Wireless speaker company Sonos has updated its entire streaming system to allow for nearly wireless speaker connectivity. Until today, the only way to connect an entire home to the same speaker network was to use something called a Bridge, a $50 box that connected directly to your router via Ethernet. Now, however, the system can connect directly to your wireless router, bypassing the Bridge entirely.
Why is this a big deal? Sonos has long been the whole-home audio system of choice for nerds everywhere. Being able to play different tracks in different rooms (or turn on Party Mode for whole home music) has evolved from a process that required an expensive controller and bridges to a system that uses commodity hardware and your own wireless network. Whereas most hardware companies become more insular and difficult to use because of proprietary systems and architectures, Sonos has made its speakers far simpler.
By reducing costs and hardware requirements, Sonos has exhibited some of the most intelligent behavior in the hardware industry. Faced with a glut of tablets and phones they discontinued their original (excellent) remote and support iOS and Android. Now they have further reduced costs and barriers to entry by killing the Bridge in some cases.
While not every situation will allow for full wireless streaming, Sonos has made it surprisingly simple to wirelessly connect all your speakers.