Why haven't SONOS been acquired by Apple?

@melvimbe

Very good points. Apple does have a history of "absorbing" their acquisitions and often of shutting them down.
SONOS products ( I think they'd keep using the name because it's so valuable) would then perhaps not be called that but the hardware would survive.

For someone like me, if it were all Apple I wouldn't mind. I love the Apple ecosystem (both hardware and software).
And this is after I used and tried everything out there.

Amazon I like and is different from Google. You can use Alexa right in the Amazon app. They just want to be everywhere and apparently in a growing number of industries. The goal is to sell more things and they don't mind building hardware and software to achieve that goal.

Personally I don't care for Voice product right now. In 5-10 years, it will be a different story because you'll be able to engage in a conversation and learn something when the systems can reuse the reply they just gave you for context and keep track of a topic as you go along. Turn off my lights and set a timer? I don't mind doing that right now. The current state is however extremely important to people with reduced or limited mobility and I am so glad this tech exists for them.


No I wasn't aware it is employees-owned.
They'd be happy/ get paid - even if laid off.
The hardest hit would then be the mere employees without a stake.
And it's hard to speculate on the cultural fit but the small start-up feel would evaporate for sure and that usually upsets people.

Sonos are heterogeneous in their support of 3rd parties: they work with ~55 music services, and produce Controller apps for multiple platforms. They also keep their hardware working for decades via updates.

Apple are none of these things. They certainly don't want to support~54 of those music services, or produce Controllers for other platforms. And they want to force hardware updates every 2 years.

It would be terrible news, for all of us who are not 100% Apple ecosystem users.

Do you think Apple is going to apply a 2 year lifecycle to Homepods? I can't see them going that route for that type of product.

Amazon may not be after the Sonos market. The echo dot is a good example of a product that works with other third party speakers (I don't own one but assume that those who bought such products do vouch for them).
There is a market for Sonos in a niche where they coexist with the likes of the Echo. Apple may compete and win a part but I am assuming they will expand the market as well so those who would not want to buy into the Amazon may buy Apple. Remember Apple has better privacy than amazon who will read your instructions and customize the screens and ads to your lifestyle. Not sure where Sonos fits in there. Ultimately there are wall garden ecosystems which will cost more like Apple that will thrive. And there there are cheaper options like Amazon that will not pretend to provide secrecy/security.

Do you think Apple is going to apply a 2 year lifecycle to Homepods? I can't see them going that route for that type of product.

Should be similar to the Apple TV cycle whatever that is.

It seems that Apple is pretty careful and deliberate about whom they acquire and whether they need the tech or the market. With a company like Beats they kept the brand since that was what they were buying. I'm not sure what they would be buying with Sonos exactly.

I have a product called Apple HiFi, which came out maybe 10 years ago. It's a big portable speaker that they sold for $349. I've always liked mine and it's still in use, ironically now being fed by a Sonos Connect. I would put it's quality somewhere between a Play1 and a Play3. I'm interested to hear a Home Hub, but it's not on my Christmas list.

I have my feet solidly in both the Apple and the Sonos ecosystems, and if Sonos were to be acquired I would rather they be acquired by Apple than by Google or Amazon (Nest was ruined by Google), but I hope they aren't acquired at all. I like them the way they are.