Ikea is working with Sonos on a hidden speaker built into art that you hang on the wall

Ikea and Sonos are starting to tease the following products that the two companies have partnered with. The furniture giant today posted an Instagram story that directly mentions the ‘Symphonic’ line and the Sonos logo flickering at the end, so there is little doubt that new hardware will be coming soon. Two new documents have also just appeared at the Federal Communications Commission.

The edge can only share details about what is to come. The first new product covered in this submission is a revamped version of the Symphonic table lamp. It is expected to sell for the same price ($ 179) as the original product, which filled the sound quality of a Sonos Play: 1 in the body of a lamp.

But from what The edge understand, the $ 99 Symphonic Bookshelf Speaker – the cheapest gateway to the Sonos platform – is not important for any major updates. Instead, the second product that Ikea and Sonos will announce in 2021 is completely new: a piece of wall art with an integrated speaker.

Ikea and Sonos are also preparing an updated table lamp speaker.
Photo by Chris Welch / The Verge

Companies like Soundwall have manufactured art speakers before, but I can assume that Ikea and Sonos have a price point that is dramatically lower than the expensive products.

The edge saw an early image of the product codenamed “Titan”, but details on how it works could not yet be learned. It is specifically unclear whether the entire artwork print is the product and whether the speaker unit can be transferred outward between different art housings. One of the two new FCC files from Ikea and Sonos is for a ‘wireless module’. From a distance, it may look like any of Ikea’s wall prints, only with a lot more technology on the other side (and a power cable running from the bottom).

All Symfonisk products have so far been designed with a dual purpose in mind. The lamp combines a speaker and light source; the bookshelf speaker can literally be used as a shelf when mounted on a wall. And it is also meant to blend in with the home decor. From that angle, the combination of artwork and a music speaker seems like a natural progression for the Symphonic series.

I’ve heard of a fair number of Sonos customers using the Symphonic book rack speakers as rear environments for Sonos’ Arc and Beam soundbars. They work very well for the purpose, but a stereo pair of wall art speakers can provide an even slimmer home setup.

Ikea and Sonos have not yet announced exactly when they plan to announce their latest collaboration efforts. The edge reached out to Sonos for comment. In the immediate future, Sonos is preparing for the launch of its new Sonos Roam, a product that leaked for the first time The edge, which begins delivery on April 20th. You can read my full review of the excellent portable speaker.

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