Sonos has had a rough few months lately. In the wake of a botched app makeover and top leadership changes, it seems a few product plans have also been axed. The company was reportedly developing a streaming box at one point, but it seems the device has been put on cold ice.
“The news was announced by the company’s leadership during an all-hands call today. That product, codenamed Pinewood, was set to be Sonos’ next major hardware launch,” claims a report by The Verge.
The company’s interim chief had reportedly told employees that plans for the streaming device are not on the company’s roadmap “for now.” The doomed device would have served perks such as content aggregation from different streaming platforms as well as a granular universal search system.
Sonos’ debut video streaming box was reportedly eyeing a price tag within the $200-400 range. The company had even created a full-fledged user interface in partnership with an ad firm named The Trade Desk.
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Right now, there aren’t many premium competitors to the Apple TV 4K, but the price tag Sonos was planning was truly astonishing. The likes of Roku Expres 4K Plus, Nvidia Shield TV, Amazon Fire TV Stick, and Google TV streamer command a far lower asking price.
But it seems Sonos streaming would’ve offered a few standout perks. The company is said to have envisioned a dual-mode control system that included a physical remote as well as the in-house Voice Control kit.
The device was expected to feature multiple HDMI ports, allowing passthrough facility. The overarching idea was to let users plug into a wide range of other devices, such as 4K players and gaming consoles, while also solving the latency issues that come with wireless transmission.
Sonos was also exploring a surround sound system facility for the streaming device, which was in development under the codename “Pinewood.” On the connectivity front, Sonos was targeting Wi-Fi 7 as well as gigabit ethernet output. “The box will be able to wirelessly transmit lag-free TV audio to the company’s soundbars and other Sonos products,” as per The Verge.
Following the cancellation of its streaming box plans, which would have put in direct competition against the likes of Apple TV 4K, the company is reportedly heading back to fixing its software stack and development of new audio gear.