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Sonos rumored to be making new Dolby Atmos Playbar, Sub

Nick Woodard
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Sonos might have something big up its sleeves.

The keyword here is might because at this point it’s just an unconfirmed rumor. But 9to5Mac is reporting that the wireless speaker company is preparing to release a new Sonos Playbar, Sonos Sub, and Sonos Play:5 over the next month or so.

If it’s true, this is a big deal. Each of the three Sonos products is at least five years old, and with other speakers like the Sonos Connect and Sonos Connect Amp recently getting updated, many have wondered when the rest of Sonos’ lineup would get a new look.

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It could be happening soon. The tip that 9to5Mac reported suggests that all three are getting new versions. Plus, interestingly, the new Playbar could have Dolby Atmos support.

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To support Dolby Atmos, the prospective new Playbar would likely need to have upfiring, directional speakers to bounce sound off the ceiling for an immersive Atmos experience. Many other soundbars have adopted Dolby Atmos, some incredibly well, and it’s prompted Sonos fans to press the company to add support for the audio format.

It’s very possible that the new Sonos Sub could be a different size than the original, though we’d wager to say it won’t be bigger. The original already fills larger spaces well with its output, so we suspect a new version could go the route of the Sonos Beam. That is, a smaller, more budget-friendly alternative better suited for smaller spaces. The Beam was a hit as a miniature edition of the Playbar, and it’s possible that Sonos could try for the same effect with its Sub lineup.

The Play:5, the largest and loudest of Sonos’ stand-alone speakers, is also past due for an update. Details from the rumor are limited, so it’s not really clear how big of an update this could be. It could be similar to the refreshed Play:3, which made subtle changes to the design and feature set. Or it could be closer to what Sonos did with the Play:1 and the newer Sonos One, which included some pretty significant changes, namely built-in Amazon Alexa support at launch.

Again, it’s just a rumor at this point. But, whatever ends up happening with these Sonos products, we’ll be following closely.

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Nick Woodard
Nick Woodard
Former Digital Trends Contributor
  As an A/V Staff Writer at Digital Trends, Nick Woodard covers topics that include 4K HDR TVs, headphones…
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