After a failed attempt to crack the headphone market and following their disastrous app makeover, Sonos is now looking to take on the likes of Hubbl with a new streaming box that could cost between A$320 and $630 and is already being described as doomed to failure based on the projected price.
To put this into perspective the new Sonos streaming box codenamed Pinewood, which is currently in beta testing, is set to compete up against the $99 Hubbl which has similar features to the new Sonos streaming box which is set to be considerably more expensive than the Foxtel Group offering.
Already being described by US media as a “truly staggering price for its category” the new Sonos the box appears to have been developed to target Apple TV which is currently getting its streaming box own makeover.
In the Australian market the must have streaming box is the Hubble that already comes with a multitude of apps including Australian sport spanning both AFL, Cricket and NRL, it also streams 4K and has a Wi Fi 6 connection which is set to be upgraded to Wi Fi 7 in the future.
The new Sonos offering has been described as black square box the size of a deck of playing cards. It’s larger than the Foxtel Group Hubbl or the Apple TV puck.
Later this week Sonos is expected to outline their first financials under new interim CEO Tom Conrad, these results are tipped to be bad, after the Company sacked their previous CEO Patrick Spence following consistent poor results and the management of the disastrous new app program, now the US sound Company is desperate to get traction for any new product in an effort to turn things around.
The new Sonos streaming box which the Company is punting on is a pet project of chief innovation officer Nick Millington, who architected Sonos’ core networking framework decades ago.
This is the same network that Sonos desperately wanted to dump because it was proprietary and limiting and did not allow for Bluetooth or Wi Fi streaming.
At one stage Sonos management under Spence moved to nobble Sono’s speakers running on the proprietary network in an effort to try and force Sono’s customers to upgrade to a new open standard speaker despite the previous speakers working perfectly.
Internal documents claim the Sono’s streaming box has a “beautiful” interface, despite the software being developed in partnership with a digital ads firm claims The Verge.
This interface appears to mimic the interface of the Hubbl which was developed by US communications and entertainment giant Comcast with users able to access multiple streams of information on content including free to air TV and streamed content.
Sonos plans to combine content from numerous platforms including Netflix, Max, and Disney Plus under a single, unified software experience similar to the Hubbl box.
Like the Hubbl users will get a remote and voice control however, what appears to be different is the new Sonos box will have a HDMI switch and several HDMI ports, with passthrough functionality that allows multiple third party devices such as a gaming console to be connected.
What’s not been explained is why users would need to connect a gaming console direct to their TV.
The Verge claims that Sonos engineers have been frustrated over the years by unpredictable issues between its soundbars and certain TVs.
These can include audio sync delays, brief signal dropouts, and other bugs that can prove challenging to reproduce, let alone fix.
What Sonos want to do is take control of the I/O stack, which the likes of Samsung and LG are doing with their new 2025 TV’s.
The new box which is tipped to be launched shortly has been designed to wirelessly transmit lag-free TV audio to the company’s soundbars and other Sono’s products.
In some cases, it could upgrade home theatre sound beyond a TV’s original capabilities.
Some observers claims that Pinewood will be Sonos’ most important product introduction of fiscal 2025 and could end up being the company’s only new hardware due anytime soon.
This is of concern as there is little chance of this becoming an in demand over the counter product due to the existence of Apple TV and Hubbl.
Where it could get some traction is in the custom install and integration market claim observers.
This week’s results are set to be critical for the US audio business with the stock having fallen 8.6% during the past 12 months and since the sacking of Spence the stock has fallen 3.6%.
Sales of the new Sonos Ace headphone have struggled with several other projects canned or put on the backburner.
The Verge claims that Sonos staff remain pessimistic about Pinewood’s chances of becoming anything more than a niche device in a crowded, competitive space.
Ironically Pinewood was a pet project of former CEO Patrick Spence with the projected price set to be an issue for Sonos, especially as TV brands such as Samsung, Hisense, TCL and LG along with Sony significantly improving the processing power of their new 2025 TV’s with new AI driven content new menus and improved Wi Fi and hardware functionality set to put pressure on the new Sonos streaming box.
