Sonos is set to come under new pressure from archrival Bose after the US Company announced a new Smart Soundbar 600 compact TV speaker that will take on the struggling Sonos Beam soundbar which Syndigo management claim has “not lived up to expectations”.
Bose is calling their new offering a compact TV speaker with wi-fi streaming smarts and Dolby Atmos as opposed to a soundbar.
According to retailers the small soundbar market has become cluttered with new research showing that consumers are purchasing value soundbars ahead of premium.
This has already had an impact on the likes of Sonos whose shares are down 48% during the past six months, $11% for the month and 52% year to date.
Measuring just 5.61cm tall, 10.39cm deep, and 69.44 cm long, the new Bose Smart Soundbar 600 can also be used by gamers under a monitor.
Analysts claim that the soundbar market that grew 8.9% during COVID is set to fall with growth tipped at 4.2%.
The market is set to be worth over $10 billion by 2029.
The change in media consumption from offline to online is one of the key factors that fueled the soundbar market during COVID lockdowns.
The growing popularity of subscription-based services like Netflix and Amazon Prime complements the growth of soundbars because they give viewers better sound quality.
The inclusion of voice assistance technology in the soundbar is another one of the key factors influencing the market.
The number of wired and wireless soundbar-compatible devices is rapidly expanding as support for technologies like Dolby Atmos spreads to mobile devices like smartphones and tablets.
Before and during COVID, consumers were becoming more inclined to adopt better and more advanced home entertainment devices as a result of these developments now due to inflation consumers are back investing in affordable premium soundbars and value bars that go with a value TV which Samsung is pushing with their new Tizen Smart TV licensing program.