Rennie Addabbo discusses how Sonos is strengthening its presence in India, the rising demand for professionally installed multi-room audio systems, and how immersive sound is becoming an essential layer in modern luxury homes. He also shares insights into evolving consumer preferences, the growing influence of smart home integration, and how premium audio is increasingly being treated as a key design element alongside lighting, materials, and interiors in high-end residences.
How is India positioned within Sonos’s overall APAC growth strategy, and what makes it a key strategic market?
India is one of our fastest-growing markets in APAC, and a market where we continue to see customers bringing in multiple Sonos products as part of their first purchase, amongst the highest in the world on that front. We’re seeing a clear shift as customers move beyond standalone speakers toward integrated sound systems, driven by our most premium offerings.
With premium audio growing at 23% and luxury home ownership projected to reach USD 28 billion by 2030, sound is increasingly being designed into premium residential spaces. This is fuelling demand for professionally installed solutions – reflected in our installation channel contributing more than 50% of our business in India.
We are seeing exciting momentum in cities like Hyderabad and Bengaluru, which are experiencing significant luxury residential booms. Hyderabad’s premium housing segment grew 17% YoY in H1 2025, while Bengaluru ranks among the world’s top five cities for prime residential price growth, and in both, sound is becoming as considered a design layer as lighting or materials. The result is strong demand for our highest-tier system portfolio, and real confidence in the opportunity ahead as we deepen our installer network across India’s fastest-growing cities.
How do you view the rising demand for pre-installed, multi-room audio systems in premium homes, and how is Sonos responding to this shift?
Audio is increasingly becoming foundational to home design, a shift we see reflected directly in how our installation partners are being briefed by developers and interior designers across India.
The demand is consistent: easy-to-use, seamless music and entertainment throughout the home that serves everyone under one roof. That means shared experiences like cinematic movie nights in the main living space, personal moments where parents or grandparents enjoy music or television with clarity and comfort in their own rooms, and seamless transitions from high-energy entertaining to ambient, end-of-day listening.
This is exactly where the Sonos system delivers. Indian consumers are becoming increasingly intentional about how their homes function with multi-purpose spaces and integrated technology that adapts to different needs. Sonos meets that expectation with a system experience that is seamless, adaptive to the moment and grows with you over time.
Tell us about the key innovations and products, such as Arc Ultra, Sub 4, and Era 300 are currently driving growth for Sonos in the premium audio segment?
At Sonos, we make one product: the Sonos system. Our strength lies not just in individual devices, but in how seamlessly the entire system works together, and nowhere is that more evident than in India.
Indian customers are investing in our full top-tier home theatre offering, pairing Arc Ultra, Sub 4 and Era 300 as surround speakers for the most immersive entertainment experience possible. What’s particularly striking is that we regularly see these premium set-ups in bedrooms, not just living rooms, which is fairly unique to India compared to other markets.
Each product earns its place in the system. Arc Ultra features our revolutionary Sound Motion™ transducer technology, delivering up to double the bass in a sleeker form factor. Sub 4 adds powerful, room-filling bass, while Era 300 delivers the best out-loud spatial audio experience with Dolby Atmos, equally at home as a standalone speaker or as part of a full surround setup.
How does the Arc Ultra position itself within the Sonos home theatre ecosystem, and what upgrades does it bring to immersive sound experiences?
Sonos Arc Ultra is our flagship soundbar and the anchor of the Sonos home theatre system, continuing to be a best-seller in-market.
What sets it apart is the depth of innovation packed into an elegant form factor. Sound Motion™, our revolutionary transducer technology, delivers up to double the bass output in a slimmer, more refined design. AI Speech Enhancement goes beyond simple dialogue boost, offering four levels of precision control, particularly valuable in the multi-generational Indian household where listening needs vary significantly across age groups. While TV Audio Swap allows listeners to seamlessly shift audio from Arc Ultra to Sonos Ace headphones with a single tap, enabling personal listening without disrupting the room.
Together, these features reinforce that the Sonos system is not static. It continues to evolve through platform enhancements that add genuine value long after installation.
The Beam (Gen 2) has been a strong compact soundbar offering. How does it balance performance and accessibility for modern living spaces?
Beam (Gen 2) occupies an important role in the Sonos ecosystem – it is our mid-range soundbar, and the entry point for customers who want a genuinely premium audio experience without committing to a full home theatre setup from day one. Beam is also a great Sonos speaker, equally at home filling a room with music, without the TV ever being switched on.
In a compact, elegantly designed form factor, Beam delivers Dolby Atmos-enabled spatial audio that belies its size, making it particularly well-suited to apartments, bedrooms, or secondary living spaces where a larger soundbar would be impractical. This dual purpose as both a premium soundbar and a standalone music speaker is what makes Beam especially compelling for the Indian home.
For installers, it is an ideal product to place in multi-room projects, whether as the primary soundbar in a guest room or as part of a broader whole-home system. A customer may begin with Beam in a single room, and over time build out with Sub, surround speakers, and additional rooms as the Sonos system grows with them.
How does Sonos Move 2 redefine portable premium audio, and what improvements have been made over its predecessor?
Move 2 represents a significant step forward in portable premium audio. The most meaningful upgrade over its predecessor is true stereo sound, replacing mono output with a genuinely immersive experience, backed by up to 24 hours of battery life and Automatic Trueplay™ that continuously adapts sound to the surrounding environment. Move 2 is also responsibly designed, with over 40% reduction in idle energy usage and PCR materials. And later this year, the portable lineup grows further with Sonos Play, a new speaker that, for the first time, allows customers to group Play and Move 2 speakers together directly over Bluetooth when away from home, bringing the full Sonos system experience beyond the home.
With Roam 2, how is Sonos enhancing the ultra-portable audio experience for users on the move?
Designed for life on the move, Sonos Roam 2 delivers premium, clear sound in an ultra-compact, lightweight and durable design, whether it’s at the beach, on a weekend trip, or simply moving between rooms. The focus is uncompromising audio quality in a true grab-and-go form factor, so the connection to your music remains effortless wherever the day takes you.
The Era 100 is designed as an entry point into the Sonos ecosystem. How does it deliver performance while appealing to a broader audience?
Era 100 is often the product that starts the journey. It delivers confident, room-filling stereo sound and deep, balanced bass from a compact design. Its versatility is what makes it invaluable: pair two for stereo, deploy as home theatre rear surrounds, connect to a turntable, or place in additional rooms as the system expands. For installers, it is a product to return to again and again across a single project.
Later this year, we are also introducing Era 100 SL to India, a microphone-free version that offers a more accessible entry point into the Sonos ecosystem, and an ideal surround sound option for clients who want the full home theatre experience without compromise.
The Era 300 is positioned around spatial audio. How does it elevate the listening experience compared to traditional smart speakers?
Where traditional smart speakers deliver sound from a single point, Era 300’s breakthrough acoustic design features six drivers firing sound forward, upwards and sideways to deliver the most immersive spatial sound experience with Dolby Atmos. Sound that puts you inside the music and places you at the very centre of what the artist created.
That last point matters to us deeply. Era 300 was fine-tuned in close collaboration with the Sonos Soundboard, a community of leading artists, producers and creators to ensure what you hear is true to the artist’s intent. Spatial audio is a personal experience; some listeners gravitate toward it immediately, while others prefer the familiarity of stereo. Era 300 is our answer for those who want the most immersive out-loud listening experience available.
