If this cheaper Sonos Era 100 leak is true, I think it’ll be the king of wireless speakers | Tech Radar

Overview

If this cheaper Sonos Era 100 leak is true, I think it’ll be the king of wireless speakers

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Details

A reliable leaker says a Sonos Era 100 SL is coming

It would be a cheaper version of the Sonos Era 100 speaker without mics

It follows the recent leak of a new Sonos portable speaker and app refresh

It looks like Sonos is planning to launch a new Sonos Era 100 SL speaker, which would essentially be a cheaper version of the Sonos Era 100 that cuts out voice control in order to lower costs — at least, that based on previous Sonos 'SL' products, which have all done exactly that.

The leak comes from well-known tech leaker Evan Blass on X, with images of the bottom of the new speakers, in black and white, with the name clearly visible.

Besides the recently-leaked Sonos Play, the company is also poised to release the so-called Sonos Era 100 SL pic.twitter.com/1llm 7 Gx Pdt March 2, 2026

Besides the recently-leaked Sonos Play, the company is also poised to release the so-called Sonos Era 100 SL pic.twitter.com/1llm 7 Gx Pdt March 2, 2026

When I reviewed the Sonos Era 100 upon its launch, I thought it was a great speaker overall, but the price was a just a little too high. Since then, Sonos has cut the price from

A new Sonos portable speaker has been leaked, and it could be the brand's next best mid-range option

Wii M Sound Lite vs Sonos Era 100 — can this spacious-sounding, hi-res speaker topple the champ?

Samsung reveals two new wireless speakers that are cooler than I expected

With the promise of the SL offering an even cheaper option, I think this new model will probably become the default wireless speaker. We've been recommending the JBL Authentics 200 over the Era 100 in our guide to the best wireless speakers, but this could turn things in Sonos's favor.

What price should you expect for this? To be clear, it's not like the Sonos Era 100 SL is likely to be half the price of the current model, but the Sonos One SL was

Bearing in mind that Sonos happily takes part in Black Friday and other sales events, you could end up paying under $170 / £150 for this new speaker, and I think it'll be wildly popular at that kind of price, including as a pair. Simple, good-looking, well-made, with nice sound – it's the kind of thing that'll get Sonos's reputation back at the top of the pile.

In the past, the microphones and voice assistant feature have been the only thing that Sonos has cut from the SL models, but it's possible that it will choose to cut more here – for example, it would be a shame to lose the USB-C port that enables you to connect a line-in adapter, but people might be happy to live with it in favor of the savings.

It's been a busy week in the world of Sonos leaks. First was news that the company is planning a new refresh to its app, including some fast-access music controls on i OS, which is something I've wanted for a while.

Then we saw clear leaks that the company is planning to launch a new portable speaker mid-way between the Sonos Roam 2 and the Sonos Move 2 for price and size. (Something that we anticipated in our round-up of what we hoped to see from Sonos, so well done to my colleague James Davidson for nailing that.)

Now we have the Era 100 SL appearing too (pictured along with more images of the Sonos Play portable speaker in that leak). We already knew that Sonos was planning to "ramp up" its launches after releasing nothing in 2025, and it looks like it's going to come racing out of the blocks with two early speakers, any maybe more to follow.

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Key Takeaways

• If this cheaper Sonos Era 100 leak is true, I think it’ll be the king of wireless speakers

• When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission

• A reliable leaker says a Sonos Era 100 SL is coming

• It would be a cheaper version of the Sonos Era 100 speaker without mics

• It follows the recent leak of a new Sonos portable speaker and app refresh