In this engaging discussion, Patrick Spence, CEO of Sonos, shares insights about the innovative Era 100 and Era 300 speakers, designed to elevate the listening experience with spatial audio. Joining him is Giles Martin, a renowned record producer and sound experience expert at Sonos, known for his groundbreaking work with spatial audio. They explore how these speakers make 3D soundscapes accessible, discuss the wow factor of single-box technology, and touch on the evolving landscape of audio consumption and its impact on artists and listeners alike.

This week I sat down with Patrick Spence, the CEO of Sonos, and Eddie Lazarus, his Chief Legal Officer. I wanted both Patrick and Eddie on the show to talk about when a company like Sonos makes the decision to head to the courts and increasingly, Congress. Sonos has long accused other tech giants of stealing its tech, but in 2019 it actually sued Google for patent infringement. Sonos recently won that lawsuit at the US International Trade Commission, which ruled that Google infringed all five patents Sonos brought to court. I wanted to understand how Patrick and Eddie decided to take the risk of a lawsuit here – Sonos claims Google actually infringes over 150 patents, so how did they pick.. Five.. to sue over? Links:Sonos sues Google for allegedly stealing smart speaker techSonos CEO will testify to lawmakers after suing GoogleGoogle countersues Sonos for patent infringementSonos sues Google for infringing five more wireless audio patentsA judge has ruled that Google infringed on Sonos’ patentsSonos says Google is blocking it from offering more than one voice assistant at onceTranscript:https://www.theverge.com/e/22719377Credits:Decoder is a production of The Verge, and part of the Vox Media Podcast Network.Today’s episode was produced by Creighton DeSimone and Jackie McDermott and it was edited by Callie Wright.The Decoder music is by Breakmaster Cylinder. Our Sr Audio Director is Andrew Marino and our Executive Producer is Eleanor Donovan.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week we saw Sonos announce several new products, most significantly the Arc, which is the company’s first soundbar to support Dolby Atmos. Other new devices include the Sonos Five speaker and a refreshed Sub, and all three will only work with Sonos’ new S2 app that launches next month.Sonos CEO Patrick Spence sat down virtually with Verge editor-in-chief Nilay Patel for The Vergecast to discuss the new products, the S2 update, the backlash that Sonos took from customers over its “Recycle Mode”, and the perception that the company is leaving customers with older Sonos hardware behind. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices