Headphones are coming

Based on yesterday’s earnings report, it will be released in the second half of 2024. 

https://www.theverge.com/2023/11/15/23962936/sonos-major-new-product-coming-2024-tease

While I have no doubt that Sonos is working on a headphone product, I still find myself skeptical that it will be released next year.  Probably because the rumor has been around for quite sometime.  When it does release though, I am also concerned that it won’t have the feature set people are really looking for.  

Headphones have to have bluetooth and I have no doubt that will be the case.  But there are a few phone related features that Sonos has not implemented in their existing portable products. The headphones has to have a mic for two way communication.  And I think it has to be connected to your phone via bluetooth even when listening to music via wifi.  If you receive a phone call, you need to be able to have your music play back interupted/paused and be able to accept the call with a simple button press, the same as if you were using normal bluetooth headphones.

Another big feature that I’ve seen mentioned as critical, is the ability to play TV audio in ‘real time’.  Again, this isn’t something that Sonos existing portable products can do.  If the feature does get implemented, would it work via bluetooth instead of wifi?  Would it require a Sonos Arc/Beam/Ray/Amp in order to function?  Would it allow playback on headphones and through Sonos speakers at the same time?  Can you use more than 1 pair connected to your TV audio?

While I don’t personally feel that it’s critical, it seems like the market will demand that the headphones also be atmos capable, for music streaming anyway.  There are just too many competitors out there with this feature, that it’s going to be difficult for a consumer to pick Sonos over other options if that feature is missing.

Noise cancellation is a feature that I’d need. Also, the headphones would need to be able to stand alone. Witness the number of headphones deployed on planes, trains, and buses. And, out on the street. In addition to expanding the SONOS ecosystem, a well functioning standalone headset would be an excellent introduction to the SONOS ecosystem.

I can see the headphones basically having the same functionality as the Move 2. It will work on WiFi and Bluetooth. It will have a long battery life. You will be able to group the headphones with your other Sonos devices in the Sonos app or by pressing and holding the Play button. You will be able to seamlessly move the headphone audio (including TV audio) to and from other Sonos devices (Sound Swap). It will likely support Sonos Voice Control, AirPlay, noise cancellation, and be Dolby Atmos-certified. I would also like the see the option of using it with a wired connection.