Ikea is working with Sonos on a hidden speaker integrated with the art you hang on the wall

Ikea and Sonos are starting to publicize the next products in which the two companies will collaborate. The furniture giant today posted a story on Instagram that directly mentions the “Symfonisk” line and shows the Sonos logo at the end, so there is no doubt that new hardware will come soon. Two new records have also just appeared in the Federal Communications Commission.

The Verge you can exclusively share details about what’s to come. The first new product, covered in this order, is a revamped version of the Symfonisk lamp. It is expected to be sold for the same price ($ 179) as the original product, which basically put the sound quality of a Sonos Play: 1 in the body of a lamp.

But what The Verge you see, the $ 99 Symfonisk rack speaker – the most affordable gateway to the Sonos platform – doesn’t need major upgrades. Instead, the second product that Ikea and Sonos will announce in 2021 is completely new: a piece of wall art with an integrated speaker.

Chris Welch / The Verge photo

Companies like Soundwall have produced art speakers before, but it’s safe to assume that Ikea and Sonos are aiming for a dramatically lower price than those expensive products.

The Verge saw an earlier image of this product, codenamed “Titan”, but details on how it works have yet to be discovered. Specifically, it is not clear whether the entire art print is the product or whether the speaker unit can be transferred between different external art boxes. One of the two new FCC records from Ikea and Sonos is for a “wireless module”. From a distance, it could look like any of Ikea’s wall prints, only with a lot more technology on the other side (and a power cable running down the bottom).

All Symfonisk products so far have been designed with a dual purpose in mind. The lamp combines a speaker and a light source; the bookshelf speaker can literally be used as a shelf when mounted on the wall. And they must also mix with the decoration of the house. From this angle, combining art and a musical speaker seems like a natural progression for the Symfonisk series.

I heard from a good number of Sonos customers who use Symfonisk rack speakers as the back surround for Sonos Arc and Beam sound bars. They work very well for this purpose, but a stereo pair of artistic wall-mounted speakers can create an even more elegant home theater setup.

Ikea and Sonos have not yet revealed exactly when they plan to announce their latest collaborative efforts. The Verge contacted Sonos for comment. In the immediate future, Sonos is preparing for the launch of its new Sonos Roam, a product that was leaked for the first time by The Verge, which starts to be marketed on April 20. You can read my complete review of this excellent portable speaker.