Sonos Era 300 and Era 100 Smart Speakers Revealed in Marketing Images

Popular speaker company Sonos is preparing to launch new high-end "Era" smart speakers to compete with Apple's HomePod range, and The Verge has obtained marketing images of the products as well as some rough pricing information ahead of their release next month.

sonos era300white
The Era 300, shown in the picture above, will be the new Sonos flagship speaker, designed to highlight music in spatial audio. Other features will include USB-C line-in, Wi-Fi 6 support, Bluetooth playback, and AirPlay 2 support. The Verge's Chris Welch says the Era 300 is expected to be priced "in the ballpark of $450."

The size of the Era 300 is said to fall in between the Sonos One and Sonos Five, and includes a total of six drivers that direct sound forward, left, right, and up. A stereo pair of Era 300s, when used with either the Arc or second-generation Beam, will deliver rearward surround sound including upward-firing audio.

sonos era300atmos

Era 300 can be stereo paired as rear surrounds with the Sonos Arc and Beam (Gen 2)

Despite the Era 300 being designed for spatial audio, the Dolby Atmos songs in the Apple Music catalog are "unlikely to be supported at this time," according to Welch, which suggests that Apple and Sonos have yet to reach an agreement. "This could always change in the coming weeks or by the time the Era 300 hits shelves," he adds.

The Era 100, shown below, has a rounder shape and won't come with upward-firing drivers, as it's not geared for spatial audio like the other product. Welch calls the new speaker "an evolved Sonos One with (ideally) better performance," thanks to the addition of a second tweeter for true stereo sound and an enlarged mid-woofer for more bass.

era100white
Like the other new speaker, the Era 100 features Wi-Fi streaming, ‌AirPlay‌ 2, Bluetooth, and USB-C. The Era 100 is expected to cost around $250 and is likely to replace the Sonos One, which currently sells for $219.

Both speakers are expected to include Sonos Voice Control and Amazon Alexa voice assistants, but support for Google Assistant may be lacking. Welch says Sonos will separately sell a line-in adapter for USB-C audio and a "combo adapter" for plugging in over Ethernet, as there's no built-in jack on either speaker.

sonos era100black

Sonos Era 100 in stereo pair connected to turntable via line in

Sonos has reportedly set a late March release schedule for both speakers, which will be available in white and black colors, while the company is also said to be planning to launch a device in a brand new product category by the end of the year.

Tag: Sonos

Popular Stories

iphone 16 pro models 1

17 Reasons to Wait for the iPhone 17

Thursday June 12, 2025 8:58 am PDT by
Apple's iPhone development roadmap runs several years into the future and the company is continually working with suppliers on several successive iPhone models simultaneously, which is why we often get rumored features months ahead of launch. The iPhone 17 series is no different, and we already have a good idea of what to expect from Apple's 2025 smartphone lineup. If you skipped the iPhone...
iPadOS 26 App Windowing

Apple Explains Why iPads Don't Just Run macOS

Friday June 13, 2025 7:46 am PDT by
iPadOS 26 allows iPads to function much more like Macs, with a new app windowing system, a swipe-down menu bar at the top of the screen, and more. However, Apple has stopped short of allowing iPads to run macOS, and it has now explained why. In an interview this week with Swiss tech journalist Rafael Zeier, Apple's software engineering chief Craig Federighi said that iPadOS 26's new Mac-like ...
iOS 26 Screens

Here Are All the iOS 26 Features That Require iPhone 15 Pro or Newer

Thursday June 12, 2025 4:53 am PDT by
With iOS 26, Apple has introduced some major changes to the iPhone experience, headlined by the new Liquid Glass redesign that's available across all compatible devices. However, several of the update's features are exclusive to iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 models, since they rely on Apple Intelligence. The following features are powered by on-device large language models and machine...
apple beta 26 lineup

