Sonos’ successive flagship Optimo 2 speaker will play sound in almost all directions. After spending 2022 concentrated on midrange products like the Ray and the rollout of its voice service, Sonos is about to divert its attention back to upscale devices.
Aside from the upcoming, deferred Sub Mini, the company is also operating on a new high-end speaker codenamed Optimo 2.
After viewing early, work-in-progress images of Optimo 2, it marks a substantial evolution in design corresponded to Sonos’ existing products, such as the Five, Arc, Sonos One, Beam, and Roam. The new device will be arranged as the best-sounding Speaker, encased in a funky, dual-angled shell that Sonos has ever produced. It contains an arsenal of drivers, including several that fire in diverse directions from beneath the body between the front speaker grille and backplate. Optimo 2 will likely stick to Sonos’ ideal white and black color choices. In addition, the device’s front side will have a vertical rectangle indicating where the Sonos logo will be.
Size-wise, it looks like the Sonos Five / Play:5. According to people acquainted with the product, Optimo 2 includes as much RAM and eight times more flash memory than any earlier Sonos speaker. It’s a powerhouse designed with a long road of software support ahead.
If contemporary plans stay on track, Optimo 2 will evolve into the swiss army knife of Sonos speakers. It’ll keep music playback over Wi-Fi like all of the company’s products and Bluetooth audio. So far, Bluetooth playback controls have been limited to portable hardware like the Move and Roam. Intriguingly, the company also believes in USB-C line-in playback for the device.
That would make it the only modern Sonos Speaker besides the Five to offer line-in capabilities. The Sonos Five has an additional standard 3.5mm aux input. With built-in microphones, Optimo 2 will feature automatic sound tuning to optimize its performance in different settings. Those mics will also help Sonos Voice Control. Some of these features may be discarded and absent from the final shipping product.
With its collection of drivers, including one that seems to be upward-firing, Optimo 2 will be a showcase for Dolby Atmos audio. But it’s just one component of the puzzle. The Verge can report that Optimo 2 is the lead product in a trio of in-the-works devices, including an Optimo 1 and Optimo 1 SL. “SL” establishes that the latter will not possess built-in microphones. The three products are intertwined with an effective forthcoming update to Sonos’ software platform that will open new functionality.
Mics aside, apparent differences between the three Optimo devices could not yet be understood. Theoretically, Optimo 2 could be a successor to the Sonos Five, which hasn’t seen a significant redesign in years. That would leave Optimo 1 and 1 SL to fill the role of smaller smart speakers or satellite speakers in Sonos surround sound systems. Home theater has become a critical part of the company’s business.
Earlier this month, Sonos reported rocky third-quarter earnings, blaming rampant inflation and the dollar’s appreciation for a miss on revenue. The company also revealed that it had pushed back the planned release of a new product — almost certainly the Sub Mini — until the first fiscal quarter of 2023, which falls between October and December of this calendar year.
“Softening consumer demand across our product categories had an outsized impact on Roam,” CEO Patrick Spence said on the quarterly investor call. He noted that the $279.99 Sonos Ray soundbar “is significantly missing our expectations for the year” due to the weakened demand.
But Spence maintained an optimistic outlook. “We’re concentrating on what we can handle at this point. We are investing in massive innovation and new products that we think will enable us to come out of these macroeconomic headwinds in an even stronger position.” Optimo 2, Optimo 1, and Optimo 1 SL will be central to that innovation and steady product pipeline.
During its fiscal 2022, Sonos released the second-gen Beam, Roam SL (plus new Roam colors), the Sonos Ray, and Sonos Voice Control. It also made acquisitions, including Mayht Holding BV, a company that Sonos claims “has invented a new, revolutionary approach to audio transducers” that allows them to be smaller and lighter without affecting quality.
Sonos, Inc. is an American inventor and manufacturer of audio products best comprehended for its multi-room audio products. The company was established in 2002 by John MacFarlane, Tom Cullen, Craig Shelburne, and Trung Mai. Patrick Spence was designated CEO in January 2017
Sonos has associated with over 100 music services companies, including Pandora, iHeartRadio, Spotify, MOG, QQ Music, and Amazon Music. Sonos products work with the three principal voice assistants: Google Assistant, Amazon Alexa, and Apple Siri, although the latter is presently only supported by Apple’s Home app. In addition, in 2019, Sonos gained Snips SAS, a privacy-focused AI voice platform for connected devices, to obtain a music-specific assistant for its devices.
Sonos was established in August 2002 by John MacFarlane, Tom Cullen, Craig Shelburne, and Trung Mai, with MacFarlane desiring to create a wireless service.
In December 2017, IKEA and Sonos revealed a collaboration to build Sonos’ technology into furniture sold by IKEA. In August 2018, Sonos went public, selling on the NASDAQ under the symbol SONO.
In November 2019, Sonos acquired Snips SAS, a privacy-focused AI voice platform for connected devices, intending to bring a music-specific subordinate to its devices.
In April 2020, Sonos announced a new “sonic logo” composed by Philip Glass, featuring a chorus of 21 musicians. The logo will be attended in the listening understanding of Sonos Radio, an Internet radio streaming service unveiled by the company the same month.
In June 2020, Sonos reported plans to lay off 12% of its workforce, close its New York store and six offices, and slash its top executives’ pay by 20% for three to six months in reaction to the economic disruptions induced by the COVID pandemic.
In January 2022, Sonos succeeded the lawsuit against Google, and Google had to remove certain features such as the group volume controller from its devices.