Sonos headphones launch could be joined by a surprising new product

Sonos’ long awaited arrival in the headphones market could be accompanied by a media streaming device farther down the line, according to a new report.

Bloomberg sources say the Sonos-branded headphones the company hinted at earlier this month will arrive as early as April 2024. That’s the potential good news.

The less good news is probably to be expected; Sonos plans to sell its first pair of headphones at a premium price point of above $400 and below $500, which would still be below the AirPods Max price point of $549.

As for the set-top box (although this description feels really old hat now you could barely balance a hair on top of a television these days, let alone a streaming puck), it’s an effort to rival devices from the likes of Apple, Amazon and Roku.

There’s no news yet on any unique features. The report citing those familiar with the matter simply says it’ll be used for running apps from popular streaming services, would arrive as early as late 2024, and will cost between $150 and $200.

Whether Sonos would be able to boast some superior interaction with the company’s audio products remains to be seen, but you’d think there’d need to be some sort of unique selling point for this to work. The sources also said Sonos is working on higher-end soundbars, a Roam 2 portable speaker and new amps and in-ceiling speakers.

Many will question why Sonos is believed to be entering a very cluttered pair of markets. Today’s report said the efforts are designed to reignite growth following a decline in sales over the last year. The sources say the headphones are seen “as an opportunity to leverage the Sonos brand to find a new moneymaker.”

Given Sonos customers have little need to upgrade their wares very often, perhaps encouraging them to broaden the number of Sonos products they own is indeed the smart play here?