Sonos is attempting a major comeback with the announcement of Sonos 27, a comprehensive overhaul of its operating system designed to distance the company from a tumultuous year. Following a disastrous 2024 app update that led to leadership changes and stalled product releases, the brand is introducing an annual versioning system for its software starting with this latest iteration. The centerpiece of the update is a newfound openness toward artificial intelligence, allowing users to link their systems to virtually any external AI agent they prefer, including ChatGPT. By hosting a public model context protocol server, Sonos intends to let these third party assistants handle everything from playing specific tracks to adjusting volumes across different rooms without disrupting the user’s current workflow.
The push into AI doesn’t stop with external integrations. Sonos is teasing custom agents that will allow users to define their own personas and voices for system control, alongside a refreshed proprietary voice assistant focused on music and mood curation. While details on those bespoke tools remain slim, the company is pairing them with tangible hardware improvements through a new technology called Sonos Fabric. This allows devices to sense one another via high frequency sound waves and automatically adapt their roles. In practical terms, placing Move 2 or Play speakers behind a couch could see them instantly transform into surround sound channels for a soundbar without requiring manual configuration in the app.
For headphone enthusiasts, the upcoming Ace Ultra headphones arriving September 29 will introduce headphone linking during an early access phase. This feature treats the headset as just another speaker in the ecosystem, enabling seamless audio handoffs from room speakers directly to the ears. Meanwhile, iPhone and iPad users get several quality of life upgrades beginning September 8, including lock screen controls and a unique virtual volume knob operated by twisting two fingers on the glass. Integration with Apple Shortcuts will also arrive, allowing Siri triggers for complex home automation sequences.
Rounding out the update is a complete redesign of the mobile application interface. Moving away from previous frustrations, the new UI introduces persistent tabs for home, system, and search functions, along with the ability to pin favorite speakers for quicker access. Users can also utilize new presets to trigger saved combinations of volume levels and playlists across multiple rooms with a single tap. Most current hardware running on the S2 platform will receive these updates, signaling an effort by Sonos to modernize nearly every device it has sold over the last decade while hoping this rollout avoids the bugs that plagued its recent past.
