Sonos


Sonos, Inc. is an American audio equipment manufacturer headquartered in Santa Barbara, California. The company was founded in 2002 by John MacFarlane, Craig Shelburne, Tom Cullen, and Trung Mai.
Sonos has partnered with over 100 companies that offer music services, including Pandora, iHeartRadio, SiriusXM, Apple Music, Spotify, Tidal, MOG, QQ Music, YouTube Music and Amazon Music. Sonos products work with the three major voice assistants: Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant, and Apple Siri, although the last is currently only supported through Apple's Home app. In 2019 Sonos acquired Snips SAS, a privacy-focused AI voice platform for connected devices with the goal to bring a music-specific assistant to its devices.
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History

Corporate, financial, and marketing history

Sonos was founded as "Rincon Audio, Inc." in August 2002 by John MacFarlane, Craig Shelburne, Tom Cullen and Trung Mai, with MacFarlane wanting to create a wireless service. The company changed its name to "Sonos, Inc." in May 2004.
During 2004, MacFarlane brought prototypes of the first Sonos products to several industry events, including the June 2004 "D2: All Things Digital" conference in Carlsbad, California and the December 2004 Digital Music Summit. It was reported that in D2 Steve Jobs told MacFarlane that the Sonos controller's scroll wheel might have violated Apple patents related to the iPod.
Sonos aimed to begin shipping its products in the fourth quarter of 2004 but missed that deadline. The company first introduced its products to the market in January 2005 and first shipped them in either January or March 2005.
In May 2005, Sonos announced that its initial product line would go on sale in the United Kingdom in the following month. The company has continued to broaden its international sales, for example to Japan in 2018.
In May 2012, Sonos opened the Sonos Studio in Los Angeles, a studio and art gallery in which art was exhibited along with Sonos' products for free, and featured events with artists like Beck, The Lonely Island and Solange, and released a video about its development. The Los Angeles location was closed in 2018; a London location remains open.
In December 2013, the company was estimated to have raised $118 million in venture funding, including a $25 million round; its investors included Kohlberg Kravis Roberts, Redpoint Ventures and Elevation Partners. In April 2014, Google and Sonos introduced deep integration features that allowed users to play and control Google Play Music through Sonos devices.
In January 2015, Sonos was rebranded by Bruce Mau Design, with a new visual identity and improved logotype that was created over the span of four years, from 2011 to 2014. There have been other brand refreshes, including one in 2019.
In February 2016 Sonos also released a study called Music Makes it Home Study.
In March 2016, CEO John MacFarlane announced the company's shift to focus on streaming music services and voice control instead of local playback, and laid off some employees.
In July 2016, the company opened its first Sonos Store in SoHo. Sonos announced the store's closure in June 2020.
In September 2016, the company announced that its products would become available at Apple Stores.
In January 2017, MacFarlane announced via the company's blog that he would be stepping down from his role as CEO, and that he would be succeeded in this position by former COO Patrick Spence.
In December 2017, IKEA and Sonos announced a collaboration to build Sonos' technology into furniture sold by IKEA. In May 2025, Sonos announced the partnership was ending.
In August 2018, Sonos went public, trading on the NASDAQ under the symbol SONO.
In November 2019, Sonos acquired Snips SAS, a privacy-focused AI voice platform for connected devices with the goal to bring a music-specific assistant to its devices.
In January 2020, Sonos sued Google over copyright infringement relating to several patents, including the ability to sync audio over multiple devices. In August 2021, a judge ruled in favor of Sonos. The International Trade Commission also ruled in favor of Sonos. As a result, Google was ordered to remove certain features from its devices, including group volume control.
Google was ordered to pay Sonos $32.5 million in damages. However, a judge tossed out the verdict in October and criticized Sonos for abusing the patent system. Following the verdict, Google redeployed the features it had previously removed.
In April 2020, Sonos revealed a new "sonic logo" composed by Philip Glass, featuring an ensemble of 21 musicians. The logo will be heard in the listening experience of Sonos Radio, an Internet radio streaming service that was unveiled by the company the same month.
In June 2020, Sonos announced plans to lay off 12% of its workforce, close its New York store and six of its offices, and cut its top executives' pay by 20% for three to six months, in response to the economic disruptions caused by the COVID pandemic.
In November 2020, Sonos launched "Sonos Radio HD", a paid ad-free tier of Sonos Radio.
In May 2023, Sonos reported a 24% drop in revenue. Sonos then laid off 7% of its workforce—130 employees—in June.
In August 2024, Sonos laid off another 100 employees. Several of its customers support locations will also close, including one in Amsterdam.

