Sonos CEO Confirms Apple TV Competitor Is Dead: Why ‘Pinewood’ Never Launched

Sonos has officially confirmed the existence and subsequent cancellation of its long-rumoured set-top box, codenamed Pinewood. In a new interview with Bloomberg, CEO Tom Conrad provided the first public acknowledgement that the company was developing a direct competitor to the Apple TV 4K before ultimately killing the project to focus on its core audio business.

The “Pinewood” project first leaked in late 2023 when reports surfaced that Sonos was hiring for a new home theatre project. By early 2024, more specific details emerged suggesting a $150 to $200 US device running an Android-based operating system. However, following the disastrous launch of the new Sonos app in May 2024, rumours of delays began to circulate as the company shifted resources to fix its existing software.

Conrad, who took over as interim CEO in January 2025 before being named permanent CEO in July 2025, revealed that while there was a release date on the calendar, the company lacked the staffing to actually finish the product. He admitted that even if they had tried to push forward, the device wouldn’t be out now.

“Whatever you might think about that — good idea, bad idea — we just didn’t have enough software resources to execute it well,” Conrad said to Bloomberg.

The CEO described finding a company that was too siloed, with separate teams for portables, home theatre, and headphones that led to duplicated efforts. He has since dismantled that structure to form unified hardware and software teams. Conrad noted that an unintended consequence of the old way was an impediment to thinking about Sonos as a coherent system.

It’s too bad that the Sonos set top box was cancelled. Competition is a good thing, because for now the Apple TV has remained pretty stale, but a refresh is rumoured to be in the works.

Today, Sonos launched its new Play portable speaker and slightly-cheaper Era 100 SL speakers.