OPINION: Sonos hasn’t had the best 2024, so I reckon it’d like to see the back of it and focus on the future. These are my predictions for what it’s going to bring to the market next year.
Sonos is a secretive company, so it’s not always easy to figure out exactly what it’s doing, let alone when a product might be coming.
If you’re a Sonos user looking forward to what’s ahead, here are my guesses for new products in the coming year.
A streaming player
It’s been regularly mentioned in the last few years that Sonos is wading into the video streaming waters with a product that would complement its home cinema products, challenging the likes of Amazon, Apple, Google and Roku in the video streamer arena. Reports expected a planned launch in 2024, but I suspect that that would have been a bit early, even with its app woes.
In true fashion we don’t know much about this box other than it has the codename ‘Pinewood’, it’s definitely not a streaming stick and that it’s likely to cost in the region of $150-$200. It also might not come with a remote control.
As reported on lowpass, Sonos has announced an agreement with The Trade Desk, which is developing the interface for the streaming box. The company also has experience striking licensing agreements with services such as Netflix and Amazon Prime Video to get those apps available on the box.
The Beam Gen 3
Sonos launched the Arc Ultra in 2024, so it makes sense in my mind that attention would turn to the Beam soundbar receiving an upgrade.
The original Beam launched in 2018, the Beam Gen 2 in 2021; so now would seem a good time for the Beam Gen 3 to emerge. The main reason I think this is because of the emergence of the company’s Sound Motion technology. It’s resuled in bigger and better bass for the Arc Ultra without changing its core design, and Sonos could achieve a similar trick with the Beam Gen 3.
New Era speakers
The Era speakers launched in 2023 with the Era 100 and Era 300, which now seems like an eon ago.
I’d like to think there’s an Era 200 missing but then again, Sonos likes its odd-numbered naming convention with the Play:1, Play:3 and Play:5.
So perhaps it’s not an Era 200 that’s missing but an Era 500 that would replace the Sonos Five?
