There’s currently no shortage of high-end wireless headphones available for people to choose from so the addition of another one might not seem all that interesting. But a new report adds further fuel to previous reports that Sonos of all companies is getting ready to add a whole new product to its lineup.
Currently codenamed “Duke,” the unnamed headset is set to go up against premium offerings likeApple’s AirPods Maxand the much less snappily namedSony WH-XM10005. One of the reasons for the comparison is the $400+ price point we’re told to expect, but that isn’t all that will make theseSonos headphonesworth taking notice of.
Voice control and more
This latest report comes courtesy ofBloomberg’sMark Gurman, a journalist normally known for covering Apple and related companies. In this instance, he says that the unconfirmed Sonos over-ear headphones will sell for between $400 and $500 based on conversations with people familiar with the matter. The headphones themselves will come in two different colours with black and white options available. Both Sony and Apple offer more color options, with the latter selling AirPods Max in as many as five different colourways.
Little is known about the headphones beyond this, although Gurman did also add that the new headphones will “synchronize with Sonos equipment and offer voice control for navigating between songs.”
Headphones might not be the end of Sonos' personal audio plans, either. Gurman believes that Sonos is exploring something else - a pair of earbuds that will look similar to Apple’sAirPodsbut be based on technology acquired from Irish earbud company RHA Audio. Sonos picked the company up two years ago, with expectations being that it would focus on allowing users to customise the sound profile of the earbuds rather than compete with Apple on pure technical abilities.
In terms or timescales, the Sonos headphones are tipped for an unveiling in March 2024 before going on sale a month or so later. As for the earbuds, they’re likely to be a little further out.
