It seems Sonos’ new interim CEO Tom Conrad has a new path in mind for the company. That new path doesn’t involve the company’s almost-complete video streaming device, codenamed Pinewood, that it has been working on for the past few years. That’s according to a report from The Verge‘s Chris Welch and his sources at Sonos.
Those sources were party to an all-hands call yesterday when Sonos leadership announced its plan to scrap the video streamer, which was already in the beta testing phase. The team working on Pinewood will reportedly be reassigned to other projects as Conrad told employees that the company won’t be making a push into video “for now”.
Sonos shifts gears, changes focus
The new roadmap that Conrad is focusing on involves a concerted effort to rebuild public trust and brand image by restoring the company’s previously lauded software performance and reliability – a tall order after a disastrous app revamp in 2024.
However, that probably leaves Sonos without a new product to launch in 2025, the year we were supposed to see the launch of a certain video streamer – unless it’s hiding earbuds in its prison wallet. But that’s unlikely, considering companies don’t have prison wallets.
The new flagship Arc Ultra soundbar and Sub 4 subwoofer launched towards the end of last year will have to tide Sonos fans over for now.
The slightly good news is that the American audio company could still release a video streamer in the semi-distant future. It’s done some of the work already, and speaking to a Sonos spokesperson via email, Welch was told, “[w]e don’t comment on our roadmap, but as has been previously announced we have a long-standing relationship with The Trade Desk and that relationship continues.”
That’s the very same company that was tasked with designing the operating system for the Pinewood video streamer. It could still manifest in the future.
