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Wired's Andy Greenberg explains how a cybercrime operation in Southeast Asia trapped computer engineers into defrauding victims of billions of dollars. Plus, he discusses the scam involving Fresh Air.

• More workers are worried about security issues than they were this time last year
• Three in four say their recovery tools are too difficult for them to use
• This report says having strong data storage could help

While many of us typically see security as an IT or a leadership issue, it's actually impacting us more than we'd initially thought. New Object First data found that 91% of workers feel uncomfortably stressed at work because of IT security risks – a seven percentage point increase over last year.

But unfortunately, it's a double-edged sword because it all boils down to AI. Nine in 10 say AI tools have improved their productivity, but seven in 10 say the growth of AI-powered threats is a key driver behind their stress.

Additionally, fewer than one-quarter (24%) believe their organisation is suitably equipped to deal with those threats.

AI-driven security threats are actually impacting you and I

While the risk of cyberattacks (50%) is a leading cause for stress at work, high workloads and understaffing (50%) land in joint-first place. Gaps in backup and recovery effectiveness (41%) and pressure to maintain uptime (44%) are also big headaches for workers, implying pressure isn't coming from direct attacks alone, but workload and operations.

For example, three in four (74%) say that their recovery tools are difficult to use without security expertise, leaving regular knowledge workers at a loss. One in five (19%) even say they feel hopeless and overwhelmed during and after an incident.

Naturally, this stress is impacting productivity, with four in five (78%) remarking that stress negatively affected their job performance. Two in five (39%) even said they'd thought about quitting.

"As critical as technology is to cyber resilience, those responsible for protecting and recovering an organization’s data are just as essential," company CEO David Bennett concluded.

Incendiamoeba cascadensis, which translates to "fire amoeba of the Cascade mountain range." This single-celled organism can replicate at temperatures up to 145°F, a new record for a complex organism.'/>

Scientists have found a species they've named the fire amoeba, which is capable of reproducing at 145°F and continuing to move up to temperatures of 147°F — a record for complex eukaryotic life.

(Image credit: Felix Mikus  )

• Apple's latest iOS update has been found to undermine NordVPN's anti-phishing tool
• The feature that causes the issue, Connectivity Assist, is turned on by default as part of the update
• According to NordVPN, the issues could have been prevented

Apple's new iOS 27 operating system update is undermining NordVPN’s anti-phishing tool, leaving users exposed to privacy vulnerabilities, the VPN has warned.

Connectivity Assist, a Wi-Fi Assist feature included in Apple’s twentieth operating system release, conflicts with NordVPN’s real-time protection, preventing it from working properly, the provider has found.

What’s worse? The tool is enabled by default, meaning users may not even know. What's more, other privacy tools on your phone may also have been compromised.

The problem with Connectivity Assist

(Image credit: NordVPN)

Connectivity Assist optimises your Wi-Fi connection by supplementing slow or unreliable Wi-Fi connections with mobile data, detecting connection issues, and redirecting requests to your mobile operator’s DNS servers instead.

However, when NordVPN’s anti-fraud protection blocks a phishing site, Apple may also interpret the failed connection as a Wi-Fi issue and switch to mobile data—outside the VPN’s protection—thereby compromising the functionality of the NordVPN tool.

The only option currently available to ensure full protection is to disable Connectivity Assistant, so it can’t switch to mobile data when real-time protection blocks a website.

Alternatively, you can choose only to enable real-time protection when using a VPN by disabling NordVPN’s ‘always on’ option - but this still leaves them unprotected when using mobile data - just now by choice.

“People are being made to choose between two things they shouldn't have to choose between, and there's no good way for us to fix it,” Laura Tyrylyte, Head of Public Relations at NordVPN, tells TechRadar.

Can this be prevented?

Could Apple have helped resolve these issues before the release? Perhaps, according to the VPN representative. “Apple knew the feature interferes with DNS-based filtering before it shipped,” Tyrylyte notes. “Their own support page tells people running an ad blocker to switch Connectivity Assist for that network. Somebody spotted the conflict, it just didn’t get fixed.”

Users of Pi-hole, Firewalla, and other DNS-based filtering tools had previously reported the same behaviour, and Cloudflare's WARP also stopped blocking malicious sites following the update, NordVPN stressed.

