Sonos is now experimenting with headphones. In fact, calling it an experiment would be an understatement, considering the company plans to directly compete with Apple and Bose in the headphone market. Rumors started to emerge of a Sonos headset last year after it acquired T2 Software, a Bluetooth audio startup.
Sonos’ ambitious plan consists of a number of audio peripherals, but the two most touted products are the aforementioned $US400+ pair of headphones and a $US150 to $US200 TV set-top box (STB). According to a Bloomberg report, the STB will apparently rival Apple and Roku and launch around the end of 2024, while the headphones will most likely be released in April.
The company is also looking at putting out new amplifiers and in-ceiling speakers, a higher-end TV soundbar, new subwoofers, an update to the portable Roam speaker, and a business version of its Era 100 speaker. It’s also planning an updated voice control system and a video service.
This isn’t the first time Sonos is trying its hand at headphones. It’s been trying to sneak into the headphone market since 2019 and has created a number of product iterations along the way. However, none of those ever saw the light of day, making this release a big deal.
There’s not a lot of stuff we know about Sonos’ first-ever headphones yet. We know they’ll feature an over-ear design, compete against the AirPods Max, cost between $US400 to $US500, offer black and white colour variants, sync with Sonos equipment, and offer voice control for navigating between songs.
The company will also release an app allowing users to control the headphones from their smartphones. The voice commands the headphones will include will be the same as the ones on its speakers, but the second half of 2024 is going to see a more advanced dubbed Voice 2.0 version. We’ll have to wait to find out what exactly that means.