Sonos Reportedly Kills Its Media Streaming Device Project

Sonos has dropped its plans to launch a high-end media-streaming device and will instead focus on fixing its butchered mobile app, The Verge reports.

Rumors about Sonos’ Pinewood streaming player surfaced last month. The device was supposed to offer content from Netflix, Max, and Disney+ through a single, unified, Android-based interface and cost anywhere around $200 to $400. 

The project was deep into development; employees had spent months in beta testing. However, at a Wednesday all-hands meeting, interim CEO Tom Conard announced that Sonos had pulled the plug—on the player and the company’s foray into video—”for now,” The Verge says.

Employees were hoping Pinewood could challenge Roku, Amazon, Apple, and Google in the streaming device category. The team will now be reassigned to other projects.

With Pinewood shelved, Sonos might not have a product launch lined up for the second half of this year. The company’s most recent releases came in the form of the Sonos Arc Ultra soundbar and the Sub 4 subwoofer in October.

Sonos will now shift its entire focus back to restoring the reputation and performance of its mobile app, the report adds. An update last May had triggered “significant problems” within the app, which was criticized for removing many basic features, such as numbers on the volume slider and the option to “play next” or “play last.” Sonos toyed with rolling back the update, but ultimately determined that wasn’t possible. CEO Patrick Spence resigned in January.