We’ve been hearing for a few months now that Sonos is on the verge of releasing a new TV streaming device. Its existence was first reported in 2022 , but that was back when the project was still in the very early stages; the actual product launch was tipped for late 2024, or perhaps very early 2025. And a new report suggests that not only is the device well advanced in development, but Sonos may have made a surprising choice for its streaming OS.
According to the very well-informed Janko Roettgers of Lowpass.ccwho broke the original story about the Sonos streamer, the device won’t be running Google TV or any of the other smart TV operating systems you’re familiar with. Instead, it’s going to use a brand new streaming OS as The Trade Desk’s first hardware partner.
The Trade Desk is a very large digital advertising company and it has reportedly been building its own streaming OS for five years. That OS is apparently almost ready to go and you will see it first on the Sonos streamer.
The operating system is apparently based on Android AOSP, the open-source fork of Android. Android TV is built on AOSP, but is proprietary and certified by Google. Other companies are welcome to use AOSP to create their own operating systems, and it appears that The Trade Desk has done just that.
What we know about the Sonos streamer OS
If you’re wondering why Sonos didn’t just create its own operating system for its streamer, the ongoing and damaging Sonos app update debacle might suggest that outsourcing this – Sonos’s first-ever attempt at a TV streamer – was a wise move. But there are other reasons for outsourcing as well.
As Roettgers explains, “One of the biggest challenges for hardware makers is striking deals with the major streaming services to get access to their apps. Netflix, for example, won’t even talk to device makers unless they can convincingly demonstrate that they can ship a certain number of units.” By opting to run an operating system on multiple companies’ devices rather than just its own, Sonos can make itself seem like a much safer bet to the major streamers – streamers with whom The Trade Desk already has strong relationships in many cases.
This seems like a win-win for Sonos and The Trade Desk: Sonos can customize the operating system to its liking without having to develop it from scratch, while The Trade Desk gets Sonos-quality hardware to show off what its system can do.
And with advertising becoming an increasingly large part of every streaming provider’s plans, partnering with one of the biggest ad providers seems like an especially smart move – for Sonos, at least. Whether the box itself lives up to its theoretical promise of a winning Roku and AV receiver mash-up remains to be seen.