Apple engineers have suggested alternative solutions in the forums, but these only work if users configure the DNS settings themselves, notes Tyrylyte.

“Deciding to treat deliberate filtering as a failed connection is a choice somebody made. They could have written it the other way: if a user-installed DNS service decides to resolve or block the query, leave that judgement alone,” Tyrylyte adds.

“Instead, the problem got handed to users, who now need to end up fielding the support tickets for something we can’t change,” she stresses.

NordVPN states that this is not the first time a change made by Apple to the network has compromised a security feature on iOS, with the VPN having to inform users.

In 2023, Apple’s VPN API contained vulnerabilities that disrupted NordVPN operations. “Both times users ended up having to pick between an Apple feature and their own protection, and both times Apple was the only one who could have prevented that,” Tyrylyte says.

“Apple makes the call, and we find out what the call was when the release lands, she stressed.

Whoever’s responsibility this is, one thing is for certain: it is users who stand to pay the highest price when tools quietly stop working. And reporting the issue in the press as a solution seems a poor substitute for preventing the problem in the first place.

Apple is yet to respond to a request for comment.

• Rayman Legends Retold brand producer Loïc Gounon is interested in making more games in the series
• Gounon says, "The plan was that we want to restart the franchise," using the latest version of Ubisoft's engine
• He suggests that the upcoming remake could be the start of something new "if everything goes according to plan"

Rayman Legends Retold brand producer Loïc Gounon believes the series has a future and said he's interested in making new games using Ubisoft's latest tech.

The upcoming remake of the beloved 2013 hit reinvents the hand-painted 2D adventure as a full 3D side-scrolling platforming experience. It's powered by the studio's proprietary Snowdrop engine, while still utilizing the original game's UbiArt Framework.

It looks like a completely new game, though with the familiar elements that made the original a critical success, and according to Gounon, "The plan was that we want to restart the franchise" using the latest version of this technology.

"Without an engine, you don't make a game," Gounon told TechRadar Gaming. "Without a team, you don't make a game. So the initial point has been: we need to rebuild the team, and we need to adopt a new engine. As we were starting to think about that, we also considered a brand new game, but we've also been humble about what we could achieve."

The developer wasn't shy about sharing his dreams for the series, saying, "We believe that this IP has a future," and that Rayman Legends Retold could be the start of something new "if everything goes according to plan."

He also indicated the move to 3D allowed the team to build its bank of 3D assets, which sounds like something that would come in handy for any future projects.

Rayman Legends Retold arrives on December 3, 2026, for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X and Series S, Nintendo Switch 2, and PC.

Gaming laptop deals have been pretty dire in recent months (to say the least), but every now and again I spot a listing that's worth the cash. That's the case today with this RTX 5070 Ti-equipped MSI Vector 16 for $1,399 (was $1,749) at Walmart.

If you've got a bit of cash to spend on a new laptop, then this MSI Vector is definitely worth keeping on your list. It's been a while since I've seen a machine with such a graphics card for so cheap, although there are a few caveats.

First, you only get 16GB of RAM, which is somewhat expected given the price. The second trade-off is that you only get a 512GB storage drive.

It's the storage drive that's the most galling omission here, although I'd be willing to sacrifice a bit of space to get such a powerful graphics card at this price. You're essentially trading the ability to have a ton of games installed at once for better in-game performance. Personally, I don't think that's too bad.

Today's best gaming laptop deal at Walmart

Vector 16 gaming laptop: was $1749 now $1399
Graphics card: RTX 5070 Ti
Processor: Intel Core Ultra 7 255HX
RAM: 16GB
Storage: 512GB

If you're looking for the maximum possible performance per dollar, check out this MSI Vector 16 at Best Buy this week. At just $1,399, this machine is easily one of the cheapest I've ever seen to feature a high-end RTX 5070 Ti graphics card. On top of that, you're also getting a decent Intel Core Ultra 7 chipset - although you will have to settle for 16GB of RAM and a rather meagre 512GB SSD. View Deal

• See more: check out all of today's gaming laptop deals at Walmart

Even with 16GB of RAM, I'd pick this MSI Vector 16 over similarly priced RTX 5060 and RTX 5070 machines on the market currently.

