Sonos headphones rumored for summer release, plus a new speaker I’m not so keen on
The Sonos headphones are finally on their way
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Sonosis gearing up to expand its audio product lineup with theintroduction of its first pair of long-awaited wireless headphonesin June, as well as a larger new party speaker. According toa report from Bloomberg, the brand’s move into the headphone arena comes after overcoming several software-related challenges that impacted the final stages of development.
The new pair ofSonos headphonesis set to seamlessly integrate with Sonos’ existing range of speakers and soundbars and, as you’d expect, they’re positioned at a premium price point that’s predicted to be around $449 (which would be about £354 / AU$690). To add some context, that would make them one of the more expensive pairs of thebest wireless headphones. They’d be cheaper than theApple AirPods Maxat $549 / £549 / AU$899 and around the same price as theBose QuietComfort Ultraat $429 / £449 / AU$649.
The Sonos headphones have been a long time coming. Rumors have been circulating about what we can expect from Sonos’ foray into the headphones space since way back in 2019, and the brand was said to have shelved the product (albeit not permanently) in 2020.
Although there have been few confirmed details about what we can expect from the Sonos headphones, Bloomberg reports that Sonos will be producing between 650,000 and 1 million units of them, which means it has confidence they’ll sell well. We also expect from rumors andpatents that they’re likely to have a chunky over-ear designand will likely be able to stream music over Wi-Fi when used at home to bring better audio quality.
The release of the Sonos headphones is expected to be in early June, so we won’t have to wait too long to see what other features they’ll bring. Bloomberg reports that Sonos may already be looking at bringing out a second-gen model, as well as wireless earbuds.
And a Sonos party speaker? We’re not so sure about that
As well as reporting that the Sonos headphones are finally on their way, Bloomberg also revealed that the audio tech company has plans to release a new speaker into its line-up. According to Bloomberg, Sonos is working on a large party speaker that’s expected to challenge the likes ofSonyand theUE Hyperboom.
This seems like an odd focus considering theSonos Move 2is already incredibly loud and powerful. How much louder would a bigger and beefier Sonos party speaker be capable of getting? And, more importantly, how much more expensive? Thebest party speakerspace is already crowded and, knowing Sonos, its speaker would sound great, work well, but also be a step up in price. And you can already find an alternative, like the large and impressive-soundingTribit Stormbox Blast, for half the price of the Move 2.
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We’re having trouble in seeing an even bigger portable speaker finding a big audience. Well, it probably will find one in that it’ll be super-loud and people will hear it whether they want to or not – but when it comes to buying it? We’re not sure.
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Becca is a contributor to TechRadar, a freelance journalist and author. She’s been writing about consumer tech and popular science for more than ten years, covering all kinds of topics, including why robots have eyes and whether we’ll experience the overview effect one day. She’s particularly interested in VR/AR, wearables, digital health, space tech and chatting to experts and academics about the future. She’s contributed to TechRadar, T3, Wired, New Scientist, The Guardian, Inverse and many more. Her first book, Screen Time, came out in January 2021 with Bonnier Books. She loves science-fiction, brutalist architecture, and spending too much time floating through space in virtual reality.
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