Audible availability on Sonos rightfully returns

Back in late November 2015, Sonos had to suspend Audible compatibility from its devices due to an "out of date" Audible integration, but now in March 2018, you can, at last, audibly hear that Audible is back.

Sonos notes having first shared its point of view on "sonic culture" back in October last year, "taking all the content and sound on the internet, not just music, and making it sound amazing throughout your home."

Indeed, the company says this is why it is bringing Apple's "Airplay 2 to Sonos this year," and why it has now done the same with popular Amazon-owned audiobook service Audible.

{loadposition alex08}Sonos says that "listening to your favourite audiobook while driving or working out is great, but we’ve been missing out on the opportunity to enjoy that experience out loud, with family and friends, or while accomplishing a variety of activities in the comfort of our homes".

And we're told that’s why Sonos is "excited to announce that Audible is now available on Sonos".

{loadposition alex08}Audible on Sonos "now allows you to catch up on a biography while you cook dinner in the kitchen, or queue up Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty in the living room. Put the kids to bed while listening to a children’s story, and then turn on True Girt by David Hunt while you wind down for the night."

Sonos has already listed a few favourites at its blog that it is planning on listening to this week.

These titles include:

1. "How Music Works" by David Byrne 
2. "The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organising" by Marie Kondo
3. "Miles: The Autobiography" by Miles Davis
4. "Creativity Inc.: Overcoming the Unseen Forces That Stand in the Way of True Inspiration" by Ed Catmull and Amy Wallace
5. "Messy" by Tim Harford

More detail at the blog post here. 

So, starting today, Sonos says "you can play Audible from the Sonos App or directly from the Audible app".

"Whether it’s music, movies, TV shows, podcasts, and now Audiobooks," Sonos says "we’ll continue to take an agnostic approach to bring all that content to listeners on Sonos".

And, as you'd expect, we're told that "it’s pretty simple to get started – add Audible as a service in the Sonos App or play directly from the Audible App to Sonos.

"Once you’ve chosen what you want to listen, pick your favourite book and easily navigate chapters, or jump forward and backward 30 seconds to skip through the scary part".

Sonos has updated its Audible FAQ here, where we can see that Audible is now available on Sonos in the US, UK, Ireland, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, France, Belgium, Australia, New Zealand and Canada, with bitrate streams from 32 to 128kbps in AAC format.

Finally, for those wondering, Sonos says "support for Alexa voice control will follow."