The latest collaboration between IKEA and Sonos has been leaked and teased many times, but today the SYMFONISK photo frame WiFi speaker was officially launched. It looks basically the same as the leak we saw earlier this month. This is a black or white frame, disguised as a large speaker that can be hung on the wall.
The term "picture frame" is a slight misnomer — it's not a frame that you can put your own artwork into. Instead, it comes with interchangeable front artwork that fits the black or white design. Behind the artwork grille, you'll find a tweeter and what looks to be a combo mid-woofer (we don't have full details on the speaker tech just yet). For starters, the speaker comes with one front piece of artwork, but IKEA is selling two additional pieces that you can swap in.
IKEA
IKEA has made some clever design choices with the picture frame speaker. Naturally, you can hang it on the wall, but it also has feet that flip out so you can place it on a piece of furniture and lean it up against the wall. Those feet are meant to provide stability and also reduce vibration and bass rattling. You can also route the power cord off to the left or right side of the speaker, and there's actually a powerThe frame has a lip that runs around the back; if you reach around on the left side you'll find a play/pause button and volume up and down buttons.
IKEA
As with previous IKEA / Sonos collaborations the picture frame WiFi speaker works just like any other Sonos speaker. That means you can group the frame with other Sonos or IKEA speakers in other rooms, use the Sonos app to run dozens of music streaming services, send audio to the frame with AirPlay 2 or Spotify Connect and more. As with other Sonos speakers, you can pair two frames together and run them in stereo, as well.
SYMFONISK photo frame WiFi speakers will be available on the IKEA website and IKEA stores from July 15th, you can order them also online. As expected, the frame is priced at US$199; two other artwork panels will be launched in a month, each priced at US$19.99. We need to wait and listen to this speaker in person to know if it is worth the money, but the previous collaboration between IKEA and Sonos successfully combined the unusual shape with the solid sound-hope they can succeed here again.