Apple 'Sherlocked' These Apps at WWDC 2025

Wednesday June 11, 2025 7:14 am PDT by
Apple at WWDC previewed a bunch of new features coming in its updated operating systems, but certain changes will have been met with dismay by third-party developers who already offer apps with equivalent or similar features. In other words, their product has been "sherlocked" by Apple. When Apple creates an app or a feature that has functionality found in a third-party app, it is referred...
iOS 26 on Three iPhones

Hate iOS 26's Liquid Glass Design? Here's How to Tone It Down

Wednesday June 11, 2025 4:22 pm PDT by
iOS 26 features a whole new design material that Apple calls Liquid Glass, with a focus on transparency that lets the content on your display shine through the controls. If you're not a fan of the look, or are having trouble with readability, there is a step that you can take to make things more opaque without entirely losing out on the new look. Apple has multiple Accessibility options that ...
maxresdefault

Everything Apple Announced at WWDC 2025 in 10 Minutes

Monday June 9, 2025 5:21 pm PDT by
At today's WWDC 2025 keynote event, Apple unveiled a new design that will inform the next decade of iOS, iPadOS, and macOS development, so needless to say, it was a busy day. Apple also unveiled a ton of new features for the iPhone, an overhauled Spotlight interface for the Mac, and a ton of updates that make the iPad more like a Mac than ever before. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel ...
CarPlay Liquid Glass Dark

Apple to Let iPhone Users Watch Videos on CarPlay Screen While Parked

Thursday June 12, 2025 6:16 am PDT by
Apple this week announced that iPhone users will soon be able to watch videos right on the CarPlay screen in supported vehicles. iPhone users will be able to wirelessly stream videos to the CarPlay screen using AirPlay, according to Apple. For safety reasons, video playback will only be available when the vehicle is parked, to prevent distracted driving. The connected iPhone will be able to...
iOS 26 Apple Wallet Boarding Passes

Apple Lists 10 Airlines Set to Offer iOS 26's Upgraded Boarding Passes

Wednesday June 11, 2025 11:28 am PDT by
As we previously reported, iOS 26 enhances Apple Wallet app boarding passes in a few ways. First, the passes now support Live Activities, allowing you to keep track of a flight at a glance on your iPhone's Lock Screen, and in the Dynamic Island on the iPhone 14 Pro and newer. In addition, new shortcuts below the passes provide one-tap access to Apple Maps for airport directions, and to the Find...

Top Rated Comments

MakeAppleAwesomeAgain Avatar
30 months ago
Wi-Fi 6? I thought Apple had just told us Wi-Fi 4 is great for ‘smart’ speakers because it allows them to target exactly what works best in the entire system. Crazy folks at Sonos for including Wi-Fi 6!
Score: 25 Votes (Like | Disagree)
User 6502 Avatar
30 months ago

Sorry Sonos we’re all in HomePod now.
No we aren’t.
Score: 23 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Nozuka Avatar
30 months ago
Era 300 look pretty stupid as rear surrounds on these stands...
Score: 15 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Nozuka Avatar
30 months ago

Bit annoyed that the Era 300 will be needed for Atmos surround functionality with the Arc. Pushes the cost of a 5.1.4 system through the roof!
Not sure what you mean. The Arc has Atmos support even alone. You can pair it with a One or Ikea speaker and it won't loose that function.
Score: 14 Votes (Like | Disagree)
H.E. Pennypacker Avatar
30 months ago
Say what you will about Sonos but there isn’t an easier system to set up, use, and the sounds is great. Just because it’s not an Apple product doesn't mean it sucks.
Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Chiromac81 Avatar
30 months ago

Still think Sonos gear is massively overrated and overpriced, in the same way Bose is.

My parents got an LG sound bar (with bass unit and two satellite speakers, all wireless) for 1/3 of the cost of the Sonos equivalent offering. Excellent hardware quality and the sound is top-notch.
Can thier LG soundbar play with rear surrounds and a sub and also play the same audio that's playing in another room??

Didn't think so
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)