Sonos' new partnership with Amazon is another reason the UK needs Alexa

 The Amazon Echo with Alexa looks like an incredibly cool device, but so far the US is the only country to see a full launch.

And while we eagerly await an international roll-out, connected speaker maker Sonos has just given us another reason to want Amazon's smart speaker.

As IFA 2016 gets underway in Berlin, Sonos held its own event in New York to announce some new partnerships, alongside an update to its Sonos app.

The company has teamed up with Amazon to bring Amazon Echo and Dot support to its range of speakers, meaning owners will now be able to control their Sonos music setups via those voice-controlled devices.

Echo and Dot support means our American cousins can use commands such as "Alexa, what's playing?" and "Alexa, play me music" to control their speakers.

On top of that, Sonos announced it will be opening its speakers up to third-party music streaming services, starting with Spotify.

The new partnership with Spotify means users will be able to control the speakers directly from the Spotify app, whereas they would previously have to use Sonos' proprietary offering.

What's more, the Spotify app can interact with speakers over the internet rather than requiring the phone or tablet to be on the same Wi-Fi network.

That means, you'll be able to control the speaker setup over a data connection.

There was no mention of further integration with other third-party music services, but we wouldn't be surprised if we hear more in the near future.

The Alexa support will roll out via a private Beta this year, but will be made publicly available in 2017, while Spotify integration will launch in October this year.