The RAM will likely bottleneck your performance in some games, but a machine with an RTX 5070 Ti and 16GB of RAM should still outpace a machine with an RTX 5060 and 32GB of RAM. For one, the RTX 5070 Ti features 12GB of VRAM versus the rather meagre 8GB on the RTX 5060. Again, I think the lack of RAM is an acceptable trade-off to secure the RTX 5070 Ti at this particular price.

Anthropic has opened a biology lab to test Claude with real experiments and lab equipment, expanding its AI life sciences work beyond computer simulations.

The post Anthropic Builds Biology Lab to Test What Claude Can Do in the Real World appeared first on TechRepublic.

Five external SSDs compared for speed, durability, compatibility, portability, and demanding work and creative workflows.

The post Best External SSDs for 2026: 5 Portable Drives for Work and Travel appeared first on TechRepublic.

Identify the hidden costs of legacy 1099 reporting systems, determine if it’s time for an upgrade, and learn how to improve your reporting process.

The post The Hidden Cost of Maintaining Legacy 1099 Reporting Systems appeared first on TechRepublic.

• Base44 has launched an AI agent that can make and receive phone calls
• It aims to eliminate hold times and speed up research
• Just describe your goal, give context, and let it do the work for you

Waiting on hold may become a thing of the past thanks to Base44’s new voice AI agent. Launched earlier this month, Superagent can now make and receive phone calls on behalf of the user, with countless potential applications.

According to a press release shared with TechRadar Pro, Base44’s Superagent can take on everyday tasks that would otherwise require people to spend time on hold or leave them navigating frustrating phone systems.

How Base 44’s Superagent works

Users start by giving Superagent a goal and providing relevant context on how that goal should be achieved. The AI agent can then proactively contact businesses or customers, asking relevant questions, collecting crucial information, and even navigating supported phone menus. Once the job is complete, the agent will then report back to the user with a summary of what has been done and which outcomes have been achieved.

Some helpful use cases include:

• Improve time management by booking or rescheduling important appointments
• Speed up research by calling vendors to request quotes for comparison
• Increase call success by retrying unanswered calls on a predefined schedule
• Receive and manage calls from trusted contacts

A shifting approach to AI

The launch highlights an ongoing shift in consumer AI, with tools moving from generative AI that simply answers questions to agentic AI that undertakes real-world actions based on requests made by the user.

But the question remains: will humans be happy to interact with AI if it means limiting wait times and more efficient calls?

Oura is seeking up to $2.2 billion in a U.S. IPO that could value the smart-ring maker at about $15.6 billion on a fully diluted basis.

The post Oura Seeks Up to $2.2 Billion in IPO at $15.6 Billion Valuation appeared first on TechRepublic.

• Attackers spoofed LastPass Authenticator via SEO‑poisoned GitHub pages, delivering malicious ZIP files
• Malware Rapuncel uses DLL sideloading, kills 145 AV products, and steals passwords, wallets, and tokens
• Campaign ongoing for months; LastPass vaults unaffected, but users urged to download only from trusted sources

Be careful when downloading the LastPass Authenticator app - there are impostors out there that can disable your antivirus and wreak havoc on your computer.

LastPass recently discovered an elaborate scheme to get people infected with malware - a spoofed website, SEO poisoning, DLL sideloading, and a malware loader delivering never-before-seen payload that can kill endpoint protection and antivirus solutions.

According to the password manager, users searching for "LastPass Authenticator download" or similar keywords will get a GitHub page rather high on the search engine results pages. At a glance, the page looks almost identical to the authentic LastPass offering - however, it redirects users to a separate one, hosted on attacker-controlled infrastructure and delivering a large .ZIP file with multiple files.

Among the files are two worth paying attention to: vsdbg.exe, and vsdbg.dll. The .EXE one is renamed to look like a LastPass installer, but it’s in fact a legitimate Microsoft debugging tool. This tool is used to run the malware - the vsdbg.dll file. This is a method called “dll sideloading” where the legitimate program will look for a DLL file in the same folder it’s located, rather than the wider device library. Since the DLL is delivered together with the executable, it is the first one to be run, despite the fact that it’s malicious.

Rapuncel

LastPass shared the malware with security researchers Delphos for analysis, and they’ve named it Rapuncel. No AV engines have been able to spot it, when it was first analyzed.

