Sonos Speakers Launch at Apple Stores Today With Free Apple Music Gift Card Offer

[MacRumors]

Following their addition to Apple's online store in the United States in late September, Sonos speakers are now available at 468 physical Apple retail stores in both the U.S. and around the world. Sonos speakers have yet to appear on Apple's website in other countries, but they should be added in the coming weeks.

Sonos' wireless Wi-Fi-connected PLAY:1 and PLAY:5 speakers can be purchased from Apple for $199 and $499 respectively. Pricing in other countries includes $249 and $649 in Canada, $299 and $749 in Australia, £169 and £429 in the United Kingdom, and €229 and €579 in many other European countries.

In line with today's in-store launch, Apple has expanded its free 3-month Apple Music gift card offer with the purchase of a Sonos speaker to several countries, including Australia, Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Arab Emirates, and the United Kingdom.

The free 3-month Apple Music gift card offer is valid between today and December 31.

Article Link: Sonos Speakers Launch at Apple Stores Today With Free Apple Music Gift Card Offer

 

[Peepo]

Sonos makes a very good product so I hope this helps them out.

 

[DEMinSoCAL]

Sonos makes a very good product so I hope this helps them out.

Agreed (have had and still do since first gen product line), and their "no-discount" pricing falls in line with Apple's so it's a great match.

 

[Tomr182]

Agreed (have had and still do since first gen product line), and their "no-discount" pricing falls in line with Apple's so it's a great match.

I wonder whether you can buy 2 speakers, get 2 gift cards and use them for 6 months Apple Music. I'm already a subscriber and Sonos fan. Intrigued

Makes a Play 1 cheaper if I'm already paying for Apple Music and can use a 3 month voucher!!

 

[Born Again]

Okay why shop at the apple store when you can buy the same products tax free and maybe at a discount elsewhere online?

Forgot to add that you have to drive to the store, park, deal with kids, and a very busy apple store at that...

 

[dannyyankou]

Wait, they're offering a 3 month Apple Music gift card? Isn't the free trial 3 months?

I guess you can start a free trial and add the gift card later, but that's a weak incentive.

 

[iLog.Genius]

Okay why shop at the apple store when you can buy the same products tax free and maybe at a discount elsewhere online?

Forgot to add that you have to drive to the store, park, deal with kids, and a very busy apple store at that...

Sonos, like Apple, rarely has sales or discounts on their products. They usually have promos like buy two Play:1's at a 10% discount of two Play:1's at full price. Sure you can order online but for those who aren't sure about the sound, hearing them in-store allows you to quickly get a good idea instead of buying from Sonos' online store, having them delivered then listening to them only to not like them, then you have to call Sonos for RMA and go through the whole return process. Plus, Apple is incentivizing you by providing 3 months free of Apple Music.

It's actually quite interesting to see how much interest it's getting. My friend who works at the Apple store has got quite a few inquiries about Sonos which is weird because Sonos isn't exactly a new product and has been available at larger electronics stores like Best Buy for years. Just proves that some people will only pay attention if Apple is involved.

 

[alfonsog]

Wait, they're offering a 3 month Apple Music gift card? Isn't the free trial 3 months?

I guess you can start a free trial and add the gift card later, but that's a weak incentive.

A 3 month Apple Music gift card is equivalent to a $29.97 iTunes gift card

 

[JonoH]

seems odd. it doesn't have airplay.. has a seperate app and ecosystem.. why would apple want to break their E2E experience chain?

 

[iLog.Genius]

seems odd. it doesn't have airplay.. has a seperate app and ecosystem.. why would apple want to break their E2E experience chain?

Separate app but the experience is not completely disconnected, Apple Music services are available to/through Sonos, and that's what Apple is trying to market with Sonos at the moment.

 

[12vElectronics]

Okay why shop at the apple store when you can buy the same products tax free and maybe at a discount elsewhere online?

Forgot to add that you have to drive to the store, park, deal with kids, and a very busy apple store at that...

Two reasons.

1. Many people want to try before they buy.

2. People want their stuff now. Over the years I've grown to be less patient with material items. Meaning if I want something I'd rather just pick it up at the store than wait 2-7 days for it to be delivered.

 

[spazzcat]

seems odd. it doesn't have airplay.. has a seperate app and ecosystem.. why would apple want to break their E2E experience chain?

It doesn't need airplay.

 

[2457282]

I just bought two Play:1s and am very happy with them. They had a promo for free shipping and that was enough. Don't plan on ever using Apple music so that would not have been much of an incentive for me. I previously had speakers running through Airplay, but I had three issues. Occasionally the speaker would drop and I would need to re-acquire it. Also, I could not play different music on different speakers. Lastly, I had one speaker on bluetooth and it was always off sync from the other speakers by a fraction of a second. With Sonos, all my issues have been resolved.

 

[testcard]

It's worth considering adding the Sonos sub at a later date if funds allow. Adds far more depth and range to music.

