Sonos is about to release a new entry-level soundbar, and you’re watching it. The new device, codenamed “Fury” and officially called the S36, is yet another soundbar that will join the company’s $449 Beam and $899 Arc flagship lineup.
Sonos no longer seems willing to cede the low-cost soundbar market to Vizio and other competitors, as I can reveal that the new product is expected to cost around $249. That’s far cheaper than any Sonos soundbar to date. It’s currently scheduled for release on June 7 in a few weeks.
I’ve seen real photos of the new soundbar, and edge They have been used to create 3D renderings for this article. It’s not an exact match, but it’s enough to give you the gist. (I think you can trust me.) Like the Arc and Beam, Sonos’ budget soundbar will be available in black and white.
Here’s a 3D rendition of Sonos’ new soundbar, giving you a closer look at the design. Compared to the Beam and Arc, it definitely reduces the number of speakers.3D product rendering by Grayson Blackmon / The Verge
The device is more compact than the Sonos Beam—not surprising since it includes far fewer drivers.
- Sonos S36 “Furious” Model: 550mm (W) x 69mm (D) x 100mm (H)
- Sonos Beam (Gen 2): 651mm(W) x 68.6mm(D) x 100mm(H)
As expected for the lower price, the new Sonos soundbar will omit some features like Dolby Atmos and lack a built-in microphone for voice assistant functionality. Sonos will position it as a soundbar for TV and music, leaving the smarts to its pricier siblings. In fact, the internal specs state that the product doesn’t even have an HDMI port (there’s only one fiber optic cable in the box). This limits the new soundbar to Dolby Digital surround sound. If you own other compatible Sonos speakers, you can still expand it into a 5.1 system.
Here’s an interesting tidbit: Sonos expects quite a few customers to use the new soundbar as a paired surround sound for the high-end Sonos Arc. So for this reason, the company created a wall mount that can mount the Fury vertically in addition to the standard horizontal orientation – it’s just a codename, I’m not sure about its final brand.
Sonos has yet to announce its upcoming soundbar. So while I’d love to do it for them, I hope we’ll all hear more details about the S36 model (and a name) and the company’s ambitions to expand home theater in the coming weeks. edge The company has been contacted for comment.
Other Sonos products still in development include a smaller, cheaper subwoofer (model S37) and the company’s long-rumored wireless headphones. The latter will introduce Sonos into a new product category for the first time as it expands into portable speakers with Move and Roam.