Product history

Products announced by Sonos have been:
  • June 2004 – Sonos announced its first products—the Digital Music System consisting of two components, the ZonePlayer and the Controller —then expected to be available in fall 2004. The products were introduced at the January 2005 Consumer Electronics Show. They first shipped either on January 27, 2005, or March 2005.
  • January 2006 – the unamplified ZonePlayer ZP80, with analog and digital input and output connections to link a user's Sonos system to their traditional amplifier.
  • August 2008 – the ZonePlayer120, replacing the ZP100, and the ZonePlayer90, replacing the ZP80.
  • October 2008 – a free Controller app for the iPhone and iPod Touch, reducing the need for Sonos' separate controllers. Controller apps were later released for other IOS devices and for Android.
  • July 2009 – the CR200, a second handheld controller to replace the CR100, with a touch screen rather than the CR100's scroll wheel. Sales of the CR200 were discontinued in 2012. Existing CR200 controllers continue to operate, however there are reports of touchscreen failures which cannot be repaired.
  • November 2009 – the ZonePlayer S5, the first independent Sonos-connected amplified speaker.
  • July 2011 – the Play:3, a second, smaller, amplified speaker in its Play lineup of smart speakers.
  • May 2012 – the SUB wireless subwoofer.
  • February 2013 – the PLAYBAR soundbar speaker.
  • October 2013 – the Play:1, a third, compact, smart speaker.
  • February 2015 – Sonos announced the limited edition Blue Note Play:1, a collaboration with Blue Note Records, which went on sale in March. There have been other similar Sonos releases, available for limited times, such as a Beastie Boys PLAY:5 and a series of Sonos Ones in five new colors developed by the Danish design firm HAY.
  • September 2015 – A new Play:5 speaker was announced, and pre-orders began in October.
  • March 2017 – the PLAYBASE, a soundbase to go under a television.
  • October 2017 – the Sonos One, a small connected speaker with voice control. A key feature of whole house systems starting in 2017 was the adoption of Amazon's Alexa as a third-party voice controller.
  • April 2018 – production of the Play:3 was discontinued, effective July 31.
  • June 2018 – the Sonos Beam, a soundbar with voice control, was announced.
  • August 2018 – An updated version of the Sonos Amp was unveiled, with a planned limited release in December.
  • March 2019 – A second-generation Sonos One, with Bluetooth LE connectivity, a faster processor, and more memory.
  • August 2019 – The first two products resulting from the IKEA-Sonos collaboration, called SYMFONISK, a small bookshelf speaker and a combination table-lamp/speaker, became available from IKEA.
  • September 2019 – The introduction of the first battery operated Sonos speaker called Move. The speaker is portable and has the rating of IP56 making it humidity, heat, and cold resistant. It uses an indoor charging base and claims to play up to 10 hours on a full charge. Sonos also announced the One SL, a version of its One without voice control, replacing the Play:1, and the Port, an updated version of the Connect, to add Sonos functionality into an existing, wired stereo system.
  • March 2021 – The introduction of the smallest battery operated Sonos speaker called Roam. The speaker is a smaller version of the Move carrying over the features such as portable, IP56 rated and durable. In the box is just the Roam and a USB charging cable and claims to play up to 10 hours on a full charge. There is a charging base available similar to the Move, but sold separately.
  • September 2022 – Sonos launched the Sub Mini wireless subwoofer. The Sub Mini is cylindrical and is available in matte black or white, it can be paired with AirPlay-enabled Sonos speakers.
  • March 2023 – Sonos launched the ERA 100 and ERA 300 speakers. The latter features a unique design and support for spatial audio.
  • May 2024 – a major update to its mobile app that was widely criticized. The Roam 2 was also released.
  • June 2024 - Sonos launched the Sonos Ace, their first foray into the wireless headphones space, with a
  • October 2024 - Sonos launched the Arc Ultra Soundbar, the successor to the original Sonos Arc with an improved surround sound speaker array. It is the first sonos speaker that integrates a "sound motion" woofer, delivering a . The Sonos Sub 4 was released in conjunction with this launch.

History of outside services supported

In April 2005, Sonos announced that its products could play music from Rhapsody, the first of many music services that its products would support. Starting in September 2006 Sonos supported Rhapsody from its own Controller without use of a PC. Subsequently, added services include:
Sonos devices support the Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant virtual assistants. Apple's Siri is supported, but only through the Home app.

Logo history

The word is a palindrome and the logo a rotational ambigram.

Product line

Automotive

The first automotive brand to partner with Sonos is Audi in the Audi Q4 e-tron. As of May 2024, Audi is the only partner.

Technical details

Communication between Sonos products

Multiple Sonos devices in a single household are connected to each other wirelessly, through a wired Ethernet network, or a mixture of the two. The Sonos system creates a proprietary AES-encrypted peer-to-peer mesh network, known as SonosNet. This allows for each unit to play any chosen input and if desired share it as synchronized audio with one or more other chosen zones. The first versions of SonosNet required a single ZonePlayer or ZoneBridge to be wired to a network for access to LAN and Internet audio sources or when creating a 3.1/5.1 surround setup. SonosNet 2.0 integrated MIMO on 802.11n hardware, providing a more robust connection. Later, the company added support for connecting to an existing Wi-Fi network for internet connectivity, removing the wired network requirement.

Sonos web interface

Typing the following address into a web browser on the same network as the Sonos player will reveal useful information about the Sonos network: . This information can be especially helpful for diagnosing connectivity issues.