Once Rapuncel runs, it does a number of things. First, it gains admin-level access to run as SYSTEM, and then installs a kernel driver. The driver, disguised as an NVIDIA graphics component, comes with a hardcoded list of 145 antivirus and endpoint security products, and if any of them are found on the device, they are instantly terminated.

After killing antivirus solutions, the malware gets to work, stealing saved passwords from more than 25 browsers (Chrome, Edge, and other popular ones included), cryptocurrency wallet files from more than 30 wallet apps, Discord login tokens, Steam session tokens, Telegram session data, Windows credential store, all documents with words like “password”, “seed”, “wallet”, or “recovery” in their name, screenshots of every monitor connected to the device, as well as a detailed profile of the system.

Once all of this is harvested, the information is compressed into a .ZIP archive and uploaded to a server under the attackers’ control. To add insult to injury, the kernel driver was given code to intercept all web traffic, allowing the attackers to inject ads, or modify search results, at a whim.

Rapuncel comes with a persistence mechanism, as well, to make sure it continues operating even if the victim spots it. Spotting it should not be too difficult, though - if no antivirus programs are allowed to run on a computer, something is definitely not working properly.

Active for months

Still, the malware installs itself as a Windows service that starts automatically at boot, and then loops continuously, checking for security products and killing them as soon as they’re activated. “The machine may remain fully under the attacker's control until the kernel driver is physically removed,” the researchers explained. “This process requires booting the computer into Safe Mode or using an external recovery tool, because normal Windows tools cannot safely remove software operating at that level while the system is running.”

LastPass and Delphos believe the campaign has been active for months, and that it will continue to operate despite disruption efforts:

“The LastPass lure was a single recent frame in a campaign that has been running for months and shows every sign of continuing after its current infrastructure is burned,” the researchers said. They stressed that this is “opportunistic brand impersonation” and that LastPass systems and customer vaults have not been compromised or involved in any way.

LastPass said it was one of 40 companies spoofed in this campaign and has urged users to only download apps from reputable, vetted sources.

Beats has been making over-ear headphones since 2008, when the original Beats Studio launched, and the Studio line has remained central to the brand ever since. The Studio Pro aren't going anywhere, but the new Beats 360 are something different entirely.

Beats calls them "the next chapter" of its headphones story — and after spending the past few weeks with the 360, that confidence doesn't feel misplaced. These aren't just the Studio Pro with a new coat of paint; instead, they represent an entirely new direction for the brand.

"We wanted to create a new ID, a new look, and a new over-ear headphone for a different purpose," Oliver Schusser, Apple's VP of Music, Sports, and Beats, told me.

That idea is baked into practically every part of the 360. Beats set out to build much more streamlined headphones that are designed to move with you throughout the day, and feel at home everywhere from the gym to the office to an airplane.

And the first thing you notice is just how light they are.

Weighing in at 295.4 grams, they're super-cozy, and after about 20 to 30 minutes of breaking them in, you might forget they're on your head. Compared to the AirPods Max at about 386.2 grams or Sony's WH-1000XM6 at 254 grams, these fall somewhere in the middle, but they actually feel far more streamlined than the number suggests.

The profile itself is remarkably thin, too. The drivers sit slightly farther from the ear than you'd expect on headphones this size — they're custom-built for the 360 — but the overall design feels compact, and balanced on your head.

The controls are split between the two sides, too. The left earcup houses the power button and lets you cycle through listening modes, while the right handles volume and playback. There's also a USB-C port on the left for charging.

It's a simple setup, and after a few weeks, it becomes second nature.

(Image credit: Beats)

That lightness wasn't an accident — it was the whole brief. Schusser told me the 360 came out of watching how people actually live with their headphones.

"We wanted to create a new ID, a new look, and a new over-ear headphone for a different purpose. And that purpose is for people who live a very active lifestyle who are on the go," Schusser said. "We wanted to build the perfect headphone for an active lifestyle. And of course, we wanted it to have all the great ingredients of Beats. We wanted it to look cool, sound amazing, but also be really light, be really comfortable, be water and sweat resistant."

And that's where the rest of the design starts to make sense.

The earcups and headband are fully customizable — swappable across the four launch colors (Black, Cloud, Pink, and Sky) and two distinct cushion materials: Performance Knit, built for workouts and noticeably more breathable, and UltraPlush, the more classic Beats feel with a tighter seal, using the same engineered leather found on the Studio Pro and Solo 4.

