Daniel Mercer
Voice Control Integration is Expected.
In the recent third quarter financial conference, Sonos announced plans for an exciting product launch in September. A recent FCC filing discovered by Lowpass suggests that one of the new products could be a model of headphones named “Ace Ultra.” Although the details in the filing are largely obscured, it appears that the Ace Ultra will feature an over-ear design, akin to the original Sonos Ace introduced in 2024. this new model will offer a broader color selection, showcasing five options: Greige (a soft light gray), Shadow Black, Agave, Blush, and Sand. Please note that the headphones depicted in the accompanying image represent the original Sonos Ace, not the forthcoming Ace Ultra model.
The FCC documentation also indicates that the Ace Ultra will include support for Sonos Voice Control, the company’s proprietary voice assistant. As emphasized by Bloomberg, voice support is essential for devices lacking a visual interface, enabling them to interact effectively with AI assistants and chatbots. Sonos CEO Thomas Conrad mentioned during the earnings call that the company is prioritizing AI as a fundamental aspect of its business strategy. This indicates that the Ace Ultra may leverage current and future AI capabilities offered by Sonos.
The launch of the original Sonos Ace faced challenges due to significant issues with the company’s app in 2024, which arose after a problematic update. Users experienced a dysfunctional app missing crucial features. Sonos later acknowledged that the new design was released prematurely, resulting in incompatibility with the previous version. The highly anticipated TrueCinema spatial audio enhancement feature for the headphones was not made available until a year post-launch, despite being a key selling point. TrueCinema utilizes the acoustics of a room when a Sonos soundbar is present, adjusting audio output to create an immersive spatial audio experience for the headphones.
Looking ahead, the Ace Ultra is likely to be just one of the many AI-driven products Sonos plans to introduce in the future. Conrad believes that Sonos holds a significant advantage in the AI home market, as it provides audio devices capable of inter-communication and collaboration across an entire household system.
Ethan Carter
