware. As to how this will eventually become affected by Sonos’ lawsuit against Google is anyone’s guess right now.
