Sonos' ecosystem of wireless speakers and soundbars could be about to get an upgrade, if gossip of a new home theater operating system is to be believed.
According to Protocol, citing "multiple sources" who spoke on condition of anonymity, Sonos is hiring people to work on a new Home Theater operating system project, with job descriptions suggesting the company plans to run apps directly on TVs. .
Sonos has apparently considered multiple ways to get into streaming TV in recent years. While the company created the full S2 app, which lets users monitor their Sonos speakers, create different sets and stream music, it never made this app available on TVs.
All of that could be about to change, but with Sonos posting a job opening for a UX Lead - Next Generation Home Experience. The winning contender "goes to work across any and all streaming surfaces — mobile, TV, tablet, and hardware remote control — to deliver a next-generation content streaming experience." Applicants must have between eight and twelve years of experience in UX design for mobile devices and/or TV.
Other job listings for the project ask applicants to have experience with modern operating systems, including Android/Android TV, suggesting the company is targeting TV.
While Sonos has yet to say if it's working on a home theater operating system, we know the company is branching out. Sonos' chief innovation officer, Nick Millington, shared one of the job postings on LinkedIn, stating that he was working on "a new home theater project" and that the position would suit anyone with streaming media experience like "audio, video, games". , sports, music, news, movies, TV, news, podcasts.
So the new Sonos Home Theater OS could be quite expansive and extend to many other types of content than just streaming music, perhaps even acting as a one-stop shop for TV, radio, podcasts, games and music. , linking your different subscriptions in one place.
What about Sonos wireless headphones?
The news that Sonos may be working on a new home theater operating system suggests the company may not be looking to branch out into the headphone world this year, as we previously thought.
We've seen certain patents for wireless headphones and earphones from the company, and since Sonos tends to release two new products a year, we were hoping that XNUMX would see the first pair of Sonos headphones.
Sonos is a big name in multi-room audio, so a pair of headphones from the company could really shake up the competition, especially if they come with Wi-Fi connectivity and the ability to "swap" audio with other Sonos devices, like the Sonos Roam. . .
However, it seems that Sonos is very focused on the home theater world with its so-called operating system, and with the success of the Sonos Arc and Sonos Beam (Gen Two) soundbars in recent years, it's not a huge surprise. . It would also appear that Sonos is working on the Sonos Sub Mini, a smaller version of its popular subwoofer, so a home theater operating system would complement it really well.
In any case, we probably shouldn't wait too long to find out what the next Sonos device will be. The company released its first XNUMX product in April of last year, and if you want to stick to its pretty hefty release schedule, you can look forward to a new Sonos product launching in the coming months.