Sonos starts hiring to build ‘home theater OS’

According to several new job openings discovered and published by Protocol, Sonos aims to be the platform of choice not only for home audio, but for home theater as well. The job listings offer several new areas of expansion for Sonos, and they paint a picture of a much broader home theater strategy than the soundbar-based strategy the company is currently focusing on.

Relevant positions listed include “Primary Platform Product Manager “, “Head of Partnerships, Home Theater “, and “Lead User Experience Specialist – Next Generation Home Theater Experience “.

divided

Sonos already makes soundbars, a subwoofer, and speakers that can be used as surround speakers. The devices proved popular for home theater applications. But Sonos doesn’t currently make a hardware remote — its home theater devices are controlled either by a smartphone app or by a remote used with the user’s connected TV.

And the company doesn’t currently make anything that could be described as a “home theater OS,”meaning these job listings suggest a big shift is coming in Sonos’ home theater strategy.

It may not get as much attention as the age-old battle between Windows and macOS or the modern-day smartphone software rivalry between Android and iOS, but there has been fierce competition between various tech companies for control of the operating systems that run smart TVs around the world..

Amazon, Google, LG, and Roku license software to TV manufacturers, allowing access to streaming apps and other features, including ad platforms. And other companies like Apple or Samsung at least make their own proprietary software to run on their hardware.

Porting your software to TVs could be Sonos’ new game, but there are other possibilities. Perhaps Sonos is developing a soundbar that includes an operating system to run streaming apps, a la Apple tvOS, Roku OS, or Amazon Fire TV. It’s also possible that Sonos’ new strategy isn’t fully defined yet.