Apple's Removal of 3rd-Party Audio Gear Stokes Rumors of New Speakers, Headphones
Sonos and Logitech shares fell Tuesday on a Bloomberg report their audio products are no longer being sold in Apple Stores or on Apple.com. Our search for products from the three companies at Apple.com Tuesday brought up no audio gear. Sonos closed 7% lower Tuesday at $14.54. Logitech finished the day 6.1% lower at $75.83.
A search for Bose at the Apple website yielded nine results: five Bose apps, plus device finders and voice changers that weren’t from Bose. The Bose sleep app is designed to be used only with the company's noise-masking sleep buds, but those weren’t for sale at Apple. When we clicked on Bose Connect, screenshots of Bose headphones and speakers popped up, but we couldn’t click through to the products.
A Bose spokesperson confirmed that its products are no longer being sold via Apple distribution channels. Citing company policy, she said she couldn’t share details about Bose’s relationship with partners but noted that it isn’t the only audio company removed from Apple’s shelves, that there are no third-party headphones or speakers. We found just one, a mini $69 Pioneer Rayz Rally conference speaker, sold only via Apple, with a lightning connector that’s designed to plug into an iPhone, iPad or Mac. The Bose spokesperson noted that its new headphone lineup -- QC Earbuds, Sport Earbuds and Frames -- are all certified by Apple to work with their devices, though not sold in Apple Stores.
Our search for Sonos speakers at Apple.com took us to the HomePod, Apple’s smart speaker that launched in February 2018. The removal of competing Bluetooth and smart speakers from Apple shelves led to speculation Apple is going to add to its audio line at its Oct. 13 virtual event, announced Tuesday, where it’s expected to launch the next generation of iPhones. Apple didn’t respond to questions.
Sonos didn’t comment Tuesday on Apple’s decision to stop selling its speakers. Apple’s move underscores a risk Sonos highlighted in an SEC filing last fall (see 1911260016) -- that if partner competitors, such as Amazon and Apple, continue to compete with Sonos more directly in the future, they would be able to promote their products more prominently than Sonos, while refusing to promote its speakers. “Any reduction in our ability to place and promote our products, or increased competition for available shelf or website placement, especially during peak retail periods, such as the holiday shopping season, would require us to increase our marketing expenditures and to seek other distribution channels to promote our products,” Sonos said then.
A new Apple smart speaker would be another competitor in an increasingly contested category. Amazon last fall launched the Echo Studio, capable of playing high-resolution music tracks, and last month announced a refresh of the $99 Echo speaker with improved sound and smart hub capability (see 2009240052). Last week, Google unveiled a more powerful Nest Audio ($99) with an automatic equalizer function (see 2009300062).
A Logitech spokesperson didn’t comment Tuesday, saying the company is in a quiet period ahead of its Oct. 20 quarterly earnings report. The company has been targeting videoconferencing and gaming with its audio products amid a slowdown in the Bluetooth speaker category. On a July earnings call, CEO Bracken Darrell cited mobile speakers’ 42% drop-off in the most recent quarter and said the company is continuing to reallocate resources to other initiatives. Apple was selling non-audio Logitech products including keyboards, a smart pen, webcam, presentation remote and security monitor.