Sonos unveils Sonos 27 OS and new AI-integrated audio hardware

Sonos has announced a major strategic shift toward becoming an audio platform through the introduction of Sonos 27, its new audio operating system. The update emphasizes artificial intelligence integration, allowing users to control their systems via external AI agents such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT through the Sonos 27mcp protocol. The company also introduced Sonos 27voice, a proprietary assistant focused on music curation and atmosphere.

Alongside the software overhaul, Sonos unveiled two new hardware products: the Beam Ultra soundbar and the Ace Ultra headphones. The Beam Ultra is a mid-sized soundbar featuring nine custom drivers and support for true 7.1.2 Dolby Atmos. The Ace Ultra headphones include 40mm drivers, adaptive active noise cancellation, and up to 35 hours of battery life. A key feature, Headphone Engine 2, enables seamless audio handoffs between the headphones and the wider Sonos ecosystem without requiring a smartphone.

The update also introduces Sonos Fabric, a connectivity technology that allows devices to recognize their physical location and interact with one another. For example, portable speakers can automatically function as rear surround channels when positioned behind a listener. This ecosystem-wide update aims to improve multi-room audio management and device interoperability.