You may remember that back in December Sonos and IKEA announced that they were collaborating on a dedicated range for the home. Well, the first glimpse of the partners’ approach to ‘future home sound experiences’ is here, and it’s pretty plain.
The first look at Sonos and IKEA’s SYMFONISK speaker range could be prettier, but the black box of a wireless speaker seen above the Play:5 still a prototype for now.
Why share an image of a non-functional prototype? Well, when you’re Sonos you can – also, it may want to take advantage of all the buzz surrounding the company after the launch of its Sonos Beam soundbar last week.
The final outcome of the manufacturers’ partnership may look nothing like the above, but we do know that the speaker will be compatible with Sonos’s line of wireless speakers and IKEA’s low-cost ZigBee lighting range for the home launched last year.
Although saying very little about the product, Sonos and IKEA have revealed that the speaker can be "integrated with the home furnishing overall" (with brackets), suggesting that SYMFONISK may turn out to be some audio/shelving hybrid product (that’s hopefully significantly easier to assemble than other furniture offerings from IKEA).
Where exactly the SYMFONISK speaker will sit in the marketplace is yet unclear, with Sonos pricing starting at more than three times the cheapest IKEA offering, it seems probable the speakers may sit somewhere between the two. Especially as IKEA’s recently launched ENEBY line were very much priced at the low-end of the spectrum.
There’s also no word on a released date beyond the first half of 2019 for now.