Sonos Delays its Apple TV Rival, Cuts Headphone Production: Report

Sonos has delayed the launch of its first TV set-top box and cut back headphone shipments as the company continues to grapple with the fallout from a flawed mobile app release.

Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, in his Sunday PowerOn newsletter, says Sonos is struggling to recover from the app issues, which have led to major setbacks and disruptions in its product lineup.

The delay affects two key products, including an Apple TV and Roku rival codenamed Pinewood, which was initially slated for release in January but has now been pushed to March 2025, say sources. Gurman leaked the Sonos product roadmap last November, the first time we heard about a set-top TV box from the company.

Also, Sonos has cut back on production of its new Ace headphones, reducing output from an initial target of 900,000 to 1 million units per year to just 90,000 to 100,000 units annually, about 250 units per day. That’s a staggering cutback from its original projections.

Sonos has already laid off employees, likely in response to rising costs and decreased sales due to software problems. Despite efforts to fix the app issues, the company’s struggles have continued, on top of a major negative PR hit against its brand.

The company’s stock has dipped 32% this year, compared to a 13% gain in the S&P 500 Index.

While Sonos continues to be transparent about its app fix timeline, the damage has been done. While the app issues aren’t affecting everyone, some loyal Sonos owners dealing with tech issues have claimed to abandoned the brand due to the ongoing headaches.