Sonos' scrapped MagSafe speaker would have had trouble finding a target market

AppleInsider

Sonos allegedly toyed around with making a speaker that would use MagSafe to attach to the back of an iPhone, but couldn't seem to nail down a target audience.

An AI-generated image of a speaker attached to an iPhone

If you're in the business of making products, chances are you'll come up with ideas that sound good at the time, but reveal themselves to be impractical, if not outright impossible, at some point in the design process.

Apple knows this, as the company was rumored to scrap the Apple Car after the project lacked direction. And, even if it wasn't, Apple likely realized that it would never be able to sell vehicles at its expected margins.

But it's not always large, complex projects that don't make it to the assembly line. According to The Verge, Sonos recently scrapped an idea for a MagSafe-compatible Bluetooth speaker.

The speaker would have been a small, rectangular speaker that, when connected to an iPhone via MagSafe, would have automatically played audio. It would have featured a similar design to Apple's now discontinued MagSafe Battery Pack.

The idea was likely born out of Sonos' acquisition of Mayht Holding in the first half of 2022. Mayht Holding, in Sonos' words, had "invented a new, revolutionary approach to audio transducers," which would allow for smaller and lighter speakers.

However, the project went the way of many projects that sound like a good idea at the time. Specifically, Sonos couldn't suss out the target market, beyond "Gen Z."

Which, if you stop to think about it, makes quite a bit of sense. The speaker would not be most people's first choice when it comes to playing audio.

While it might have sounded better than the iPhone's tiny, built-in speakers, there's not a clear idea of where the product would be used. For watching video content at home, most people will opt for a larger screen, be that a laptop, a smart TV, or a desktop with a larger monitor.

For watching content or listening to music on the go, you run into the rudeness factor. Nobody likes the person sitting at the DMV, listening to something through their phone speakers, let alone someone who brought a Bluetooth speaker to do it.

You're not going to get dirty looks for using AirPods Pro in public

And even listening to music is a stretch. At home, someone would probably prefer a larger speaker, allowing them to move freely around the room. On the go, they'd opt for headphones.

This leaves a very small target audience. Perhaps teens and tweens who want a speaker for their bedroom, or someone who lives in a single dorm room or a studio apartment.

It could also have some utility for those who like to camp or hike, as the speaker would be compact enough to bring along in a backpack. Of course, many outdoor enthusiasts would dissuade people of this notion, as it does count as noise pollution.

Beyond that, it doesn't seem like many people would have a need for a tiny speaker that snapped to the back of their phone. However, it seems that Sonos realized that because they wound up nixing the idea at some point.

Sonos has gone through significant downsizing in recent years. In 2023, Sonos laid off 7% of its workers and pulled back its real estate presence. More recently -- this past Wednesday, in fact -- the company announced that it would lay off an additional 12%, or roughly 200 people.

CEO Tom Conrad said that the company had grown to a point where collaboration was difficult and would be better off "reorganizing into flatter, smaller, and more focused teams." He notes that being smaller and more focused should help the company prioritize its work, as recent projects suffered from a lack of commitment.

If you're bummed that Sonos' MagSafe speaker never made it to market, there are some alternatives. Scosche has the BoomCan MS, a $30 speaker that magnetically attaches to iPhone.

Amazon also features dozens of speakers that purport to do the same thing. Their often alarmingly low price point probably gives you an idea of the sound quality you're going to get.



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apple4thewin

Niche market, yes. But I do see the uses for it for the portability feature, and if they made it with a built-in kickstand when connected to the phone and by itself. 

Edit: The Scosche one linked in the article is somewhat similar to what I was thinking of. As a company I personally haven’t heard of, I don’t know about its quality.

edited February 7

jonro

It's potentially a good idea, depending upon the sound quality. I would use it for travel, in hotel rooms, for example. But, I already have a Sonos Roam for that purpose, so I wouldn't be in the market for a speaker like this unless the sound quality were at least as good as the Roam. Also, as Apple4thewin noted, it needs a kickstand or else the speaker is going to be pointed at the ceiling.

robin huber

I, for one, am not sad it was scrapped. The days of boom boxes on shoulders blasting everyone’s ears are long gone and should stay that way. It’s bad enough people speak loudly on speakerphone. Don’t want to hear their playlist too. 

edited February 7

amberneely

apple4thewin said:

Edit: The Scosche one linked in the article is somewhat similar to what I was thinking of. As a company I personally haven’t heard of, I don’t know about its quality.