The Performance Knit cushion makes a real difference when you're moving around, while UltraPlush gives you that more traditional over-ear headphone feel. You can also pull either cushion off entirely to wipe them down or toss them in the washer.

Then there's the IPX4 sweat and water resistance, a first for Beats over-ear headphones, and not super common in the wider market. It's a small detail that reinforces the whole idea behind the 360: these are headphones you can take to the gym, rather than ones you have to leave at home or risk damaging.

None of that customization happened by accident. Schusser said the swap mechanism was one of the more satisfying engineering wins on the whole project.

"Our engineers have come up with this really cool, simple way to sort of swap out the cushions, and it takes literally seconds, and it just makes the headphones so versatile and so flexible, and you can customize and personalize, and it's amazing," he told me.

He's right about the versatility, as swapping earcups takes seconds, and the difference between the two cushion materials is noticeable. It's a genuinely useful bit of modularity, not just something that looks good on a spec sheet, when you consider wearing these to a workout class, getting sweaty, and the swapping earcups as you head into the office.

A new sound for a new Beats

(Image credit: Beats)

On the sound side, Beats built a bespoke acoustic platform for the 360, with custom drivers using three-layer diaphragms and dual neodymium ring magnets in each earcup — a purpose-built audio setup rather than a carryover from the Studio.

Beats says that architecture, paired with its most advanced ANC to date, delivers up to 1.75x more total noise cancellation than the Studio Pro, alongside Adaptive EQ, Personalized Spatial Audio with dynamic head tracking, and Dolby Atmos support.

Previous Beats headphones have delivered a hefty low end, but that signature has evolved, and comes into real focus with the 360. There's less bass-heavy weight than on the Studio, but the payoff is that at practically any listening volume distortion is nearly nonexistent, and separation stays excellent across genres.

Take Further On Up the Road by Bruce Springsteen — I listened to this while on a plane with Active Noise Cancellation engaged, at about 70% volume, and couldn't hear any engine noise. The track opens with a strong, crisp snare and bass drum before Springsteen's vocals come in over the guitar, with background vocals filling in behind. It's a great showcase for what the onboard audio can do.

For a modern pop test, Olivia Rodrigo's Expectations pairs low end and high end almost from the first bar, as synth and drums kick in before her vocal takes center stage. Spatially, the head-tracked playback is genuinely impressive here, both indoors and while walking around outside.

Transparency mode is strong, too. It's a little behind the AirPods Max in terms of how much outside sound it lets through, but what comes through the 360 sounds very natural. Voices don't have that overly processed or artificial quality you can sometimes get from transparency modes, and for 349.99 / £299.99 / AU$499.99 headphones, they punch above their weight.

Talking of weight, the 360 aren't the lightest headphones out there, but the ergonomics carry it — an even distribution between the earcups keeps the headband thin, and makes these feel far cozier than the spec sheet suggests.

The Beats chip is a bigger deal than it sounds

(Image credit: Beats)

Connectivity comes from a custom-designed Beats chip, which is built off Apple's own silicon work, and which is now in its fourth generation. As I've reported previously, that's a significant unlock for the Beats team, letting it appeal equally to Apple and Android users rather than picking a side.

Just like AirPods and past Beats products, the 360 pair quickly and sync across your Apple devices via iCloud, so you can go from listening on an iPhone or iPad to jumping into a meeting on a MacBook Pro almost instantly. On Android, you get Fast Pair support through Google's standard, and the Beats app for Android mirrors most of the same controls.

Each earcup functions as its own self-contained unit, housing its own audio, connectivity, and battery components. It's another example of Beats rethinking the architecture around this new purpose.

There are nine onboard microphones in total: eight dedicated to active noise cancellation and three for voice pickup, with two shared between the systems. They work alongside an onboard AI model to handle voice detection, voice-assistant requests, and the handoff between ANC, Transparency mode, and Adaptive Audio.

Battery life is rated at up to 32 hours with Adaptive EQ when ANC and Transparency mode are off, and still up to 32 hours with ANC and Personalized Spatial Audio switched on. That's a claim I've been testing throughout my time with the 360, including travel, and so far the battery life has held up well.

