Sonos Sub Mini: Everything you need to know about the budget subwoofer

Sonos typically announces a couple of products each year and despite the company having revealed the Ray soundbar earlier in 2022, alongside new colours of the Roam portable speaker and the Roam SL, more is expected before the year is out. 

It's long been rumoured the company is working on headphones, and more recently, there has been speculation about a new larger speaker in the works, but there is also talk of a smaller, and more affordable Sonos subwoofer, dubbed the Sonos Sub Mini. 

This is everything we have heard so far about the Sonos Sub Mini.

Sonos Sub Mini release date

• Expected before end of 2022

Based on rumours, the Sonos Sub Mini is expected to be released before the end of 2022, and usually the company announces new products in September, around technology trade show IFA.

The Sub Mini passed through the FCC in June, suggesting a launch was imminent, but then on 10 August 2022 during the company's earnings call, CEO Patrick Spence suggested a product had been delayed. 

It was then confirmed by spokesperson Erin Pategas that Sonos had "decided to push an anticipated product launch from Q4 '22 into Q1 '23." 

It was not confirmed which product that was, though it was presumed to be the Sonos Sub Mini. For now, there is no official word on when we might see the Sub Mini, though we are still hopeful it will appear before the year is out.

Sonos Sub Mini design

• Smaller
• Cylindrical design
• Pill-shaped hole
• Black and white colour options likely

There have been several rumours surrounding the design of the Sonos Sub Mini, giving us a good idea about what to expect. 

The first rumours included the appearance of the Sub Mini in the Sonos app with the description of a "smaller, cylindrical subwoofer" when compared to the larger, more square Sub.

A 3D render based on an image of the actual product was revealed by The Verge, showing the cylindrical subwoofer with an elongated, pill-shaped vertical cutout in the middle of the device. We won't lie, it looks a little like the Sonos Move with a hole in the middle.

We would expect the Sonos Sub Mini to be offered in White and Black colour options like other Sonos devices.

Sonos Sub Mini features and specs

• Less powerful hardware than Sonos Sub
• Trueplay tuning
• Automatic equalisation

There haven't been many rumours surrounding the Sonos Sub Mini's features or internal specifications, though it is expected that it will be a slight downgrade to the Sonos Sub (3rd Gen). 

It's presumed the Sub Mini will have a similar internal layout to the Sub, but with more compact, less powerful hardware.

The current Sonos Sub offers Class-D digital amplifiers, dual acoustic ports and frequency response down to 25Hz. There's a 1.4GHz Quad-core CPU on board, 4GB of memory and an ethernet port. 

In terms of features, there's TruePlay tuning available - which we expect on the Sub Mini too - and audio settings automatically equalise to balance the Sub and the paired Sonos speaker(s) or component, which we also expect from the Sub Mini.

Sonos Sub Mini price

• Under £500/$500

For now, there are no rumours surrounding the price of the Sonos Sub Mini, though it is expected to be cheaper than the current Sonos Sub, which is $749 in the US and £749 in the UK. 

The cheaper Sonos Ray soundbar costs $279 in the US and £279 in the UK, compared to the Sonos Beam, which is $449/£449, and the Sonos Arc that costs $899/£899.

It could be that the Sonos Sub Mini therefore also arrives at under the $300/£300 mark, but for now, we don't know. We'd definitely expect under $500/£500 though.

Sonos Sub Mini rumours: What's happened so far?

Here is everything we have heard so far about the Sonos Sub Mini.

11 August 2022: Sonos Sub Mini appears to have been delayed

Sonos announced its third quarter earnings on 10 August 2022 and at the same time, it confirmed that it has pushed back a product launch, which is thought to be the Sub Mini. 

3 June 2022: Sonos Sub Mini pops up at FCC: Is a budget subwoofer coming soon?

Redditors and Protocol's Janko Roettgers spotted the Sonos Sub Mini's FCC filing was live and shows quite clearly that it will have a cylindrical design. 

17 May 2022: Sonos Sub Mini pictured in leak: Is the affordable subwoofer launching soon?

The Verge said Sonos is nearing a release of a "smaller, less costly subwoofer" that can wirelessly pair with the Sonos Ray, as well as the Sonos Beam and Arc.

The site also published a "preview of the Sub Mini's general design", noting it was a 3D render based on an image of the actual upcoming product. 

29 November 2021: Sonos 'Sub Mini' spotted: Is Sonos launching a cheaper subwoofer soon?

A Redditor noticed mentions of a "Sub Mini" in the Sonos mobile app, leading to the belief that Sonos might announce a miniature subwoofer.

Sonos even described the Sub Mini as a "smaller, cylindrical subwoofer" when compared to the larger, more square Sub.

Source : https://www.pocket-lint.com/speakers/news/sonos/162462-sonos-sub-mini-release-date-specs-price-features