Sonos is set to release new smart speakers, the Sonos Era 300 and 100, to compete with Apple’s HomePod.
The famous speaker company, Sonos, is reportedly finalizing a pair of new smart speakers in the coming weeks. Furthermore, the online publication The Verge obtained the product’s marketing images and pricing information.
Here’s a breakdown of what we know so far.
Everything You Should Know about Sonos Era 300
The Era 300 is the Sonos flagship speaker with six drivers that push the sound out in all four directions. Furthermore, you can combine a stereo pair of the smart speaker with the Arc or second-generation Beam to get rearward surround sound and upward-firing audio.
Besides coming with a USB-C line-in, the smart speakers offer connectivity options such as Wi-Fi 6 support, Bluetooth playback, and AirPlay 2 support.
According to Chris Welch of The Verge, Sonos designed the Era 300 to highlight music in spatial audio. However, Welch notes that the speaker won’t support the Dolby Atmos songs in the Apple Music catalog for now, meaning Apple and Sonos haven’t reached an agreement.
“This could always change in the coming weeks or by the time the Era 300 hits shelves,” says Welch.
Sonos is expected to price the Era 300 in the ballpark of $450.
Everything You Should Know About Sonos Era 100
Unlike Era 300, Sonos Era 100 isn’t designed for spatial audio. As a result, the smart speaker is rounder and lacks the upward-firing drivers in the flagship model.
Despite this limitation, the Era 100 is still quite an improvement over the Sonos One.
Indeed, Welch described the new speakers as “an evolved Sonos One with (ideally) better performance.” That’s because the Era 100 has a larger mid-woofer for improved bass and an additional tweeter for true stereo sound.
The smart speaker offers connectivity options such as AirPlay 2, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi streaming, and USB-C. It’s also expected to cost roughly $250.
Welch says the Sonos Era 300 and Era 100 should include Sonos Voice Control and Amazon Alexa Voice assistants. However, he notes no mention of Google Assistant support in Sonos’ internal marketing material.
Both speakers should be available in black and white colors starting in late March 2023.
