The more interesting half of Sonos's 1 September announcement is the software. Sonos 27 goes to every existing S2 product as a free update, starting 8 September. If you already own Sonos gear, this is the bit that affects you.
Sonos announced Sonos 27 on 1 September and describes it as the next version of its audio operating system. In plain terms it is the software running on your speakers and the app you control them with, renamed and given a few new tricks.
It arrives as a software update to all Sonos S2 products. Sonos does say some features are limited to certain products, so not everything below will show up on an older speaker.
Portable surrounds
This is the one I would be most keen on. From 8 September a Sonos Move 2 or Sonos Play can become a rear surround speaker just by being moved into position behind the couch. Sonos calls the underlying tech Sonos Positioning Technology. It uses high frequency sound to work out where the speaker is and change its role in the system to match. No pairing dance in the app.
So if you have a soundbar and one of those portables kicking around the kitchen, movie night just got a rear channel for free.
AI control, your choice of assistant
Sonos is doing two things here. Sonos 27voice is its own assistant, aimed at music and mood rather than general questions. Sonos 27mcp is the more unusual one: it lets an outside AI assistant or agent connect to your Sonos system. OpenAI is the named launch partner, so you will be able to ask ChatGPT to play something in a room from your phone or computer. Sonos 27mcp lands in Early Access on 8 September.
The name strongly suggests it is built on the Model Context Protocol, the open standard a lot of AI tools use to talk to other software. Sonos has not confirmed that word for word, only the ChatGPT integration, so I am flagging it as a reasonable guess rather than fact.
Sonos also previewed Sonos Custom Agents, where you build your own assistant with its own model, persona and voice. No date on that one.
The app
New app navigation starts rolling out on 8 September. Sonos says it was shaped and tested by its community, which after the 2024 app disaster is the least they could do. Sonos 27web is also listed alongside the app and voice as a way to control the system.
Headphone linking
Headphone linking, where you push and pull audio between your speakers and your headphones, is exclusive to the new Sonos Ace Ultra and arrives on 29 September as an Early Access feature. It does not come to the original Ace, at least not yet.