Sonos' upcoming streaming player will be expensive but double as an HDMI switch and a hub for wireless Sonos surround sound – no soundbar needed – according to leaked information.
After a tumultuous period following the launch of a new Sonos app, the company plans to enter the video market with a competitor to Apple TV 4K, Nvidia Shield and Google TV Streamer in 2025.
We previously learned that it will run an Android-based 'Ventura OS' developed by ad giant The Trade Desk. A new report by The Verge with leaked details now provides more information about the "slightly thicker than a deck of trading cards" box, which will reportedly cost between $200-400.
Sonos surround without the soundbar
The report describes the device primarily as a streaming player. It will support Android TV-optimized apps like Netflix, Disney+ and Max, while curating content in a unified manner.
Additionally, it will come with a separate voice-enabled remote control featuring sponsored buttons for streaming apps.
What will differentiate it from competitors like Apple TV 4K is its ability to also function as an HDMI switch with passthrough capabilities. This means you will be able to connect your game console or UHD Blu-ray player directly to HDMI inputs on the Sonos box, which will extract the audio and pass the video through to the TV.
The extracted audio will then be transmitted wirelessly to Sonos speakers, eliminating the need for a Sonos soundbar to serve as the brain of a surround sound setup.
- "Pinewood also unlocks a capability that Sonos customers have been requesting for years: you’ll be able to configure a genuine surround sound system using the company’s other speakers. Instead of relying so heavily on a soundbar, you can create dedicated front left and right channels with, say, two Era 300s. This will allow for far more advanced Dolby Atmos setups, but Sonos is still finalizing exactly which speaker arrangements will be supported," wrote The Verge.
In addition, it will reportedly feature Gigabit Ethernet and Wi-Fi 7.
A recipe for disaster?
It is clear that Sonos' motivation for including an HDMI switch is to open up new possibilities for surround sound at home, but the company is far from the first to implement an HDMI switch. Remember the Xbox One?
Unless Sonos approaches this in a novel way, the HDMI switch will need to fully support HDMI 2.1, including 4K 120Hz, VRR, ALLM, and QMS; otherwise an untouched signal will not make it to your TV. It will also need to seamlessly support refresh rate matching to the source device – 60Hz, 50Hz, 24Hz, etc. – something no Android-based streaming player has mastered yet.
And in a few years, HDMI 2.2 will enter the picture, bringing new challenges.
This situation mirrors the ongoing issues we see today with the lack of proper HDMI 2.1 support in AV receivers and soundbars. That is why we generally recommend using HDMI eARC via the TV instead of HDMI passthrough. Why is Sonos not taking the eARC route like the Apple TV 4K (2nd and 3rd Gen) to extract audio from the TV (and all of its HDMI-connected devices) for wireless transmission? This remains unclear.
Nevertheless, Sonos deserves a chance, so let us see what the company has in store when it launches the "Pinewood"-codenamed streaming device later this year.
- Source: The Verge
