Sonos has officially confirmed that its next hardware event will held on March 9. And with an upcoming product announcement comes the obvious question: What are we getting? Here's what we know so far.
It's almost certainly a portable speaker called the Sonos Roam.
The more likely of the two rumors is that Sonos is going to announce a new portable speaker — likely a smaller and cheaper version of the Move. Sonos announced the Move, its first technically portable Bluetooth speaker, back in late 2019 and while it's arguably the best-sounding portable speaker you can buy, its $399 price tag makes it a hard-sell for the masses. It's also quite large; this is a room-to-room portable speaker, not a building-to-building portable speaker.
Like the original Move, the new smaller Sonos speaker would likely have Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity, meaning you could use it outside the home or as multi-room speaker in a larger Sonos system.
It's a rumor that is all but certain now, following a report published by The Verge that includes some leaked photos and the name "Sonos Roam," suggesting that this is what we're in for. The expected price point is $169, which would make it competitive with some of the most popular Bluetooth speakers like UE Boom 2 and Bose's SoundLink Revolve.
There's an outside chance that it's headphones.
The less likely of the two rumors is that Sonos is going to release a premium pair of noise-canceling headphones — think of them as a competitor to the AirPods Max, although Sonos's headphones might not be as expensive as Apple's new cans. These Sonos headphones have been rumored about for what seems like years. Bloomberg first reported that they were in the works back in January of 2019. And the most recent rumors were reported by Protocol, who uncovered a new patent that was awarded to Sonos for a pair of noise-canceling headphones.
If they don't show up next month, they may show up at a later event. Either of these announcements will function as a major pivot towards portability for the previously pretty stationary brand, which makes it all the more likely that more products in the same vein are coming in the future.
It's definitely physically small, though.
The official invite features a model with a backpack, walking outside, which suggests that the new product most likely will be something small and portable. It's not just the photo though, there are also rumors that indicate Sonos is likely to go in one of two directions.
We'll find out for sure next week.
The Sonos hardware event will take place on March 9 at 4pm EST or 1pm PST.
