The Sonos Beam Gen 3 rumour mill is beginning to churn in anticipation of the budget Dolby Atmos soundbar’s inevitable arrival in the next twelve months. The current, second-generation model has been our favourite budget Atmos ‘bar since its release in October , but it is, you could say, ‘getting on’ in the fast-paced world of consumer tech.
What’s more, despite the Beam Gen 2 still leading the field at its price point, there is room for improvement, so a successor could certainly fill a few gaps and make headway in the market – which we’ll go onto shortly.
The company already has its next-model-up Sonos Arc (with the Sonos Arc Gen 2 reportedly on the way soon) and entry-level Sonos Ray, placing the Beam in the popular middle spot of its soundbar family. So when can we expect a new Beam – will it be one of the Sonos 2024 launches? And what features could it bring to the table?
This Beam Gen 3 preview contains all we know so far about the next affordable Sonos Atmos soundbar, to help you decide whether to pull the trigger on the current model or wait patiently for a new and improved version.
Sonos Beam Gen 3: release date rumours
Sonos is playing the old cards close to the chest on this one, with no release date officially given for the Sonos Beam Gen 3. But we can see, from the previous generations, that there is a helpful pattern to be spotted.
The Sonos Beam was originally released back in July . This was followed up in October by the current Gen 2. Presuming it continues at this development rate, this means we can expect to see a Sonos Beam Gen 3 appear in the second half of this year. Or, at a push, at the start of 2025.
The premium Sonos Arc 2 seems more of a certainty as far as 2024 Sonos launches go, so we would bet on a new Beam arriving afterwards, towards the end of the year.
Sonos Beam Gen 3: price speculation
The pricing on the next-generation Beam will also likely increase over previous releases if history is anything to go by. Sorry… although the silver lining of a potentially higher price would almost certainly be a higher-performing, wider-featured Beam.
The original Sonos Beam arrived priced at £399 / $399 / AU$599, while the Beam 2 pushed that price up to £449 / $449 / AU$699.
Based on those figures, it’s fair to assume that a Beam Gen 3 would arrive at around £499 / $499 / AU$799, though we’d be over the moon if Sonos found a way to offer more without raising the price tag.
Today’s best deals on the current Sonos Beam Gen 2, Arc and Ray are below:
Sonos Beam Gen 3: new design?
While the physical design of the Beam has remained largely similar between the original and second-generation models, the insides have naturally seen updates. The Gen 3 could see more of a physical change… but only perhaps if one development materialises: upward-firing speakers.
While the Arc features up-firing drivers to help authentically deliver the immersive height channels of Dolby Atmos soundtracks, the Beam models have settled for front-firing drivers in partnership with smart software manipulations to help deliver any height effect. Specifically, the Beam Gen 2’s processor uses psychoacoustic HRTF (head-related transfer function) technology to give the impression of height without needing to get vertical.
If Sonos does decide that the Beam should get upward-firers too, considering they aren’t all that rare in the mid-market these days, the external look may have to change too. We wouldn’t expect this to be a reinvention of the pill shape that is now synonymous with the Beam, mind you.
As with most soundbar upgrades, another expectation is increased bass output levels. While a new Beam will likely be marketed alongside the Sub Mini (or perhaps even the new subwoofer Sonos is gearing up to launch), it’ll serve Sonos well to offer as much sound out of the Beam’s standalone performance as possible.
With improved sound in mind, the Beam Gen 3 could also incorporate technology from Mayht, a speaker company that Sonos bought back in . This could enable a bigger, better sound from a smaller device, allowing Sonos to upgrade the audio performance without enlarging the footprint.
Sonos Beam Gen 3: 5 features we’d like to see
While the current Beam already includes premium soundbar features such as the HDMI eARC connection and Dolby Atmos processing, there is still room for improvement. Here is what we’d like to see in a Sonos Beam Gen 3…
1. More HDMI ports
Having a single HDMI eARC is great for Dolby Atmos passthrough between a connected TV and the Gen 2, but having more HDMI ports would be most welcome. This could allow sources such as a games console or Blu-ray player to be connected directly to the soundbar.
2. Up-firing drivers
Sure, the Gen 2 offers Dolby Atmos processing, but it relies mostly on processing trickery as opposed to physical driver placement to offer the height channels, which is certainly not as effective as ‘the real deal’. By adding up-firers in the Gen 3, Sonos could offer even better Atmos immersion without compromising much on that compact form factor.
3. DTS:X support
While DTS:X might sit behind Dolby Atmos in terms of the surround sound format’s popularity these days, it’s still a powerful, very welcome and widely adopted alternative that we’d love to see supported on the Beam Gen 3.
4. Bluetooth connectivity
It feels harsh to ask for more music options when the Beam offers more wi-fi features, including access to streaming services, than most at its level, but the addition of an offline wireless method like Bluetooth would be most welcome. This could allow any device with Bluetooth to directly send music to the speaker – great for parties where guests can easily run the playlist.
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