Beats has always leaned into limited-edition drops and collaborations, and the 360's whole design seems built for exactly that kind of expansion — and Schusser didn't hide the intent. "We're going to do a lot of drops," he said.

As mentioned, these headphones cost $349.99 in the US, £299.95 in the UK, and $499.95 in Australia, and rather than positioning the 360 as a replacement, Beats is keeping the Studio Pro around too, now at a reduced $299.99 / £249.95 / AU$479.95.

Beyond the four core colorways, Beats also sells standalone cushion kits in six Performance Knit colors — adding Navy and Volt — plus two UltraPlush options. These are priced at $49.99 / £49.95 / AU$49.95, but are available at an introductory price of $9.99 / £9.95 / AU$14.95 through October 31.

Asked where the color strategy could go next, Schusser pointed straight at sports: "This is actually a perfect product for [...] team colors."

It all makes the customization options more interesting than simply picking a color when you buy them. Right now, I have the Sky — light blue — 360 with a darker blue Performance Knit cushion and a black UltraPlush, and I swap the headband cushion to match whichever earcup I'm wearing that day. The 360 can change with you, whether that's a different material for a workout, a new color for a season, or eventually one of the team-color drops Schusser hinted at.

I've really enjoyed my first few weeks with the Beats 360 — traveling back from Apple's September event, testing them at home, then putting them through their paces on flights — and I'm impressed with the overall premium nature and this new direction for Beats.

(Image credit: Beats)

The Beats 360 pair full sweat and water resistance with a thin, lightweight build and customizable earcups that let you land on a look you're happy with — and one that can evolve, rather than feeling dated.

The sound is a modern take on the Beats signature — plenty of energy, but with clear separation and basically no distortion across the genres I've thrown at it — and paired with strong ANC, a natural-feeling Transparency mode, and a battery that's held up through testing, there's a lot packed into this new design.

There are a few misses. There's no on-ear detection, so you have to turn these on and off manually, and there's no support for wired playback.

Still, those omissions don't really change what Beats is trying to do here. The 360 aren't supposed to be another Studio Pro. This is Beats taking the over-ear headphone somewhere new — lighter, more customizable, more resistant to sweat and water, and built around an active, on-the-go lifestyle.

And after a few weeks with them, I can see the new ID Beats was talking about.

While Bambu Labs has made laser cutters in the past, the R1 is the company’s first dedicated tool.

Caraway launched its first appliance today, and we got our hands on it early.

The Islamic State group-inspired attacks were among the deadliest in Sri Lanka's history, killing 42 foreigners.

(Image credit: Eranga Jayawardane)

Sonos Ace Ultra: two-minute review

Sonos is making a real statement of intent with its new wireless headphones, the Sonos Ace Ultra.

The multi-room master has made a whole host of improvements to this upgraded wireless over-ear model, which has arrived two years after the original Ace came to market. The Sonos Ace Ultra have enhanced custom 40mm drivers, a new headphone engine, better battery life, better noise-cancelling, and more detailed EQ to name a few things. So can they finally compete with flagship rivals from the likes of Sony and Bose to become some of the best noise-cancelling headphones we've tested? Here’s what I think after weeks of testing.

Let’s start by addressing the most important area of all: sound quality. We felt that the original Ace fell short of the best headphones around due to one main issue: their middling musicality. But the Ace Ultra have remedied that, and then some.

When listening to the Sonos Ace Ultra beside the original model, the differences were stark. Where the standard Sonos Ace sounded confined, overstretched, and unrefined, the Ace Ultra offered openness, intricate detailing, and a broader, more organized soundstage. What’s more, they provide better balance across the frequency range, with deep yet controlled bass, rich but less overzealous mids, and tight, articulate treble.

While I still consider some similarly priced competitors, like the Sony WH-1000XM6 and Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S3 to supply slightly more premium, detailed sound (for music, that is), the Ace Ultra are really not far behind. Sonos listened to the critics, and proved that it's up to the task of going toe-to-toe with the titans of the headphone world.

We already loved the original Ace for movies, though, finding that they offered immersive Dolby Atmos audio with effective head-tracking to boot. And that’s much the same on the Ace Ultra. They whip up wonderful width, strong command over height effects, and never neglect the fundamentals like clear dialogue and cinematic, pounding bass.

