Sonos May Rival Apple, Bose With Premium Headphones Worth $400 Soon

Sonos Inc., renowned for its smart speakers and sound bars, is set to venture into the category of headphones with a much-anticipated model expected to be priced at over $400.

There is no official word on when the headphones would be made available in India. Representative image.

Source : Getty

Wireless speaker manufacturing major Sonos is working to introduce $400 premium headphones to rival Apple AirPods Max and Bose. The company is also planning to introduce TV set top box, the media has reported. Sonos Inc., renowned for its smart speakers and sound bars, is set to venture into the category of headphones with a much-anticipated model expected to be priced at over $400, with a targeted release as early as April, says a report by news agency Bloomberg, citing sources familiar with the matter.

The company is also looking to unveil a TV set-top box, entering the competition with Apple Inc. and Roku Inc. products, possibly by the end of 2024, the report added, quoting anonymous sources due to the confidential nature of the plans. Sonos is considering pricing the device between $150 and $200, enabling it to run apps from popular streaming services.

Currently, limited information is available regarding the headphones. However, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, known to cover Apple and related companies, mentioned that they will "sync with Sonos equipment and provide voice control for song navigation".

The report further noted that Sonos is considering the development of earbuds resembling Apple's AirPods, incorporating technology obtained from the Irish earbud company RHA Audio, acquired by the company two years ago. This is expected to let users to customise the earbuds' sound profile rather than directly competing with Apple in technical capabilities.

There is no official word on when the headphones would be made available in India.

Meanwhile, the Santa Barbara, California-based audio device maker recently unveiled the Era 300 and Era 100 smart speakers in India. The company calls the pricier Era 300 as "revolutionary" speaker for out loud spatial audio with Dolby Atmos and the Sonos Era is apparently a refresh based on Sonos One. The Era 300 and Era 100 speakers are manufactured from post-consumer recycled (PCR) plastic. The price of the Sonos Era 300 smart speaker has been set at Rs 54,999 in India while the smaller Sonos Era 100 costs Rs 29,999. 

Currently, the smart speakers market in the country is dominated by the likes of Amazon's Echo lineup. Other prominent players in the segment include Lenovo, Marshall and Google.