Skip to main content

Sonos FCC filings reveal a mystery device and likely Connect refresh

Sonos FCC filings reveal a mystery device and likely Connect refresh

/

Sonos might have multiple new products this fall

Share this story

If you buy something from a Verge link, Vox Media may earn a commission. See our ethics statement.

Photo by Chris Welch / The Verge

Yesterday Sonos invited media to come learn about new hardware later this month, and the company is already pushing some fresh products through the FCC. Model numbers S17 and S23 are now listed on the FCC’s site. Credit goes to Dave Zatz for spotting them. Now let’s get to figuring out what they might be.

S23 has the exact same label style as the Sonos Amp, which leads me to believe it’s a revamped version of the old Sonos Connect. No other current Sonos device, other than the Amp, shares this circular fine print, and it makes sense for the Amp and Connect to share a similar design, with the Connect priced significantly lower.

New Sonos device model S23 at left, Sonos Amp at right.
New Sonos device model S23 at left, Sonos Amp at right.

The Sonos Connect lets you plug in speakers around the house that don’t require amplification and join them with your Sonos multiroom audio system. It also has an input for receivers, CD players, turntables, and anything else you might want to play over your entire Sonos system. But the existing model is very old, and it’d be a fairly easy lift for Sonos to refresh it with new internals.

As for model S17, well I’m not exactly sure what this one could be. (Update: It’s a Bluetooth speaker.) Here’s the label:

We can see that it draws 45 watts of power. And try as I might, I can’t find any other Sonos product with a similar wattage.

Is this the battery-powered, portable Sonos speaker a lot of people have been waiting for? Maybe a charging station for wireless headphones? Too soon to tell. The FCC listings confirm that both devices include Bluetooth Low Energy, but that’s not much to go on.

Let’s hear your best guesses.

Update August 9th 10:45PM ET: A closer look at the new Sonos filings confirms that model number S17 is a Bluetooth speaker.