Google has been involved in a legal dispute with Sonos for a while now, with the latter claiming that the former has infringed on a number of its patents and licenses on its popular products. Now, it seems that the lawsuit has proved to be favorable towards Sonos, as Google is being forced to make changes with its Nest speakers.

According to an AndroidPolice report, Sonos has won a major court decision after piling on a number of lawsuits and accusations of theft against the Search Engine giant. Now, the brand is being forced to make changes in some of its popular gadgets. In the worst case scenario, it is possibly even facing a ban of its products. The US International Trade Commission has just ruled in favor of Sonos earlier today (7th January 2022) after finding Google guilty of violating Sonos’ intellectual property.

This ruling also arrives following the preliminary results from August 2021, in which a judge also found the brand to be in violation of the Tariff Act of 1930. In other words, Sonos’ victory means that there will possibly be a ban on importing infringing devices that will go into effect within the next 60 days. Although, the company told The Verge that “We do not expect any impact to our ability to import or sell our products.” It also added that the customers will not experience any disruptions either.

Google further elaborated on some of the upcoming changes for its Nest speakers in a forum post. For those unaware, Sonos had sought to block the sale of Google’s smart speakers, Pixel smartphones, and even Chromebooks initially. But as of right now, it remains unclear which products and series will be facing the ban or revisions. It remains to be seen if the Biden administration steps up to take action against the ruling, so stay tuned for more updates.

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Samsung might be trying its hand in the smart speaker segment again, as rumors have surfaced of a device dubbed the Galaxy Home Mini 2 being in the works.

According to a report by SamMobile, sources reveal that Samsung is working on the second generation of the Galaxy Home Mini smart speaker, which carries model number SM-V320. The upcoming smart speaker may come with a display, making it more of a smart display than just a smart speaker. Other than that, no information about the rumored device is available right now.

This is not Samsung’s first rodeo when it comes to smart speakers, as Samsung has previously launched its first Galaxy Home smart speaker back in 2018 and followed it up with Galaxy Home Mini in February 2020. If you are wondering why you’ve never heard about these smart speakers before, that might be because Samsung never released these devices outside their home country of South Korea. The upcoming Galaxy Home Mini 2 is expected to meet the same fate as its predecessor when it comes to global availability, but it is far too early to say for sure.

The smart speaker segment is currently dominated by Amazon’s Alexa, Google‘s Nest speakers, and Apple’s HomePod range of speakers. We hope Samsung will soon step into the global smart speaker market, offering a little Bixby flavored variety.

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Sonos has filed another lawsuit against Google. The company is now alleging that the search engine giant has copied its speaker technology and is suing the company for violating five wireless audio patents.

According to an AndroidAuthority report, Sonos is claiming that the entire lineup of Google Nest and Chromecast products are using Sonos technology that includes smartphone based music streaming controls, speaker groups, and automatic EQ. Legal chief Eddie Lazarus stated that the audio based firm is suing the tech giant since it wants to highlight the “depth and breadth of Google’s copying.”

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Jose Castaneda, a Google spokesperson has said that the company will be fighting the new lawsuit. He further added that the company has built the products mentioned in the lawsuit filing had been “designed independently” and that the company would deny such claims “vigorously.” Additionally, Google has also countersued Sonos over the previous case, which was filed back in June, which is a known tactic to promptly end a legal battle.

Sonos has frequently complained about the power major companies like Google and Amazon abuse, especially in regards to technology and their one sided terms. The firm also accused the major brand of knowingly violating the patents since the cost of any legal actions would be trivial compared to the profits the large corporation would make from selling the smart speakers. Apparently, suing Google was the last resort after discussions had failed between both sides and, regardless of the lawsuit, Sonos still aims to maintain a “positive relationship” with Google.

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Last month, it was rumoured that Google will be launching the Pixel 5 on September 30. Indeed, the tech giant has now confirmed that the flagship smartphone will be launched on September 30th. The event which would be a virtual one will commence at 2PM ET / 11AM PT.

Apart from the Pixel 5 smartphone, Google may also take the wraps off a new Chromecast, and a new smart speaker according to the invitation sent out. The invite reads; “We invite you to learn all about our new Chromecast, our latest smart speaker, and our new Pixel phones.”

The Pixel 5 was first officially announced during the launch of the Pixel 4a. The post put out back then stated that the Pixel 5 will have 5G support. The phone will be available in the US, Canada, the United Kingdom, Ireland, France, Germany, Japan, Taiwan, and Australia when it launches.

However, this is the first time the company was confirming it will launch a new Chromecast and Google-branded smart speaker. Google had confirmed the existence of a Nest smart speaker back in July after the leakage of an image of the speaker.

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