- Sonos has reportedly opted for ad-targeting software for its streaming box
- The price is said to be between $150 and $200
- I have a bad feeling about this
Sometimes it’s hard not to respond to news stories with an exasperated sigh of “oh for God’s sake, what NOW?” And that’s certainly how it feels at Sonos this year, after a year of app problems – problems so damaging to the brand that they deeply charged the launch of the Sonos Ace headphones. And now it looks like there’s even more bad news on the horizon.
According to The edgeSonos has found the operating system for its upcoming video streamer: a product that, like the Apple TV 4K, Roku Ultra or Fire TV Stick 4K, is designed to deliver the best streaming services. And that operating system comes from an advertising company.
Given Sonos’ positioning as a premium brand, this suggests we could see the worst of both worlds: the relatively high price of an Apple TV 4K and the advertising and audience tracking of a Fire TV.
What about Sonos’ streaming operating system?
Considering that all of Sonos’ woes in 2024 stem from its software, this seems like a strange decision. Enlisting reliable third-party technology instead of doing the development in-house makes sense given the furore surrounding this year’s Sonos app update. But opting for an unproven operating system from an advertising company doesn’t seem like the safest way to reassure customers that lessons have been learned. Do we think people will actually trust a new software platform from Sonos when they hated the launch of the last software platform? so much from Sonos.
The advertising company is The Trade Desk, as previously predicted by the rumor we reported on in September, whose operating system is based on the open source fork of Android. The reason for The Trade Desk’s involvement here is apparently due to its established relationships with the major streaming companies: a streaming device without the major streaming services is a streaming device that won’t sell.
With our optimistic hat on, this deal could mean new cool things for your Sonos system, with new wireless streaming options from your TV to your Sonos Arc Ultra and more of the best Sonos speakers. You would also likely have the ability to play audio from your TV to your Sonos Ace headphones in Dolby Atmos without needing a soundbar as you currently do. Sonos has filed a number of patents that suggest just that, with TV OS control on both a phone and on your TV screen, content recommendations from friends and Apple SharePlay-style collaborative viewing.
Let’s hope that’s true and that the worst-case scenario – annoying ads and privacy issues, while still paying a premium for the device – doesn’t take place. But as The Verge reports, The Trade Desk’s sales pitch for its Ventura TV operating system is heavy on the advertising side and light on the benefits it brings to users. You can watch The Trade Desk’s pitch in the embedded video above.