Re: AirPods Max, I’m definitely seeing more and more of them on the subway in NYC. I’m guessing frequent Amazon sales are driving increased adoption (maybe the price point Apple should have targeted with them was around $450 instead of $550).
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Sonos to Launch $400+ Headphones and Set-Top Box, Competing with Apple Devices
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I might consider the set top device for 2 rooms where I use AppleTV connected to Sonos Amps to power in ceiling speakers via Airplay for audio. I'd never consider doing so if Apple would just allow you to set Airplay devices as the default audio output, something they reserve only for their mediocre homepod speakers. Frustrating. There isn't anything magical about tvOS otherwise. Android is painful phone experience, but tv operating systems don't need many bells and whistles. Let me pick my app and otherwise stay out of the way.
I'm also very interested in the possibility of more ceiling speakers choices that would be powered by the amp and allow for the sonos auto tuning feature.
I'm also very interested in the possibility of more ceiling speakers choices that would be powered by the amp and allow for the sonos auto tuning feature.
With a free streaming service, you pay for it with your time (ie time spent watching ads). Given how people complain about ad-dense video platforms, I don’t think free ad supported services are the answer to streaming fragmentation. (The answer doesn’t seem to be “more streaming services” but rather “market consolidation”.)
Competition is good. And Sonos makes quality equipment. I have three sets of Sonos speakers in my home.
Pure speculation at this point. Sonos has best in class home audio equipment for the average and above average consumer. I wouldn’t go anywhere else for easy, seamless home audio.
Yup, I just flew cross country a few weeks ago, a legit good third of the plane had airpod maxs on
I do see them on the street a lot here back home in NYC, but flights by far are the biggest concentration they pop up in that I’ve seen
I'm trying to think of some inherent value that a Sonos headphone would have over any other brand. Their gig is seamlessly connecting speakers, and headphones are sort of the opposite of that. I mean, maybe when you leave the house, they'll pick up the music from your home system, but that's not going to make me replace my Sony's or AirPods I don't think. I suppose it might help drive adoption of their app, but imo, there are other stumbling blocks there that they need to address before they'll see any major uptick in use.
The set top I get though. If it has a great interface and great third party support (which includes appletv), I'd take a look. I'm not optimistic about the interface, but their track record on third party stuff has been exemplary.
Android doesn't bother me like it used to. Apple's obstinance on making Reasonably Sized Phones has softened my opinion of the OS.
The set top I get though. If it has a great interface and great third party support (which includes appletv), I'd take a look. I'm not optimistic about the interface, but their track record on third party stuff has been exemplary.
Android doesn't bother me like it used to. Apple's obstinance on making Reasonably Sized Phones has softened my opinion of the OS.
Apple is barely even mid-range in their headphone offerings. No analog input, no direct USB-C or even USB to lightning input. And sound quality is on par with Sony and Bose. Eq only works if you use Apple Music.
I’m coming at this from a tech and audiophile perspective. Apple is a few years late. The only thing high-end about Apple is their pricing and their vertical integration, they may have to open up their instant hand-off to other manufacturers.
Yay, another sluggish and poorly functioning Android based (redundant I know) with tons of bloatware and YASS....(Yet Another Streaming Service).
LOL, You can buy an AppleTV 4k for $149 with 128GB storage, Apple App Store access, game controller connection, and a gigabit ethernet port. And you can do that right now....
LOL, You can buy an AppleTV 4k for $149 with 128GB storage, Apple App Store access, game controller connection, and a gigabit ethernet port. And you can do that right now....
to be honest I think a ton of fakes have flooded the market. They have certainly in the UK
Thats a disingenuous comment. You forgot they are high end with their usability. Kind of important don’t you think? You can play with EQ and whatever else audiophiles play with to your hearts content, but out of the box they are the best headphones for the majority of users wil ever have.
That’s precisely the thing though. Apple rarely ever wins on the spec sheet, but in terms of their product integration, they are unmatched and their user base has shown that they are in fact willing to pay for the experience such vertical integration affords.
And that is why if Apple continues to be evaluated solely from a tech perspective, they will go on to be read wrong every single time.
Yeah, splitters degrade the signal I believe and there would be wires everywhere. Must be pretty hard to take a 4k signal and sync it everywhere. Even those console streamers have latency etc. but then again if you’re not playing games I’m sure it just a case of delaying the display of each tv to get them in time?
TBH I wa
Popular speaker company Sonos is planning to enter several new product markets that will see it competing with Apple devices, according to a new report from Bloomberg.
Upcoming over-ear headphones will take on the AirPods Max, which Apple has not yet updated. Sonos plans to offer the headphones in black and white, and features will include voice control navigation and synchronization with Sonos speakers, soundbars, and subwoofers. Sonos plans to price its over-ear headphones at $400 to $500, which is in line with the AirPods Max as well as over-ear headphones from companies like Sony and Bose.