But what’s new on the Ace Ultra? Although music got a seismic upgrade, other alterations feel a bit more incremental — but that’s by no means a bad thing. Two more microphones have been added to the Ultra, bringing the total to ten, and ANC is great here. Wherever I was, my soundings were subdued to great effect, almost creating a bubble of silence. ANC is adaptive this time around and adjusts nicely, and the transparency mode works a treat. Call quality is strong too, as you may expect.

Battery life has also seen a boost, and you’ll now get up to 35 hours with ANC on. Is this anything groundbreaking? No. But it’s slightly above the 30-hour standard for headphones in this price bracket, and I never felt that I had to charge these cans very regularly. The battery is also replaceable, and a rapid charging mode means you can get three hours of playback if you spend three minutes juicing them up.

EQ options have also been expanded beyond the basic two-band equalizer found on the standard Ace headphones. There’s an eight-band option now as well as adaptive EQ, meaning you can genuinely tailor sound to your specific tastes.

We also need to talk about the Wi-Fi capabilities of the Sonos Ace Ultra. No, we’re still not at the point where we can directly stream tunes over a local internet connection, but there are some nifty features at play. First of all, TV Audio Swap is back, enabling you to link the headphones to a compatible Sonos soundbar, and transfer sound seamlessly. This is highly responsive and effective, and while I didn’t find myself using this feature a ton, you can avoid the latency issues you’d get from connecting headphones to your TV over Bluetooth.

The Ace Ultra also add Headphone Linking, though, which means you can also transfer sound from compatible speakers, like the Sonos Play, for instance. This is equally reliable as TV Audio Swap, and is a great option if you’re listening to music at home but want to keep listening without distracting others.

It’s clear to see that the Sonos Ace Ultra don’t look very different from the previous model, but that’s no bad thing. They’re sleek, well-built, and offer a neat combination of comfort and over-ear security. They’re not fully foldable, and the included case could be better quality-wise, but these are fairly minor pain points in the grand scheme of things.

Considering that the Ace Ultra cost the same as the original Ace at the point of launch — and actually less in the UK — they feel like a much more worthwhile investment. They’re by no means cheap, but their enhancements are meaningful and substantial, making these a great pair of headphones whether you have a pre-existing Sonos system or not. As a result, these are a great pair of headphones for music and movie lovers alike that feel worth the outlay — and are easy to recommend if you want a great all-round pair of premium wireless headphones.

(Image credit: Future)Sonos Ace Ultra review: price & release date

• Priced at $449 / £399 / AU$699
• First released September 2026

The Sonos Ace Ultra were released in September 2026, about two years after the original Sonos Ace headphones. The new model is priced at $449 / £399 / AU$699, which is the same as the standard Ace cost at launch in the US and Australia, though they’re actually cheaper in the UK than the original Ace were at the point of release.

Given their price, the Ace Ultra have some extremely hot competition. For example, the Sony WH-1000XM6 are similarly priced, and offer an incredible mix of balanced, dynamic, and impactful sound alongside some of the best noise-cancelling on the market and a giant suite of features. Other competitors include the noise-crushing Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones Gen 2, the spacious sounding Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S3, and the ultra-detailed Sennheiser HDB 630.

Sonos Ace Ultra review: specs

Drivers

Next-gen 40mm custom

Active noise cancellation

Yes

Battery life

35 hours (ANC on)

Weight

0.7lbs / 322g

Connectivity

Bluetooth 6.0, USB-C

Frequency range

20Hz-20kHz

(Image credit: Future)Sonos Ace Ultra review: features

• Excellent ANC with adaptive mode and effective transparency option
• Higher-res audio available as well as Dolby Atmos for spatial sound
• TV Audio Swap and Headphone Linking works very well

The Sonos Ace Ultra boast an excellent suite of features and are a highly personalizable, smart set of headphones.

Let’s kick off with ANC, which has had quite the revamp. Now, you can toggle on an adaptive mode, which adjusts for things like fit, whether you’re wearing glasses, and if you make sudden head movements. But that’s not all.

Sonos has also boosted the number of mics for the Ultra, with ten to the original Ace’s eight. The mics can monitor your surroundings and cut out external noise in real time, and they do this to great effect. Yes, the Ace Ultra supply great ANC, and no matter my environment, I was treated to satisfying, distraction-free listening.

