Sonos, the maker of popular soundbars and wireless speakers is venturing into the headphones market for the first time in the company’s history.
According to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, Sonos Chief Product Officer Maxime Bouvat-Merlin announced that there’s a dedicated team working on headphones. The company has actively worked on developing headphones since 2019.
Additionally, there are teams within the company that are dedicated to home products, portable speakers, and voice control.
According to Bouvat-Merlin, the organisational structure is designed to provide teams with focus and autonomy, enabling them to make faster, higher-quality decisions and execute with greater agility.
During the earnings call on 15 November, Sonos Chief Executive Officer Patrick Spence announced the upcoming launch of a lucrative new product in the next few months.
“The second half of the year, we will be launching a major product in a new multibillion-dollar category that will complement our current offerings, excite customers and drive immediate revenue,” Spence said.
“All told, we expect to generate over USD100 million (~RM466.6 million) from new product introductions this year, with this exciting new product accounting for a large portion of this revenue in the second half.”
Bouvat-Merlin also mentioned that new offerings, codenamed Lasso, Pinewood, and Premier, are in development for the near future.
Another Bloomberg report says that it will be premium over-ear headphones, and they are rumoured to cost between USD400 (~RM1,867) and USD500 (~RM2,334), slated for release in April 2024, and they will be following that up with wireless earbuds.
Pinewood is a TV set-top box, Lasso is a new soundbar, while Premier is a new high-end amplifier aimed at professional home-theatre installations.
