Sonos unveiils two new major products and overhauled operating system

Sonos has unveiled its biggest product push in years, introducing two new audio products alongside the Sonos 27 OS. The Beam Ultra soundbar and Ace Ultra headphones are designed for a multi-room ecosystem, while Sonos 27 introduces changes to the app, system controls and AI functionality. The announcements come after a difficult period for Sonos following problems with its redesigned app.

The Beam Ultra is a redesigned compact soundbar with a 7.1.2-channel configuration, adding two up-firing drivers for Dolby Atmos spatial audio. Sonos has also redesigned the centre channel with new hardware and processing, while AI-powered speech enhancement provides four levels of adjustment intended to make dialogue clearer. The soundbar remains relatively compact, although it is nearly four inches longer than the second-generation Beam. It will be offered in matte black or white.

The Ace Ultra headphones introduce more substantial changes, getting redesigned 40mm drivers and 10 microphones (compared to 8 of the predecessor model), with Sonos claiming substantially improved active noise cancellation at low frequencies. The standout feature, however, is direct integration with the Sonos ecosystem: a single button press can move audio between speakers and headphones without a phone nearby. Sonos frames this as fixing a shortcoming of the original Ace model, which never fully connected to the wider system. Battery life also reportedly rises to up to 35 hours with ANC enabled, and a three-minute fast charge provides another three hours. The headphones also support aptX Adaptive Lossless over Bluetooth and 16-bit/48kHz audio through USB-C.

Both devices are open for pre-order from September 1, 2026, via Sonos’s website and select retailers, with wider availability expected from September 29. The Beam Ultra is priced at $699 and the Ace Ultra at $449, while the Sonos 27 software update will roll out gradually to existing S2-compatible products from September 8.

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Jacob Fisher – Tech Writer / Translator – 3049 articles published on Notebookcheck since 2022

I first became acquainted with computers in my early teens after a broken leg from a football (soccer) match temporarily condemned me to a predominately indoor lifestyle. Soon afterwards I was building my own systems. Having studied philosophy and anthropology, I am particularly fascinated by how computer technology has fundamentally and dramatically reshaped human culture, and how it continues to do so.