Sonos will launch a new flagship speaker “in the coming months,”according to The Verge on Monday. The publication says it will be called the Era 300, and that Sonos is prioritizing the device’s spatial audio capabilities.
The Verge says Sonos is committed to making the Era 300 the most accurate speaker ever. This indicated an increased focus on making Dolby Atmos content shine, as well as improving music using spatial audio. According to The Verge, the Era 300 will be “a multi-directional speaker built to get the most out of spatial audio”through “a completely redesigned acoustic design.”
We do not have more detailed information such as specifications or prices. However, Wi-Fi 6 and a USB-C port appear to be “likely”and Bluetooth support is also possible. According to The Verge, Sonos has at least considered including all of these features in the Era 300.
The Verge first began reporting on the Era 300, codenamed Optimo 2, in August. This week, the company uncovered further evidence of speaker development in the form of two recent documents from TV mount manufacturer Sanus that name the Era 300.
In August, The Verge, citing “early unfinished images”it had reportedly viewed, stated that Sonos’ upcoming flagship speaker will include “an arsenal of drivers, including several that fire in different directions from under enclosure between the front speaker grille and rear panel”. It also offered a more advanced product with twice the RAM and eight times the flash storage of the highest spec Sonos speakers to date.
The Verge also said this week that Sonos is working on a cheaper Era 100, suggesting it could include Dolby Atmos support and serve as a follow-up to the Sonos One, which has a MSRP of $179 at the time of writing.
If the Era 300 does debut anytime soon, it will face competition from Apple’s recent resurgence of the $299 full-size HomePod, which supports Dolby Atmos surround sound with Apple apps and Apple TV 4K. In addition to excellent sound quality, Sonos’ new flagship can score points with buyers by playing better with third-party devices, such as turning on Bluetooth and surpassing Apple’s Wi-Fi 4 speaker support.