Reviews of the Sonos Roam may have been in the spotlight yesterday, but it seems the portable speaker isn’t all the company has been working on. Two Ikea FCC filings and a cheeky Instagram story all but confirming that there are probably two new Symfonisk speakers on the way.
Two FCC filings from Ikea were first noticed by yesterday the edge, but they don’t reveal much more than the fact that Ikea is working on two products with wireless capabilities. More was telling a series of images posted on Ikea’s Instagram story, “Looks like Symfonisk”, ending with both the Sonos and Ikea logos. That’s not exactly subtle.
For reference, Symfonisk refers to it two speakers Ikea and Sonos came out in 2019. Both served double duty as speakers and furniture that fitted into the whole aesthetic of Ikea. One was a questionably shaped table lamp that cost $ 180. The other was a more affordable $ 99 speaker that could also serve as a mounted bookshelf.
The Verge report claims that one of the two FCC filings will be a table lamp update and will cost about the same price. However, the second product will not be an update to the bookshelf speakers. Instead, The Verge says it has seen an early picture of what appears to be “ wall art with an integrated speaker. ” However, we don’t know much more than its general concept and the fact that it is codenamed ‘Titan’. Will it be like a digital photo frame, but with a speaker attached? Maybe it is a detachable speaker that can be hooked to different frames? Or is it just a sturdy piece of wall art that reveals itself up close as a giant speaker? Who can say.
G / O Media can receive a commission
What we do know is that the previous Symfonisk speakers were clearly intended to blend into your interior. They could be bought as standalone devices or paired in stereo, and buying them was an inexpensive way to poke around smart speakers. It was a clever amalgamation of the strengths of both companies, and mutually beneficial. Before that, Ikea’s foray into the world of smart homes was limited to its Tradfri-connected light bulbs. For Sonos, it was an easy way to attract new customers to its ecosystem at a relatively affordable price. If you bought a pair of Symfonisk bookshelf speakers and liked them, you might eventually be tempted to buy a Sonos Beam, Playbase or Arc soundbar. Or if you already had a Sonos soundbar, the Symfonisk speakers were a cheaper option to add rear satellites. It also seems to have worked because there is No shortage from Reddit users think about that exact home theater setup.
While it may seem odd to use wall art double as speakers, it is a neat solution from an interior design point of view. After all, if you’ve gone through the trouble of having a nice living room setup, the last thing you want is a home theater system that’s a mess hard to hide wiresThat said, though it is beautiful Transparent that something is coming, Sonos plays it reluctantly.
“The partnership is stronger than ever and we are excited about the products we are working on together,” a Sonos spokesperson told Gizmodo. “We look forward to sharing more when the time is right.”