(Bloomberg) — Sonos Inc., finest recognized for its good audio system and sound bars, will make a long-awaited push into headphones with a mannequin priced upwards of $400 that’s slated to be launched as early as April, in response to folks accustomed to the matter.
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The corporate can be aiming to introduce a TV set-top field, which might compete with merchandise from Apple Inc. and Roku Inc., as early as the top of 2024, mentioned the folks, who requested to not be recognized as a result of the plans aren’t but public. Sonos appears to cost between $150 and $200 for that machine, which might run apps from common streaming companies.
The corporate can be growing new amplifiers and in-ceiling audio system geared toward skilled installers, in addition to a higher-end TV sound bar, new subwoofers, an replace to the moveable Roam speaker and a model of its Period 100 speaker for companies. And it’s planning an up to date voice management system, video service and upgraded smartphone app.
Sonos shares pared losses Tuesday on information of the product push. After falling practically 4% earlier within the session, they had been down about 2% as of 1:10 p.m. in New York.
The brand new merchandise are a part of a bid by Chief Govt Officer Patrick Spence to reignite progress on the audio expertise firm, which suffered a gross sales decline prior to now yr. Demand for good audio system has cooled, and merchandise like headphones are seen as a chance to leverage the Sonos model to discover a new moneymaker.
Timing and particulars of the releases might in the end shift because the merchandise get nearer. A consultant for Santa Barbara, California-based Sonos declined to touch upon the corporate’s plans.
Sonos just lately reorganized its product improvement group to higher concentrate on promising areas, Bloomberg Information reported final week. The corporate minimize jobs as a part of the shake-up.
On an earnings name earlier this month, Spence acknowledged that 2023 has been a “difficult yr” for Sonos’ present lineup. However he vowed to push subsequent yr right into a “main new product in a brand new multibillion-dollar class,” with out specifying the market. He mentioned he expects new merchandise to drive a “massive portion” of income by the second half of the yr.
Spence hinted on the slew of latest units in improvement, telling traders that 2024 “marks the start of a multiyear product cycle” that may present a payoff for years of research-and-development spending.
The corporate has been engaged on its headphones since 2019, when Bloomberg first reported on the hassle. Nevertheless it’s by no means introduced a product, having canceled work on earlier iterations. A mannequin is now slated to be unveiled as quickly as March, with the headphones hitting retailer cabinets the next month, the folks accustomed to the plan mentioned.
The over-ear-style headphones — code-named “Duke” — will face off in opposition to the $549 AirPods Max from Apple, in addition to high-end choices from Sony Group Corp. and Bose Corp. They’ll are available in black and white coloration choices, synchronize with Sonos gear and supply voice management for navigating between songs. The corporate is contemplating charging between $400 and $500 for the product.
Sonos can be exploring a follow-up product, the folks mentioned: an earbud mannequin that may look just like Apple’s AirPods.
Among the expertise within the new headphones comes from RHA Audio, an Irish firm that Sonos acquired two years in the past. However the firm isn’t making an attempt to outperform Apple on a technical foundation — its advertising message will probably be extra about leveraging the Sonos model and its capability to fine-tune the sound, the folks mentioned.
The corporate is planning to launch software program quickly internally named “Passport” that may let customers management the headphones and different cell Sonos gear from a smartphone app when away from their dwelling web.
The headphones will embrace the present model of Sonos voice instructions — already accessible on audio system — whereas a extra superior model dubbed Voice 2.0 is coming within the second half of 2024.
By the top of subsequent yr or early 2025, Sonos plans to enter a second new class: TV set-top packing containers and video. The corporate is engaged on a tool — code-named “Pinewood” — that may stream video on TVs and function a central hub for a buyer’s different Sonos units. The product will function equally to current set-top packing containers, providing its personal working system — primarily based on Android — and a person interface that may show completely different apps.
Sonos has held discussions with cable firms about providing dwell tv and plans to companion with current common video streaming companies, together with Netflix Inc., to construct apps for the brand new platform. The machine will supply Dolby Atmos and Dolby Imaginative and prescient, common audio and video requirements, and have the flexibility to create immersive encompass sound utilizing Sonos dwelling audio system.
The small, black TV field will probably be managed by way of voice — in addition to the brand new Sonos app — and the corporate is exploring the thought of launching its personal video service. Different set-top field makers, together with Roku and Apple, adopted up on {hardware} choices with streaming companies.
The corporate can be engaged on new dwelling theater gear, together with a subwoofer code-named “Lotus” that may synchronize with the TV machine. That product, an replace to the Sub, will embrace up to date capabilities like help for Wi-Fi 6. Additional out, Sonos is contemplating releasing a higher-end subwoofer.
For across the center of 2024, Sonos is planning a second-generation Roam speaker — code-named “Sidecar” — with a redesigned prime that features a touch-controlled slider for quantity management. That matches the brand new design of the corporate’s dwelling audio system and just lately launched Transfer 2 moveable speaker.
Sonos can be planning a pricier model of its Period 100 speaker — code-named “Raven” — with an Ethernet port as an alternative of wi-fi networking. It is going to be geared toward eating places and retail shops slightly than properties.
And a sound bar code-named “Lasso” is coming later in 2024, with higher bass and improved audio high quality over the prevailing Arc mannequin. The corporate is planning to cost about $1,200 for it, up from the $900 price ticket on the present high-end model. The sound bar’s new expertise is predicated on Sonos’ 2022 acquisition of Mayht Holding BV, which developed superior speaker elements.
Lastly, Sonos is planning a brand new high-end amplifier — code-named “Premier” — geared toward skilled home-theater installations. The corporate is contemplating charging between $3,000 and $4,000 for every unit. That may come within the second half of 2024, preceded by new 8-inch in-ceiling audio system.
(Updates with Sonos shares in fourth paragraph.)
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