Scosche makes pretty okay stuff, it's about what you'd expect. I anticipate that Sonos' scrapped product would have also functioned as a kickstand. I think they probably had intentions of marketing it toward people who obsessively scroll short-form video (think TikTok, YouTube Shorts, and Instagram/Facebook Reels) but then realized that people tend to do this when they're killing time in public, not solely when they're sitting at home.

I'm sure there's people who would have snagged it. Or something like it. Sonos doesn't make cheap products, and I feel like the target audience of 15-21 year olds (Again, I am just assuming this) would probably be reticent (or fully unable) to drop $75-$110 on a magnetic bluetooth speaker, and the 22 and up crowd would probably go for one of their other products for home use. 

amberneely

jonro said:

It's potentially a good idea, depending upon the sound quality. I would use it for travel, in hotel rooms, for example. But, I already have a Sonos Roam for that purpose, so I wouldn't be in the market for a speaker like this unless the sound quality were at least as good as the Roam. Also, as Apple4thewin noted, it needs a kickstand or else the speaker is going to be pointed at the ceiling.

See, that's my thing, right? Sonos makes solid products and a snap-on speaker feels a bit gimmicky. I suspect that the sound quality would have been nowhere near the quality of the Roam. And I guarantee you that the speaker would have functioned as a kickstand by way of thickness (most other snap-on speakers do this alreadyh) or had a pop-out kickstand option.

I dunno. Maybe it's cause I'm an old lady, or maybe it's because I don't want to store niche use items, but it certainly wouldn't be for me. Feels kinda like a stocking stuffer idea for the 15-19 range. I can tell you that it would have probably been pretty nice when I lived in a loft apartment and my bedroom lacked any good sound options. Barring that, though...

amberneely

robin huber said:

I, for one, am not sad it was scrapped. The days of boom boxes on shoulders blasting everyone’s ears are long gone and should stay that way. It’s bad enough people speak loudly on speakerphone. Don’t want to hear their playlist too. 

Aw, c'mon. Don't you love it when you walk through the gym locker room and you see someone making a FaceTime call (an actual situation that I've experienced about four times in the last year at this point.)

charlesn

Maybe someone at Sonos was overheard joking about a speaker like this, but I can't imagine it ever was considered seriously for a second because it makes no sense for the brand. The Sonos brand is about high quality, expensive-for-what-they-are audio speakers with a reputation for good sound and ease of use. (Well, until their 2024 new app debacle, but that's another story.) A speaker like this has a low limited price point by virtue of what it is and, even in its best incarnation, is never going to deliver anything better than "meh" sound quality. Why slap a Sonos name on it and cheapen consumer perception of the brand? 

xed

That seems like a neat product but I can see why it may not be worth it.

jeffharris

AmberNeely said:

robin huber said:

I, for one, am not sad it was scrapped. The days of boom boxes on shoulders blasting everyone’s ears are long gone and should stay that way. It’s bad enough people speak loudly on speakerphone. Don’t want to hear their playlist too. 

Aw, c'mon. Don't you love it when you walk through the gym locker room and you see someone making a FaceTime call (an actual situation that I've experienced about four times in the last year at this point.)

I’ve been in quite a few public spaces where people are making FaceTime calls with the speakers ON. 

Obnoxious. 

I was in a restaurant recently  and some elderly couple was FaceTimimg with what I assume were their grandkids.
I just turned around, glared at them and said loudly, “REALLY?” They stopped. 

I’ve had to do that a number of times. 

Do whatever you like as long as you don’t bother anyone else.

jeffharris

robin huber said:

I, for one, am not sad it was scrapped. The days of boom boxes on shoulders blasting everyone’s ears are long gone and should stay that way. It’s bad enough people speak loudly on speakerphone. Don’t want to hear their playlist too. 

For certain, no one wants to hear MY playlist, although I only play complete albums.

I keep a recoding of Scottish bagpipe and drum music on my iPhone, ready to counter any playlist in existence.

edited February 9

mike1

jonro said:

It's potentially a good idea, depending upon the sound quality. I would use it for travel, in hotel rooms, for example. But, I already have a Sonos Roam for that purpose, so I wouldn't be in the market for a speaker like this unless the sound quality were at least as good as the Roam. Also, as Apple4thewin noted, it needs a kickstand or else the speaker is going to be pointed at the ceiling.

I would definitely add this to my travel kit, assuming it was better than the built-in speakers. Perfect for hotel rooms with no added bulk and easy to charge.