Pressing pause Sonos streaming box is reportedly canceled. Good riddance. Opinion: The long-rumored Sonos streaming box wasn't a good idea anyway. Scharon Harding Mar 12, 2025 6:13 pm | 1 Credit: Jeenah Moon/Bloomberg via Getty Images Credit: Jeenah Moon/Bloomberg via Getty Images Story textSizeSmallStandardLargeWidth *StandardWideLinksStandardOrange* Subscribers only Learn moreSonos has canceled plans to release a streaming box, The Verge reported today. The audio company never publicly confirmed that it was making a streaming set-top box, but rumors of its impending release have been floating around since November 2023. With everything that both Sonos and streaming users have going on right now, though, a Sonos-branded rival to the Apple TV 4K wasnt a good idea anyway.Bloombergs Mark Gurman was the first to report on Sonos purported streaming ambitions. He reported that Sonos device would be a black box that cost $150 to $200.At first glance, it seemed like a reasonable idea. Sonos was facing increased competition for wireless speakers from big names like Apple and Bose. Meanwhile, Sonos speaker sales growth had slowed down, making portfolio diversification seem like a prudent way to protect business.By 2025, however, the reported plans for Sonos streaming box sounded less reasonable and appealing, while the market for streaming devices had become significantly more competitive.A saturated marketIn February, The Verge, citing anonymous sources, reported that Sonos was now planning a streaming player that would cost between $200 and $400. Thats a lot to charge in a market where most people have already found their preferred platform. Those who want something cheap and dont mind ads settle for something like Roku. People who hate ads opt for an Apple TV box. There are people who swear by their Fire Sticks and plenty who are happy with whatever operating system (OS) their smart TV arrives with. Sonos would have struggled to convince people who have successfully used some of those streaming devices for years that they suddenly need a new one that's costlier than alternatives, including some smart TVs. In the US especially, the TV OS market is considered heavily saturated, presenting an uphill battle for newcomers.Without Sonos ever confirming its streaming device, it's hard to judge what the company would've offered to lure people to a new streaming platform. Perhaps the Sonos box could have worked better with Sonos devices than non-Sonos streaming devices. But vendor lock-in isn't the best way to try to win new customers. That approach would also force Sonos to test if it's accrued the type of customer loyalty as a company like Apple. Much of the goodwill needed for such customer loyalty was blatantly obliterated, though, during Sonos' botched app update last year.According to The Verge, Sonos box didnt even have a standout appearance. The publication said that by February 2025, the box was deep into development, and about as nondescript as streaming hardware gets.Viewed from the top, the device is a flattened black square and slightly thicker than a deck of trading cards, The Verge reported at the time, citing images it reviewed.Among the most appealing planned features was unified content from various streaming apps, like Netflix and Max, with universal search across streaming accounts." With the growing number of streaming services required to watch all your favorite content, this would be a good way to attract streamers but not necessarily a unique one. The ability to offer a more unified streaming experience is already being tackled by various smart TV OSes, including Samsung Tizen and Amazon Fire OS, as well as the Apple TV app and sister streaming services, like Disney+ and Hulu.A potentially ad-riddled OSTheres reason to suspect that the software that Sonos streaming box would have come out with wouldve been ad-coddling, user-tracking garbage.In January, Janko Roettgers reported that ad giant The Trade Desk was supplying Sonos with its core smart TV OS and facilitating deals with app publishers, while Sonos worked on the streaming boxs hardware and user interface. The Trade Desk makes one of the worlds biggest demand-side platforms and hasnt made streaming software or hardware before.Sonos opting for The Trade Desk's OS would have represented a boastful commitment to advertisers. Among the features that The Trade Desk markets its TV OS as having are a "cleaner supply chain for streaming TV advertising and cross-platform content discovery, something that Sonos was reportedly targeting for its streaming hardware.When reached for comment, a Sonos spokesperson confirmed that Sonos was working with The Trade Desk, saying: "We dont comment on our roadmap, but as has been previously announced we have a long-standing relationship with The Trade Desk and that relationship continues."Sonos should take a moment to regroupIts also arguable that Sonos has much more important things to do than try to convince people that they need expensive, iterative improvements to their streaming software and hardware. Sonos bigger focus should be on convincing customers that it can still handle its bread and butter, which is audio devices.In November 2023, when word first dropped about Sonos reported streaming plans, there was no doubt that Sonos understood how to make quality speakers. But last year, Sonos tarnished its reputation by rushing an app update to coincide with its first wireless headphones, the Sonos Ace. The apps launch will go down as one of the biggest app failures in history. Sonos employees would go on to say that Sonos rushed the update with insufficient testing, resulting in Sonos device owners suddenly losing key features, like accessibility capabilities and the abilities to edit song queues and playlists and access local music libraries. Owners of older Sonos devices, aka long-time Sonos customers, were the most affected. Amid the fallout, hundreds of people were laid off, Sonos market value dropped by $600 million, and the company pegged initial remediation costs at $20 million to $30 million.At this point, Sonos best hope at recovering losses is restoring the customer trust and brand reputation that it took years to build and months to deplete.Sonos could also use time to recover and distill lessons from its most recent attempt at entering a new device category. Likely due to the app controversy associated with the cans, the Ace hasnt been meeting sales expectations, per a February report from The Verge citing anonymous sources. If Sonos should learn anything from the Ace, its that breaking into a new field requires time, patience, and incredible attention to detail, including how long-time and incoming customers want to use their gear.Of course, financial blowback from the app debacle could be more directly behind why Sonos isnt releasing a streaming box. Additionally, Sonos saw numerous executive changes following the app fiasco, including the departure of the CEO who greenlit the streaming box, Patrick Spence. New executive leaders, including a new chief product officer and chief marketing officer, could have different views on the value of Sonos to enter the streaming market too.Sonos' spokesperson didn't answer Ars' questions about Sonos' reported plans to cancel the streaming box and whether the decision is related to the companys app woes.Sonos may have dodged a bulletUltimately, it didnt sound like Sonos streaming box had the greatest potential to disrupt other TV streaming platforms already settled into peoples homes. Its possible Sonos had other products that werent leaked. But the company would have had to come up with a unique and helpful feature in order to command a high price and compete with the likes of Apples TV 4K set-top box.Even if Sonos came up with some killer feature or app for its streaming box, people are a lot less likely to gamble on a new product from the company now than they were before 2024s app catastrophe. Sonos should prove that it can handle the basics before attempting to upcharge technologists for new streaming hardware.Sonos streaming ambitions may only be off the table for now, new CEO Tom Conrad reportedly told employees today, per The Verge. But its probably best that Sonos focus its attention elsewhere for a while.Scharon HardingSenior Technology ReporterScharon HardingSenior Technology Reporter Scharon is a Senior Technology Reporter at Ars Technica writing news, reviews, and analysis on consumer gadgets and services. She's been reporting on technology for over 10 years, with bylines at Toms Hardware, Channelnomics, and CRN UK. 1 Comments