 

[Bromeo]

Picked up a Sonos kit a week ago including two speakers, and two Connect units to add Sonos to my existing whole house audio. Color me impressed. Should have done this years ago instead of the daily dance with AirPlay, let alone the constant battery drain on my iPhone doing the streaming.

Good on Apple and Sonos for the partnership. Apple Music works quite well through Sonos - it plays all day without stopping and even allows multiple streams playing different music in each zone if I want.

Tempted to pick up a second Play:1 for my office and take advantage of the gift card. Hmmm!

 

[kyleh22]

seems odd. it doesn't have airplay.. has a seperate app and ecosystem.. why would apple want to break their E2E experience chain?

I thought the exact same. I would think Apple would be pushing some sort of beats competitor that offers airplay.

 

[truthertech]

Okay why shop at the apple store when you can buy the same products tax free and maybe at a discount elsewhere online?

Forgot to add that you have to drive to the store, park, deal with kids, and a very busy apple store at that...

Your comment reminds me of the famous Yogi Berra quote in response to whether he was going to go to a highly regarded restaurant, "Nobody goes there anymore, it's too crowded!"

 

[iLog.Genius]

Tempted to pick up a second Play:1 for my office and take advantage of the gift card. Hmmm!

It's definitely addicting! I originally planned for having just a Gen. 1 Play:5 thinking it would be good enough. It was. But then I wanted speakers for around the house so I got a Play:3 and two Play:1's and then when Sonos released the Gen. 2 Play:5, I sold my Gen. 1 Play:5 for it.

 

[Moi Ici]

Okay why shop at the apple store when you can buy the same products tax free and maybe at a discount elsewhere online?

Forgot to add that you have to drive to the store, park, deal with kids, and a very busy apple store at that...

Going to the Apple Store is an "experience". They do it well.

 

[dwman]

I get the sense the sale of Sonos products in Apple stores is a test case on whether they may look to buy Sonos at some point down the line. Yes, I know, they already own Beats, but Sonos is a much more premium product and they've been having financial issues as of late. My bet is that they see how things go for a year and then potentially scoop them up.

 

[iLog.Genius]

Going to the Apple Store is an "experience". They do it well.

I would argue it was, once upon a time. It was an experience when Apple was still relatively unknown and just started making roads in retail, you would walk into a store to peak your interest and ask questions with an employee you could actually find and talk to. Now you walk in, you have a mob of people hunched over the tables playing with iPads and iPhones like they've never seen one before even though their iPhone is on the table right beside them. For Apple, this is great because you want the traffic but as a consumer, it's not really worth the time and hassle unless you really need to be at an Apple Store.

 

[Born Again]

seems odd. it doesn't have airplay.. has a seperate app and ecosystem.. why would apple want to break their E2E experience chain?

because it's not a great user experience.

Go buy sonos

Buyer be warned.. you'll start buying a lot more speakers for the house until EVERY room has music.

 

[tdroz73]

I thought the exact same. I would think Apple would be pushing some sort of beats competitor that offers airplay.

I sort of expect Sonos to be an Apple acquisition and this is the first phase.

Think about it - Google/Amazon have similar products, but with their Siri competitors embedded in it. Instead of starting from scratch, acquire a player with similar brand/customer appeal - then evolve it to compete with the others. Plus, can you imagine what a 'speakerOS' on Sonos could be like? More than just streaming music services... They could evolve AirPlay to behave more like the patented Sonos protocol that keeps the wifi speakers in perfect sync.

Sonos has stated that their goal is to move the next generation of product towards speech recognition - but why start from scratch?

To me it seems like a great fit.

 

[Born Again]

I sort of expect Sonos to be an Apple acquisition and this is the first phase.

Think about it - Google/Amazon have similar products, but with their Siri competitors embedded in it. Instead of starting from scratch, acquire a player with similar brand/customer appeal - then evolve it to compete with the others. Plus, can you imagine what a 'speakerOS' on Sonos could be like? More than just streaming music services... They could evolve AirPlay to behave more like the patented Sonos protocol that keeps the wifi speakers in perfect sync.

Sonos has stated that their goal is to move the next generation of product towards speech recognition - but why start from scratch?

To me it seems like a great fit.

good god i hope you are wrong.

Apple has destroyed companies they've purchased. They are terrible at software. The proof is in the pudding.

Leave Sonos out of it.

 

[iLog.Genius]

good god i hope you are wrong.

Apple has destroyed companies they've purchased. They are terrible at software. The proof is in the pudding.

Leave Sonos out of it.

I wouldn't be surprised if Apple did acquire Sonos, but like you, I hope they don't. Sonos is primarily a software company and if Apple were to acquire them, in typical Apple fashion, they would try to instil their DNA/culture instead of letting Sonos be Sonos under Apple and they would start adding/removing features they think would work.

But on the bright side, at least Apple would be able to take Sonos' wireless tech and expertise and rebrand it with the AirPlay name, AirPlay would finally be consistent and reliable.