Key Points
- Sonos 27, the company’s platform software update, adds multi-assistant AI control via Sonos 27voice (in-house) and Sonos 27mcp, which connects outside AI agents — including ChatGPT — to a user’s system.
- A new “Sonos Fabric” capability enables headphone linking (Ace Ultra, Early Access) and portable surrounds, letting compatible speakers automatically become rear surrounds when moved into position.
- Amp Multi, a professional-grade multizone streaming amplifier aimed at custom integrators, is already shipping. It offers eight 125-watt outputs across up to four zones, each driving up to three Sonos Architectural speakers, plus new ProTune DSP tuning tools.
- Beam Ultra, a mid-size soundbar, adds true 7.1.2 Dolby Atmos via nine drivers; priced at $699.
- Sonos Ace Ultra, a new premium headphone, adds adaptive ANC, 35-hour battery life, and direct system linking; priced at $449.
- New multi-functional portable speakers can serve as wireless home theater surrounds alongside Beam Ultra, then convert to standalone or outdoor speakers.
- Beam Ultra and Ace Ultra are open for pre-order September 1, 2026, with general availability September 29, 2026; Sonos 27 app navigation, Sonos 27mcp, and portable surrounds begin rolling out September 8. Sonos is showcasing the full lineup at CEDIA Expo.
Sonos is arriving at CEDIA Expo with its broadest lineup of announcements in some time: Sonos 27, the newest version of the software platform that runs its speaker ecosystem; two new flagship consumer products in the Beam Ultra soundbar and Sonos Ace Ultra headphones; a new lineup of multi-functional portable speakers; and Amp Multi, a professional multizone streaming amplifier built specifically for the custom integration channel. Sonos frames the announcements as the next step in a two-decade effort to build a dedicated “audio operating system” for the home — one that now extends more directly into the professional installation market.
An open door for third-party AI
Rather than building a single closed voice assistant, Sonos is opening its platform to multiple AI providers. The update introduces Sonos 27voice, an in-house assistant built around music and mood control, alongside Sonos 27mcp — a framework that lets outside AI assistants and agents connect directly to a user’s Sonos system. OpenAI is the company’s first outside partner under this approach, letting ChatGPT users play music on Sonos hardware without leaving the ChatGPT interface.
Sonos also gave a preview of Sonos Custom Agents, a forthcoming feature that would let users build their own assistants — each with a distinct model, persona, and voice — for control of the system. For integrators, the multi-assistant approach signals that Sonos intends voice control to be a modular layer rather than a single proprietary stack, which could affect how systems are specified and supported going forward.
New system-level tricks: Sonos Fabric
The release also introduces Sonos Fabric, described as a system-level capability that lets Sonos products sense one another and adjust their roles automatically. Two features built on Fabric are rolling out this fall:
- Headphone linking, an Early Access feature exclusive to the new Sonos Ace Ultra, lets a listener push audio from a nearby speaker to their headphones (and pull it back) with a single control press, without a paired phone in range.
- Portable surrounds, enabled by what Sonos calls Sonos Positioning Technology, use high-frequency sound to detect a speaker’s physical placement. This allows a Sonos Move 2 or Sonos Play to automatically function as a rear surround channel when moved into position — a feature that could simplify home theater upsells for integrators working with portable Sonos hardware.
App navigation overhaul
Sonos is also refreshing navigation in its companion app, now referred to as Sonos 27app, based on feedback gathered from its user community. The app remains one of several control surfaces alongside Sonos 27voice and a web-based option, Sonos 27web.
Beam Ultra: compact soundbar, full Atmos
Beam Ultra is positioned as a mid-size soundbar that keeps the compact footprint of the original Beam while adding true 7.1.2 Dolby Atmos decoding through nine custom drivers, including two upward-firing drivers. Sonos says a redesigned center channel improves dialogue clarity, backed by four levels of AI-driven speech enhancement and a night-listening mode for volume-sensitive playback.
Beam Ultra is designed to anchor a home theater setup that scales over time — pairing with a Sonos Sub for low end, or with compatible portable speakers repurposed as rear surrounds via the Fabric-enabled positioning feature described above. Connectivity includes Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and HDMI eARC.
Sonos Ace Ultra: flagship headphones built for the ecosystem
Sonos Ace Ultra is the company’s new premium over-ear headphone, featuring a Sonos-designed 40mm driver, adaptive active noise cancellation powered by ten microphones, and a rated 35 hours of battery life with ANC engaged. It’s the first Sonos headphone built on what the company calls Headphone Engine 2 — new hardware enabling the direct headphone-linking connection to a user’s broader Sonos system. Wired connectivity adds USB-C and a 3.5mm jack alongside Bluetooth.
Both new products were tuned with input from what Sonos calls its “Soundboard,” a group of music and film industry figures the company consults on sound tuning, and both integrate with Sonos’ existing calibration tools — Trueplay for Beam Ultra, and a headphone-specific counterpart called TrueCinema for Ace Ultra when paired with a compatible soundbar.
Availability and pricing
- Beam Ultra: $699, available for pre-order starting September 1, 2026, with general availability September 29, 2026.
- Sonos Ace Ultra: $449, same pre-order and general-availability timeline as Beam Ultra. Headphone linking arrives as an Early Access feature exclusive to Ace Ultra at general availability.
- Sonos 27: Rolling out as a software update to existing Sonos S2 products, though some features are hardware-dependent. New app navigation and Sonos 27mcp (Early Access) begin rolling out September 8. Portable surrounds also begin September 8, limited to Move 2 and Sonos Play owners.
Sonos says more detailed rollout information for each feature will follow. Both new products are available through sonos.com and select retail partners.
Sonos frames the announcements as a shift from a portfolio of individually connected speakers toward a more unified, adaptive “system” — one where hardware additions make existing products more capable and where control can be handled by whichever AI assistant a user prefers. For dealers and integrators, the near-term practical items to watch are the Early Access status of headphone linking and Sonos 27mcp (both may see feature changes before wider release), and the September 8 versus September 29 staggered rollout across app navigation, portable surrounds, and the two new hardware products.
