Another Power On newsletter from Bloomberg's Mark Gurman means another wild rumor about tech — and this week, the headline is a potential buyout of Sonos by Apple. After the former's rough year as its app flatlined and its CEO quit, the latter could well step in and take all of its assets and designs and fold them into its smart home section.
There's more to the tale of course, as well as questions about whether Apple actually might do it, but it's an interesting development that could turn the smart speaker game on its head.
Why might Apple want Sonos?
Sonos has, in many ways, become synonymous with the best smart speakers. Its latest Sonos Era 300 and Era 100 speakers are excellent smart home audio companions, with some serious smarts and class-leading audio. TVs everywhere feature one of Sonos' soundbars sitting beneath them, be that the massive, 5-star Arc Ultra or the smaller Beam Gen 2. Buying Sonos would grant you a whole, pre-made customer base of users who like to buy new gear when it comes out.
Apple's smart home audio is two whole products — rather than the impressive ecosystem that Sonos has built over many years of innovation. The question then becomes what would happen to Sonos. This could be a Beats arrangement, which would see the Sonos name remain, but design and production brought under the watchful eye of the Cupertino campus.
Or, could we see Sonos absorbed into the Apple branding? I would personally say likely not — Apple wouldn't want to do away with a recognizable brand, no matter how much it may have been tarnished by a year of dodgy software.
What's in it for Sonos?
There are some extra bonuses on the table for Sonos itself. For one, there's the software geniuses at Apple who are very good at making solid apps — and taking their time to do it. There would be Apple's hardware that Sonos could dip into, as Beats did with some of its headphones using AirPods chips and noise canceling algorithms.
There would be the potential for more stability, as one of the richest companies in the world takes Sonos under its wing. Given how rocky things have been for Sonos during the app controversy and its CEO leaving, that could be a massive positive.
Is it likely to happen?
Mark Gurman thinks that the buyout is actually unlikely to happen, and I would agree.
"It already has the hardware, software, content and manufacturing chops internally" Gurman says, and given rumors around the "HomeHub" and new HomePod mini that could both be coming this year, the firm already seems to be shoring up its home audio lineup.
So who could? Which company would want what Sonos has? Gurman continues that Meta, Google and Microsoft are all unlikely suitors, on account of going all in on AI rather than smart home.
Gurman thinks that Amazon would be the most likely candidate for a Sonos purchase. It would get more upscale products or its Alexa line, which tend towards the cheaper market at the moment. It would have to be careful about acquiring though, especially after the European Commission threatened to block it from buying iRobot Corp.
Does a purchase need to happen?
Okay , so real talk — I'd personally be gutted if another company bought Sonos. I love the identity that the smart home audio company has carved out for itself, and I'd be disappointed to see it potentially lose that should another company put down the cash.
Even despite its woes over the last year, things do seem to be looking up. The Arc Ultra was excellent, with pride of place in my living room. There are rumors of a Sonos set-top box, like the Apple TV 4K, which could be interesting. Sonos' audio engineers know their way around Spatial Audio, more than any other smart speaker manufacturer that I've ever seen. I hope Sonos stays independent — and Mark Gurman seems to think that's what Sonos wants as well.
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