Here’s what the next Sonos headphones will look like

Sonos has long been said to be developing a premium set of noise-canceling headphones to join the company’s ecosystem of speakers and multiroom audio products. A new design patent application at the German Patent and Trademark Office appears to provide a glimpse of a more advanced and more refined product than what we saw at the US Patent and Trademark Office in September. These last files were registered in December and published in late January.

A notable difference is that the Sonos brand is visible in this design; was not present in the previous deposit. (That said, it’s in broken lines, which doesn’t count for much in a design patent and means that the placement can change.) Another evolution is that the rods that come out of the headband now go straight to the earplugs; there is no additional part surrounding the back of each earmuff, as we saw earlier. Again, these are broken lines, but the solid lines also show an evolution of the design that we saw before. There are obvious adjustments to the shape of the external phone.

Little is known about Sonos headphones other than the fact that they should cost the same as top-of-the-line competitors from Sony and Bose. One of the main features is believed to be a continuous transfer of music from the headphones to the Sonos audio system (and vice versa). But Sonos will likely need to offer more than just that to keep consumers away from market leaders and newer competitors, like the Apple AirPods Max.

A headset adapter is also part of Sonos’ recent filings with the German Patent and Trademark Office. It is not uncommon for expensive headsets to offer replaceable ear pads, so that’s what it’s for. A USB-C port, several buttons and a 3.5 mm cable entry are also outlined in the headphones’ designs.

Sonos CEO Patrick Spence confirmed during the company’s earnings call last week that Sonos’ next product will be announced in March. That device could end up being a smaller portable speaker to complement the bulky Sonos Move. But during the call, Spence also confirmed that Sonos continues to aim to launch “at least” two new products each year. The headphones could end up being the second new offering for 2021 – assuming they don’t make a surprise appearance next month.