In addition to launching new products, Sonos also announced the cancellation of its hardware project that was set to compete with the Apple TV 4K set-top box.

Sonos Did Not Have the Software Resources to Compete with Apple TV 4K

Sonos CEO Tom Conrad acknowledged the shuttered video hardware efforts in an interview with Chris Welch from Bloomberg:

Sonos canceled plans to enter the video space with a set-top box that would compete with products like Apple Inc.'s Apple TV 4K and other streaming devices. During the interview, Conrad gave the first public acknowledgment of Pinewood's existence and subsequent cancellation.

The launch date was on the calendar, but there was not enough staffing plan to make it happen, he said. Even if Sonos had stuck to the original goal, Pinewood “would not be on the market right now,” he added.

More specifically, Conrad explained that Sonos did not have the software resources to properly create a video streaming box:

“Whatever you think about it — good idea, bad idea — we did not have enough software resources to implement it well,” he said.

For Tom Conrad, the state of Sonos' software at the time was a factor that elevated him to the CEO position. Deciding not to enter a new video platform was likely an easy choice.

Sonos's streaming video box was expected to be priced between $200 and $400. The Apple TV 4K, considered premium in the streaming hardware space, currently starts at $129.

Apple last updated the Apple TV 4K hardware in November 2022. Since the product turned three years old, customers have started to raise their voices for the next hardware revision.

How do you evaluate Sonos's decision not to compete with Apple TV 4K? How does this situation compare to Apple's current streaming video box status?

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