Sonos and Ikea’s Love Affair Is Over—Grab This $19 Device While You Still Can
Of us searching for an reasonably priced Wi-Fi speaker to suit between their Jättebo sectional and Dyvlinge swivel chair might be upset to be taught that Sonos and Ikea are parting ways. After eight years of partnering on every thing from an odd wall-mountable speaker in a body to a surprisingly first rate pair of bookshelf audio system, the Ikea models are being discontinued.
You possibly can in fact get basically every thing the Ikea-Sonos collabs provided (and extra when it comes to sound high quality) by just buying Sonos-made speakers just like the Period 100 (9/10, WIRED Recommends) and Roam (9/10, WIRED Recommends). The model even makes a good pair of headphones (8/10, WIRED Recommends). However there may be one factor we at WIRED will actually miss when this partnership ends: The Symfonisk Sound Remote ($19).
This unassuming rectangular puck acts like a thermostat controller to your music, with play/pause, skip, and quantity controls that pair seamlessly with the Sonos app (now that it’s working again). Amazingly, Sonos nonetheless does not provide a smooth, wall mountable distant, as an alternative forcing me to succeed in for my cellphone or TV distant after I’ve bought gobby sourdough on my fingers or my 1-year-old is seconds away from a meltdown if I do not instantly choose her favourite music. Sure, there are other Sonos remotes, however they solely management TV audio system.
This wall distant (which needn’t be wall mounted in any respect) is simple to make use of with an elbow, and it’s discreet and handsome sufficient that you simply will not really feel like a type of previous of us with these wired telephones with enormous numbers. And, sure, it really works with all Sonos audio system. It is also hilariously low-cost, at $19 per unit after the preliminary purchase of a hub and remote together ($89). On this financial system? If I used to be a Sonos consumer, I might purchase one for each room in the home earlier than they promote out. And you need to, too.
Sonos has been struggling since a poor rollout of a new app version final 12 months left many longtime customers struggling to maintain their once-reliable programs working. This might clarify the tip to this partnership from Ikea’s aspect of issues, as it is a main retailer that diligently retains monitor of what’s promoting and what is not.
From Sonos’ aspect, this might simply be a logical conclusion to a considerably unfruitful partnership with mid-tier merchandise that the model itself more and more competes immediately with. Sonos has pivoted to be much less of a premium model lately, and simply final month it dropped the value of two of its merchandise: the wonderful entry-level Era 100 speaker and equally spectacular Ray soundbar.
In both case, we’re unhappy to see the partnership go, and as soon as the Symfonisk Sound Distant Gen 2s are all gone, we hope Sonos will make a brand new controller that’s pretty much as good now that there’ll now not be a third-party possibility. There’s room to make one that appears extra “Sonos,” for certain. For Ikea’s half, the model says all its Sonos-compatible gadgets—together with the distant—will stay supported. I do not assume many individuals will miss the talking lamp, but it surely’s comforting to understand it nonetheless works.
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