Could there be a new Sonos smart speaker coming soon?
Sonos, one of the well know smart speaker maker, is bringing several new features to its Playbar soundbar based on the latest FCC filing. First introduced in 2013, the Playbar was the first soundbar by Sonos which was followed by a smaller more affordable model, Beam, five years later. Although the representatives have not yet confirmed the suspicion, the Playbar seems to be gaining a true surround sound feature accompanied by voice control through a new Sonos smart speaker.
The new Sonos smart speaker device model number is S18 and it is intended to have both WiFi and Bluetooth connectivity. The FCC filing list of equipment describes the current Sonos Playbar to be a “master device” while the new S18 would be a “wireless smart speaker (right)”. Variety adds additional insight into the filing, hinting that the new device is intended to be a satellite speaker to the Playbar as a part of a home theatre, as the devices were tested together.
Most of the Sonos latest products have voice control but as the Playbar was released long before this became a recurring feature in Sonos devices, the only way to add it is by connecting an additional device, such as a smart satellite speaker. This would also mean that the new device would have the far-field voice control feature. But, there are still official confirmations awaited. Nevertheless, we are excited to see what Sonos has in mind for its users.
Read also: Samsung is working on a new smart speaker, Galaxy Home Mini?
