Sonos' new speakers are coming for Apple's HomePods

Sonos is one of the biggest names in connected audio, and it makes some of the very best wireless speakers you can buy. After months of rumours, we now have what appears to be concrete evidence that it's preparing to launch a brand new range of home speakers – and they promise to be the best speakers Sonos has ever made.

According to a new report in The Verge, Sonos is working on two distinct speakers: the Era 300 and the Era 100. The Era 300 is most likely the previously rumoured Optimo speaker, which is believed to be a multi-directional, 360-degree spatial audio device with Bluetooth and possibly Wi-Fi 6 too. And the Era 100 seems likely to be the successor to the Sonos One. Given that despite its age the Sonos One is still one of the best smart speakers you can buy today, I'm excited to see – and hear – its successors.

The best Sonos speakers yet?

According to The Verge's sources, the Era speakers will support automatic tuning and room-based sound optimisation to deliver the best sound of any Sonos speakers to date. And they're part of a bigger strategy: according to Sonos CEO Patrick Spence it plans to enter four new product categories in the coming years, with the first device in those categories launching in 2023. Whatever it is, it isn't one of the Era speakers.

The Verge's sources also tell it that Sonos is working on a second generation Sonos Move, the bigger of the firm's two Bluetooth speakers. That turns four this year so it's due an update, but while we know Sonos is working on it we don't yet know what's going to be in the new device. 

It's going to be interesting to see how the new Sonos devices compare to other mid- to premium-range smart speakers such as Apple's resurrected large HomePods and the best of Google and Amazon too. It looks like 2023 is going to be a good and potentially expensive year to be a smart speaker fan.