Sonos announces a sweeping update introducing open AI control, personalised assistants, and smarter multi-room audio with new hardware and redesigned app, signalling a disruptive shift in home sound systems.
Sonos is preparing a broad reset of its software and hardware strategy, using a major platform update to push the brand towards more open artificial intelligence control. According to Smartprix, the Sonos 27 release is due to begin rolling out on 8 September, alongside a redesigned app, a new approach to cross-device audio hand-off and a clearer split between core features and early-access experiments.
The most significant change is Sonos 27mcp, an early-access layer that allows external AI systems such as ChatGPT and Google Gemini to control a Sonos setup. Sonos has said the aim is not to force users into a single assistant, but to let them choose, or build, the right agent for each task. The company is also previewing Sonos Custom Agents for 2027, which would let users create personalised assistants with distinct voices and behaviours, while its own Sonos 27voice assistant is set to arrive as an opt-in preview this autumn.
Sonos is pairing that software shift with what it calls Sonos Fabric, a system designed to make speakers and headphones react more intelligently to each other. One feature allows audio to move between the new Ace Ultra headphones and nearby speakers with a single button press. Another lets compatible portable speakers, such as the Sonos Play or Move 2, automatically act as rear surround channels when placed behind the listener, without manual setup.
The app is also being rebuilt after the widely criticised 2024 redesign. Sonos says the new interface has been shaped by community feedback, including from Reddit, and now centres on Home, System and Search tabs. It also adds a virtual volume wheel on iPhone, which uses a two-finger rotation gesture. Sonos says this cleaner layout is intended to make multi-room control simpler and more reliable.
The software rollout arrives with two flagship products aimed at showing what the platform can do. Notebookcheck and CE Pro reported that the Beam Ultra soundbar moves to a 7.1.2 Dolby Atmos configuration with up-firing drivers and AI speech enhancement, while the Ace Ultra headphones bring stronger noise cancellation, up to 35 hours of battery life and tighter integration with the home system. Smartprix said both products are priced at $699 and $449 respectively, with availability from 29 September in select markets, while the Sonos Play portable speaker is due in India on 8 September.
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