New IKEA speaker looks like a picture frame

There have been rumors that Sonos and IKEA would soon launch a new speaker in the Symfonisk series, and now we know more about what it’s going to look like. The new speaker has not yet been officially unveiled, but has now appeared on IKEA’s US website. The text has since been removed, but we managed to get a look at it.

Disguised as a picture frame

So far, we only get to see a close-up of the speaker; it looks like a picture frame with a built-in speaker. So instead of framing a regular picture, Sonos and IKEA have mounted a speaker in it with a fabric front.

The new Symfonisk speaker is available in black or white. The frame itself measures 40 x 50 cm and protrudes 5 cm from the wall.

IKEA’s American website told a little more:

“Sonos are experts in sound experience, and at IKEA we have a great deal of knowledge about interior design and home life. It’s a really good combination to help more people stream music and podcasts without speakers stealing space, ”says Stjepan Begic, who has been part of the collaboration around Symfonisk. “We challenge each other and come up with new solutions. Eg. the combined picture frame and Wi-Fi speaker – neither of us could have managed to develop it alone.”

“By collaborating with the designers, we have been able to preserve the thin edge of the picture frame, while hiding a deeper acoustic volume behind it. Together with a waveguide, it allows us to make good room-filling sound from something that looks like a thin speaker,” explains Sara Morris, Senior Principal Product Manager at Sonos.

The website also mentions that the picture frame, like the other Symfonisk speakers, can be integrated with other Sonos speakers and be part of a larger sound system. Maybe as rear speakers for surround sound?