Sonos has dropped a big hint it will be unveiling the heavily-rumored Sonos headphones later this year. During an earnings call this week, Sonos CEO Patrick Spence confirmed the company will announce a new product category in Q3. As well as announcing new hardware, Spence also confirmed Sonos plans to ship it.
The company’s third quarter runs from July through into September, so if things go to plan, we should see this new Sonos product before you start putting up the Halloween decorations.
“With a solid first quarter in the books, we now turn our undivided attention to the launch of our highly anticipated product,” Spence told investors.
While Sonos is an established player in the best smart speaker and best soundbar markets, it hasn’t yet touched the headphones space. Which seems like the next logical step, considering rumors of a pair of Sonos ‘phones go back to 2021. Despite the chatter, details are scant. In November Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman suggested Sonos will produce a premium pair of over-ear headphones to rival Apple’s AirPods Max. Gurman’s report indicated pricing could be upwards of $400.
Codenamed “Duke”, the Sonos headphones are tipped to come in two color options (likely black and white as per Sonos’ usual stylings) and naturally synchronize with other Sonos audio products if needed. Voice control would almost certainly be included as would top-tier build quality and materials.
What’s less certain is whether or not Sonos could follow this up with a pair of in-ear AirPods Pro competitors. Given the company has experienced a sales decline over the past year, it would seem headphones are a core component of Spence’s plan to reignite growth. Sonos says the new product introductions the company is planning to make in 2024 are expected to bring in $100m in revenue.
“We are just months away from announcing our highly anticipated new product in a multibillion-dollar category, which will be the first major milestone of our multiyear product cycle,” Spence said in the earnings release. “Our full attention is dedicated to successfully executing on our plan and positioning our business to return to top and bottom line growth.”
"When we’re thinking about a new category that is new to us, it’s all opportunity," Spence said. "We are approaching it with the kind of energy, excitement, and prudence around investments that we always do.”