S1 and S2 operating systems

In 2020, Sonos released its S2 operating system. Its existing system was retroactively named "S1" to differentiate it from its new system. All products launched after May 2020 support S2 exclusively.

Trueplay

In November 2015, a tuning feature called Trueplay was released in a software update. Trueplay tunes the output of Sonos smart speaker units to the acoustics of the room they are in. The initial tuning process requires the Sonos iOS app.

Standby and low power modes

Sonos devices generally do not have power buttons, and the company claims that each speaker consumes 4–8W in idle/standby. Its battery-powered lineup does have power buttons to turn them on and off.

Reception

In November 2004, the Sonos Digital Music System won the "Best of Audio" award at the 2005 CES Innovations Design and Engineering awards.
A February 2005 Macworld review of the first Sonos system explained its background, components and operation.

Controversies

Sonos was criticized by media outlets in December 2019 for its "Recycle Mode", which bricks devices that users register into the company's trade-in program. Customers who participate in the program receive a 30 percent discount on a purchase of a new Sonos device, but the registration puts the device into Recycle Mode, which starts a timer that turns the device permanently non-functional in 21 days. An electronic waste recycler criticized the procedure on Twitter for being environmentally unfriendly, stating that it discourages reuse by preventing recyclers from reselling functional Sonos units. Sonos responded that Recycle Mode was intended to ensure that prospective customers purchase newer Sonos models instead of older secondhand models. In March 2020, Sonos discontinued the Recycle Mode and no longer requires customers to dispose of products submitted for its trade-in program.
On January 22, 2020, Sonos notified the end of support for speakers made before 2015, meaning that they eventually will lose functionality, something that sparked anger from their owners. Many of these speakers were purchased by customers after 2015, meaning that customers paid full price for equipment that will cease to be supported after two or three years. On January 23, 2020, following a widespread backlash and criticism of this announcement, Sonos reversed and clarified it, stating that it would continue to support its older equipment.
In May 2024, Sonos' update to its mobile app was panned for its visual design, poor accessibility support, and the removal of key features such as the alarm and sleep timer, removal of local music library support, fast draining of batteries, and inability to edit upcoming song queues and playlists. Sonos CEO Patrick Spence apologized for the update, referring to "issues", in what has been called "hilarious tone of wry British understatement". As of August 2024, the new app has a 1.3 point review average on Google Play. In January 2025, Sonos announced the resignation of its CEO Patrick Spence over the app update debacle.
In June 2024, Sonos updated its privacy policy in the United States, removing a clause that explicitly stated the company did not sell customer data. This change caused concern among users and privacy advocates, who interpreted it as a possible prelude to data sales.

Locations

Headquarters

The headquarters are located in Santa Barbara, California.

Stores

The first official Sonos Store was opened in New York City on July 12, 2016. It was closed in June 2020. A store opened on Seven Dials in London, in November 2017. A store opened in Berlin in April 2018.
During the 2024 Summer Olympics a Sonos Sound Showroom / Pop Up Store was opened
at Cremerie de Paris N°9 on rue Saint Honore.

Offices

There are currently 12 offices operated by Sonos independently. These are located in Australia, China, Denmark, France, Germany, Netherlands, United States, Sweden and the United Kingdom. An engineering office was present in Boston, US as of 2017.

Key people

John MacFarlane

John MacFarlane is an American entrepreneur and executive. In 2002, he co-founded and became the CEO of Sonos. He served as its CEO and board member until stepping down in 2017.
MacFarlane graduated from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute with a degree in electrical and electronics engineering. He then went to the University of California, Santa Barbara for a master's degree in the same discipline in 1990.
After leaving college, MacFarlane created a messaging system that he sold to companies such as AT&T through his own company, Software.com. There, he met Craig Shelburne. Eventually, Software.com merged with Phone.com and became Openwave, a new company based in Redwood City, California. However, the company failed, and both MacFarlane and Shelburne left in the early 2000s.
Afterward, MacFarlane moved down to Santa Barbara, California. In 2002, MacFarlane co-founded Sonos, an audio equipment company, with Shelburne, Tom Cullen and Trung Mai. He immediately became its CEO. Due to their existing wealth from Software.com, MacFarlane and his co-founders were able to independently fund Sonos and not rely on investment. In 2005, Sonos unveiled its first product, the ZP100 music player, and continued to develop audio equipment suited for digital music and streaming.
In January 2017, MacFarlane stepped down from the CEO position as well as his position on the board, though he remained at Sonos afterward in an advisory capacity. In a blog post, he cited that he wanted to spend more time with his family, specifically due to his wife's battle with breast cancer. He also stated that he wanted to focus more on Sonos' programs in science and mathematics education, and the music and tech industries. Additionally, MacFarlane remarked that his departure from Sonos was delayed due to a recent pivot in product strategy following Amazon's release of their Echo speakers. After his resignation, Sonos president Patrick Spence succeeded MacFarlane as CEO.