Sonos has partnered with Audi to equip the automaker’s Q4 E-Tron with sound, an innovation for the California-based audio company best known for home speakers. The news was confirmed on Tuesday by Sonos CEO Patrick Spence after Audi published images of the interior of the Q4 E-Tron showing the Sonos logo. Protocol was the first to report the deal.
On Tuesday, Audi published a collection of photos showing the interior of its next EV, the Q4 E-Tron. While the German automaker emphasized its new augmented reality heads-up display, others noticed the Sonos logo, despite no mention of collaboration in the press release.
“We want to be in all the different audio categories, and a lot of that is in the automotive industry,” said Spence during the questions and answers at an event scheduled for investors. “Our first partnership to bring our sound experience to automobiles is with Audi.” Sonos CEO and former RIM executive said more details of the partnership with Audi will be shared “soon”, probably at the launch event for the Q4 E-Tron in April.
With the announcement, Sonos joins a long list of audio companies that have made the leap to automobiles, including Bose, Bowers & Wilkins and Bang & Olufsen. The partnerships are seen as a way for home audio companies to diversify their revenue sources and for automakers to use brands known for premium audio to influence their purchase decision.
The news follows the launch on Tuesday of the most portable Sonos speaker to date, the $ 169 Sonos Roam. It is rumored that Sonos is also working on headsets as the company expands its focus from home audio to deliver sound anywhere you want.