At block 802, the method 800 involves detecting, by one or more sensors on a playback device, movement in relation to the playback device. In one example, the one or more sensors may include a proximity sensor configured to detect an approaching movement toward the playback device, such as when a user approaches and/or reaches a hand toward the playback device. In one case, the proximity sensor may be a capacitive sensor. In other cases, the proximity sensor may also be implemented using other sensing technologies, such as infrared (IR) sensing technology and optical sensing technology, for example. In some instances, the one or more sensors may be parts of a sensing module configured to interact and communicate with one or more processors in the playback device. As sensing technologies continue to develop, further sensing technologies that may not currently be available may also be used to implement the proximity sensor.

In some cases, one or more different types of proximity sensors may be implemented on the playback device to detect movements within different ranges of distances from the playback device. For instance, a capacitive proximity sensor may be used for detecting movement close to the playback device, while an IR proximity sensor may be used for detecting movement farther from the playback device. In some cases, more than one proximity sensor may be implemented to provide a robust detection method. For example, a combination of a capacitive sensing device and an infrared sensing devices may be used together.