Last month, The Verge reported that Sonos was hard at work on a major new hardware product: a streaming box that would compete with the Apple TV 4K and cost up to $400. Now, it seems, Sonos has changed its plans and canceled its TV streaming product.
Sonos TV streaming box is no longer happening
Chris Welch writes at The Verge:
Sonos has abandoned plans to release a streaming video player, the company’s leadership announced in an all-hands call today. The product, codenamed Pinewood, was set to be Sonos’ next major hardware launch. It was already deep into development and has spent months in beta testing. But now the team behind it will be reassigned to other projects as interim CEO Tom Conrad reprioritizes the company’s future roadmap and continues what he hopes will be a turnaround from a bruising 2024.
This is just the latest in a string of major issues Sonos has grappled with over the past year.
It all started with a big app redesign that frustrated users, and set off a year of attempted fixes, apologies, and ultimately the departure of the company’s CEO.
The TV streaming product, ‘Pinewood,’ would potentially have represented a fresh start and brought renewed energy under new CEO Conrad.
Now, however, that big new product swing won’t even be given a chance to succeed.
Welch notes that the TV box being canceled leaves Sonos without ”a significant new product to ship in the second half of 2025.”
9to5Mac’s Take
I was fascinated to see what Sonos had in store for its first TV streaming box. Some of the details sounded intriguing.
However, Pinewood undoubtedly would have been a big risk at a time the company is already struggling. If it had been a success, it could have done wonders to restore Sonos’s reputation. But the reported high price tag meant success would have been tough to achieve.
Were you interested in Sonos’ TV streaming box? Why or why not? Let us know in the comments.
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