Sonos has new speaker on the way, official filing suggests

Latest product will include voice control and a range of other features

(Sonos)

Sonos is working on a brand new speaker that could arrive within weeks, according to new filings.

Documents made public by the Federal Communications Commission show a brand new speaker that bring a whole host of features to its existing line-up.

But those features remain mostly under wraps: the filing is redacted and so many of the most important are hidden. Clues inside the filings appear to indicate what the speaker could be intended to do, however.

The filings, first reported by Variety, identify the new speaker as "S18" and describe it as a voice-controlled speaker that can connect using WiFi or Bluetooth and can be controlled with a host of microphones that listen to their owner.

Beyond that, features or even the speakers design remain largely mysterious. The speaker could be a new, smaller version of its standalone speakers, replace the now discontinued Play:3 that sit in the middle of its market – or might offer something entirely new and different.

Those questions will probably be answered in the coming months with a release date that is expected to come relatively soon, given the apparent development of the product from the FCC filings.

The filing says that the speaker was tested with the Playbar, a now ageing soundbar that was first released in 2013 and doesn't include any smart speaker capabilities. That suggests it could work with even that older technology, allowing it to add voice control to a product that is too old to have had it when it was released.

Some reports have taken that to mean that the new product could be a devoted satellite speaker for the Playbar, allowing it to work in surround. But any of Sonos's standalone speakers can be added to an existing setup to work as surround sound speakers, so the new one could simply be undergoing testing as part of that feature.

Sonos has revealed products through FCC filings before. The Sonos One – its first voice-controlled speaker – was first discovered in FCC filings at the end of August 2017 that referred to it as "S13", before it was unveiled properly a couple of months later at a public launch event.

The company has also publicly committed to bringing out new products on a regular cycle. It recently unveiled a new Sonos Amp, which can be used to plug into existing speakers, though that has not undergone a full release around the world yet, and it launched its Sonos Beam smart soundbar in summer.