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Sonos Ray Soundbar Reportedly Coming in June, Pics Leak

The soundbar will cost $250 and will not have HDMI, according to reports.

Zachary McAuliffe Staff writer
Zach began writing for CNET in November, 2021 after writing for a broadcast news station in his hometown, Cincinnati, for five years. You can usually find him reading and drinking coffee or watching a TV series with his wife and their dog.
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Ty Pendlebury Editor
Ty Pendlebury is a journalism graduate of RMIT Melbourne, and has worked at CNET since 2006. He lives in New York City where he writes about streaming and home audio.
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Zachary McAuliffe
Ty Pendlebury
2 min read
A soundbar in front of a TV on a dresser
Twitter/SnoopyTech

Sonos plans to release a new, budget-friendly soundbar in the next few weeks called the Sonos Ray, according to multiple reports. 

Twitter account SnoopyTech has posted what it claims are official pictures of the new device, as reported by What Hi-Fi Friday, and these seem to correlate with The Verge's previous renders. The soundbar shown in the pictures looks similar to the Sonos Beam Gen 2, with what appears to be a plastic grille on the front.

The new Ray soundbar is supposedly smaller than the Sonos Beam and won't have Dolby Atmos or HDMI, with only a digital optical connection. The soundbar could be priced at about $250, which is cheaper than the $450 Beam Gen 2, but this brings it in line with the $219 Sonos One smart speaker. Unlike the Sonos Roam (and many other speakers), it's reported that it will also lack voice assistant functionality.

Plain black soundbar with curved ends and Sonos on the front

The Ray in black.

 Twitter/SnoopyTech

Like the Beam and the Arc, Sonos' $900 soundbar model, the latest soundbar is expected to be offered in black and white. The release date for the new soundbar is expected to be June 7, according to reports.

The Sonos Ray could help bring the company's multiroom range to a new audience, along with more affordable models like the $99 Ikea Symfonisk. It will compete with budget-oriented soundbars such as the Polk Signa S3 and the Vizio V21. 

In addition to new hardware, the company is said to be working on its own Sonos voice assistant that will work on the newer S2 speakers.

Representatives for Sonos told CNET the company would not comment on speculation or rumor.

Update, May 6: Added the reportedly leaked pictures of the device and the new name.

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Watch this: Sonos Roam: Best mini wireless speaker ever?

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