Google countersues Sonos, citing patent infringement

Image courtesy of 9to5Google

Google fights back against Sonos and countersues the company for patent infringement. The tech giant claims Sonos is infringing five Google patents that involve mesh networking, echo cancellation, DRM, content notifications, and personalized search. Sonos initially filed a patent lawsuit against Google in January. This ongoing row has already resorted to a US International Trade Commission investigation.

The Verge says the lawsuit serves a couple of purposes: one is to countersue Sonos, and another is for the tech giant to show that it feels aggrieved after assisting Sonos with its product development.

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Sonos speakers can now be default playback options for Google Assistant

Even with an ongoing patent infringement lawsuit between the two companies, Sonos and Google are working on new features to benefit its users. You can now use Sonos speakers as the default playback option for Google Assistant. So, if you request a song through Google Assistant, it can automatically play on the paired Sonos speaker. Google Assistant will let you have multiple default speakers, so different Sonos devices can be paired with different Google devices. You can set this up through the Google Home app.

Source: The Verge

Rogers offers free Sonos One speaker for select two-year Rogers Infinite plan subscribers

Rogers is offering a free Sonos One speaker to customers who buy select smartphones on a two-year Rogers Infinite Plan. You get a free speaker if you get an Apple iPhone 11, iPhone 11 Pro, iPhone 11 Pro Max, Samsung Galaxy S10, Galaxy S10+, or a Galaxy Note 10+. The offer will be available until supplies last; so, it might be best to avail of the deal as quickly as possible.

Google Assistant support for the Sonos One and Beam is coming to Canada in July

After months and months of delays, we now have a timeline for when the Sonos One and Sonos Beam are getting Google Assistant support. The feature has started to roll out in the US, allowing users to say “Hey Google” to access Google’s voice assistant. Countries like Canada, the UK, Germany, Australia, the Netherlands, and France are getting the feature in July, with more countries following after. Once it makes its way here, you will be able to issue commands to Google Assistant, ask it questions, and have it control other Assistant-supported smart home devices.

Source: 9to5Google