Sonos CEO Patrick Spence Teases Major 2024 Product Launch

Sonos CEO Patrick Spence teases that the company is preparing for a multiyear product cycle in 2024. Sonos is said to be kickstarting this cycle with an “entry into a new multi-billion dollar category.”

During its latest financial earning call, Spencer went on record to discuss what’s to come in the near year. 2023 saw the launch of the new Era 100, Era 300, and Move 2 speakers. However, Spencer acknowledges 2023 “was a challenging year” as revenue decreased 5.5 percent year-over-year, as reported by The Verge.

That said, Spencer seems optimistic as 2024 will pave the way for a new product that excites the company. “This is the beginning of a multi-year product cycle where we expect to reap the rewards of our R&D investments,” Spence said during the call. “This cycle begins with our entry into a new multi-billion dollar category in the second half of the year that will complement our current offering, delight customers and drive immediate revenue.”

Unfortunately, Spencer has not detailed what the new product may be. However, he appears confident in its ability to stand within the market. “All told, we expect to generate over $100 million from new product introductions this year [fiscal 2024], with this exciting new product accounting for a large portion of this revenue in the second half,” Spencer says.

As for what the product may be, reports point to it being outside of Sonos’ typical speaker selection. In fact, it may be a pair of headphones, according to an internal email. Seen by Bloomberg following Sonos’ call, Chief Product Officer Maxime Bouvat-Merlin sent an email with a reference to the Sonos headphone team.

Bouvat-Merlin’s email also revealed that Sonos is expected to lay off a number of employees today as it prepares for a ” shift in product strategy.” The number of employees affected is still unknown as of the time of writing.

Sonos’ reported attempt to break into the headphone market is a bold strategy, even for a company known for high-end audio solutions. However, it may be a long time coming. Early reports of a wireless pair of headphones from the company began emerging in 2019. If Sonos is looking to pierce the market and gain additional revenue, adopting headphones into its catalogue may be a good way forward.