Those long-rumored Sonos headphones might finally be happening, with the $400-plus wireless cans poised to arrive next spring, according to a report.
Besides the new headphones, Sonos is also working on a streaming TV set-top box, as well as a slew of other products more familiar to Sonos users, including a new soundbar, subwoofers, and a revamped Roam.
The Sonos headphones could arrive “as early as April,” and will be positioned as competitors to Apple’s AirPods Pro, as well as similarly priced wireless cans from the likes of Sony and Bose, and cost somewhere in the $400 to $500 range, according to a report by Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman (subscription required).
This news story is part of TechHive’s in-depth coverage of the best headphones.
While the Sonos headphones (said to be codenamed “Duke”) won’t “outperform Apple on a technical basis,” they will sync with Sonos speakers and support Sonos Voice Control, the company’s voice assistant (which will also see a revamp, by the way). And Sonos might also be working on a pair of in-ear headphones, according to Gurman.
There have been rumblings of Sonos headphones for years, with the rumors stoked by a couple of key Sonos acquisitions. One company snapped up by Sonos specialized in LE Audio, the latest Bluetooth standard, while another company was working on a high-end noise-cancelling headphone. Those acquisitions took place in 2022.
One of the key questions about Sonos’s rumored headphones is whether they would support Wi-Fi or lossless Bluetooth connectivity, but Gurman’s report doesn’t offer any definitive answers.
Meanwhile, the purported Sonos TV set-top box would “stream video on TVs” and act as a “central hub” for other Sonos speakers, with the Android-based and voice-controlled device supporting both Dolby Vision and Atmos, Gurman reports. Sonos might even launch its own streaming service, the report says.
As with the previous buzz about Sonos headphones, we’ve heard earlier talk of a Sonos streaming box, too.
Last year, Sonos posted a series of job openings related to a “Next Generation Home Theater OS,” including a UX (user experience) lead, a product manager for developing an “OS & Media Platform roadmap,” and a “Head of Partnerships” for home theater who would “play a pivotal role in connecting users to the content and services they love.” Those job postings clearly hinted that Sonos was eyeing the streaming media market, including video.
Finally, Sonos has more products up its sleeves, including more subwoofers, a second-gen Roam portable speaker with a “touch-controlled” volume slider, a new Era speaker for commercial venues, a “high-end” amplifier, and a soundbar that would leapfrog the Arc as Sonos’s flagship in the category, according to Gurman.
We’ve reached out to Sonos for comment.
