Sonos earbuds have been rumored for a while, but it looks like we’re a step closer to them seeing the light of day. While known for its multi-room speakers, a move into true wireless earbuds could really shake up the market.
A US patent filing (opens in new tab) discovered by zatsnotfunny (opens in new tab) shows a pretty clever case design that fits the earbuds into the top and bottom of the cylinder-shaped case, along with diagrams of the buds themselves. This allows for a much smaller case than if they were placed next to each other.
The Sonos earbuds have a long flat body that remind me a little of old mobile phone earpieces and have a wedged design that gets thicker towards what looks like a rubberized earpiece.
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The patent description confirms that this is indeed a charging case and that it will allow the earbuds to be charged as a pair or when just one is inserted while the other is being used. The larger earpiece could potentially help with increased battery life too.
Another diagram shows what looks like over-ear headphones with a charging adapter in the exterior of the cup. While the design of the headphone itself looks generic, the method of charging – perhaps magnetic – looks interesting.
While timing for these devices is unknown, the filing dates back to the start of February, which means that we could very easily see some earphones from Sonos as early as this summer.