Bloomberg's report suggests that Sonos isn't aiming to introduce a more technical feature set than Apple provides, with the company instead focusing on customization and fine-tuning sound with a "Passport" app. Sonos has been working on the headphones for several years, and they are set to be available as early as April 2024. In the future, the company may also develop a set of earbuds that would be similar to the AirPods.
In late 2024 or 2025, Sonos will introduce a set-top streaming box akin to the Apple TV. The device will serve as a hub for Sonos audio equipment with support for Dolby Atmos and Dolby Vision, and it will offer apps and streaming services much like existing set-top boxes.
Sonos is developing an Android-based operating system for the set-top box, expected to be priced somewhere between $150 and $200. Talks are being conducted with cable companies about possible live television offerings, and Sonos may even create its own video service.
Sonos is developing new amplifiers and in-ceiling speakers for professional installers, a version of the Era 100 speakers for businesses, and a high-end TV sound bar that will be an update to the Arc. For consumers, Sonos is developing a new version of the Sub that will sync with the planned set-top box, along with an updated Roam speaker.
Earlier this month, Sonos CEO Patrick Spence confirmed that Sonos is planning to enter a new product category that will "complement" current Sonos devices and that will "delight customers and drive immediate revenue." Sonos expects to generate more than $100 million from new products in 2024.
Article Link: Sonos to Launch $400+ Headphones and Set-Top Box, Competing with Apple Devices
...and the fact that listening to some Atmos/Spatial music on the Max's is incredible. I was blown away at the weekend when I was in an Apple store and listened to A Day In The Life by the Beatles in spatial/atmos on these. I know they are due for an update ... all I want is USBC and better case .... but I am buying these at Xmas regardless.
Could someone not at least try a new OS? I know it’s cheaper to licence but it’d set you apart. Why not Linux based like Ubuntu for example. I’m no coder ha
Because operating systems are complicated. They have to interact with hardware. There are only so many hardware drivers / people willing to write and debug them. Nobody who wants to make a set top box is also interested in operating system design. They just want to get streaming so they can get that money.
I would strongly disagree, the Bose ANC headphones have proven themselves to be consistently good headphones being very compliant to the Harman curve.
The Focal Bathys are an even better product, and their batteries are user accessible with only a screwdriver and they offer digital input. The apple headphones are a convenient status symbol. At a minimum I would have hope that they could have offer a digital input or a true analog input, at best I hope that the upcoming update would also support LDAC. No Bluetooth codec comes close to it.
I’m not saying others are good, or even better. What I am saying is that those who buy the AirPods Max are getting the most convenient headphones for Apple Devices. Why are my XM4’s only connecting to 2 devices at a time, whereas my Powerbeats Pro connect to all of my Apple devices, and switch seamlessly without having to go to Bluetooth settings, turn one off and turn another on.
I would never call the AirPods Max a particularly strong status symbol as you’ve made out, but they are a damn sight more convenient than having to tweak a setting or, weirdly, want to take the battery out (why?), when you could be listening to the local top hot 20 on the tram, bus, train on the commute to work.
Don’t buy them if you don’t want them, but don’t be critical of their quality when others love them. Unless you think your opinion is more valuable than there’s.
I feel that at this point, simply having your own OS is not enough. The company is going to need its own ecosystem if they are to meaningfully stand out from the competition.
Any streaming box that Sonos does put out might want to integrate with their own speakers. Otherwise, what differentiates them from every other android tv box in the market?
Oh, I totally agree about ‘free’ services, you do pay just not with dollars. I don’t watch them. But, in the television industry these FAST services are of high interest due to consumer fatigue with the plethora of individual channels all with $$ pricing. Basically, we’re looking at the return of ‘cable-like’ tv channels, overwhelmed with ads and mostly mediocre or worse content. The advertising industry has been up in arms over their lack of access to broad swaths of the public who no longer watch broadcast or cable tv. That is another reason there are market factors which do want to drive consumers to any kind of advertising-driven or incorporated services.
so if you think Apple is too late to the party... what do you think about this thread on Sonos announcing they are showing up?
Good for you, 3 speakers in close proximity work. My Sonos Arc and surround works pretty much all the time too. But I also have about 8 speakers scattered throughout the house and I agree with the person that said they don't connect all the time. For holidays and other events I liked the idea of streaming music wirelessly through out the house so no matter what room I was in, the music was there. In that use case one drops out frequently. Not the same one either lol. Sonos may work well for a few speakers but in my case, not so much for more. And btw. Yes, my wifi signal is fine for all my other devices (iPad, iPhone), so its not a signal issue. Its a Sonos issue.