When out on walks, the sounds of cars passing by were totally nullified. When typing away in the office, the clacking of keyboards was fully subdued, and when travelling on public transport, engine sounds and surrounding chatter were put right to the sword. The Aware Mode is also very effective, and makes it incredibly easy to tune into your surroundings, with the new Voice Boost mode able to improve the clarity of voices around you if you toggle it on.

The upgraded microphone system also helps the Ace Ultra to handle phone calls with greater care than ever before. When taking calls when out and about, my speech was perfectly comprehensible, and never sounded obscured by background noise, even when walking in a busy part of my city.

Something else that’s received a boost is battery life. Sonos says that the Ace Ultra are capable of staying alive for 35 hours on a single charge, and my testing found this to be pretty accurate. This is a slight improvement on the original Ace, which could deliver 30 hours of use, which is essentially the standard for headphones in this price category. There’s also a rapid charging option, which gives the Ace Ultra three hours of playback from a three minute charge and a power saving mode if you want to extend the headphones’ life in a pinch.

One of the more welcome additions to the Ace Ultra is their expanded EQ options. Now, you can make use of an eight-band equalizer to customize the sound of the headphones to your specific taste. This is a big improvement on the basic two-band equalizer on the original Ace (for bass and treble levels), though there’s a more basic three-band option on the Ace Ultra if you prefer a less detail-oriented approach.

Let’s stick with sound, because there are a number of great features here that help you get the best out of both music and movies. First of all, you get all the hi-res goodness from the original Ace, with aptX codec support, as well as lossless audio via USB-C — and there’s a USB-C to 3.5mm cable bundled if you want to use them with a laptop, DJ controller, or other source device.

Dolby Atmos also returns on the Ace Ultra, enabling you to enjoy spatial audio on the go. Once again, this works an absolute treat — especially for movies, where head-tracking also helps to further immerse you in on-screen action. I tried using the TV Audio Swap feature, which enabled me to connect the headphones to the Sonos Beam Ultra, and Atmos movies sounded wonderful — more on that in the ‘sound quality’ section.

While the situations in which I’d use TV Audio Swap are admittedly niche, it's a very reliable feature. It harnesses Wi-Fi connectivity, so you don’t have to deal with the latency issues that connecting headphones to your TV over Bluetooth would bring. And you can easily switch between the soundbar, headphones, and other compatible Sonos speakers with a simple press of a button, which is highly convenient.

The Ace Ultra’s new Headphone Engine 2 also enables Headphone Linking, which allows them to directly connect to other components in your Sonos system — including compatible speakers such as the Sonos play — and move audio to and from your speakers and headphones. Like TV Audio Swap, this feels seamless and speedy to activate, and is great if you’re blasting music at home, but don’t want to disturb others if they want some peace and quiet.

On top of all of this, you get the usual good stuff: multi-point pairing, Bluetooth 6.0 connectivity, wear detection, and a relatively intuitive companion app. And when you add all of this together, I think it's fair to say that the Ace Ultra offer an incredibly fleshed-out, and well-refined feature set.

• Features score: 5/5

(Image credit: Future)Sonos Ace Ultra review: sound quality

• Big improvement over original Ace with better soundstaging, detailing, and control
• Deep, immersive bass, clean mids, and tight, expressive treble
• Fantastic Dolby Atmos performance

While we considered the original Sonos Ace to be a good pair of headphones, their somewhat middling musicality ended up holding them back from greatness. But luckily, Sonos has listened to the criticism, implemented next-gen 40mm custom drivers, and remedied a lot of the issues we had with the previous model. The result? A genuinely great-sounding pair of headphones.

I tried comparing the Sonos Ace Ultra against the original model directly, and when I say that the difference is striking, I truly mean it. In essence, the Ace Ultra provide a significantly broader soundstage with far better organization and balance, as well as deeper, more controlled bass, and more articulate, detailed treble. I also found them to offer superior handling of dynamics and enhanced instrument separation, meaning that, for me, Sonos is closer to rivals like Bose and Sony than ever before.

Sonos has been keen to talk up the Ace Ultra’s improved bass, so I started out by listening to a house track, Get It On by Jansons. The Ace Ultra delivered palpable, pumping bass, that was rhythmic and rapid, never sounding lethargic or boomy. This never concealed other sounds across the frequency range, either, with synths in the mid-range sounding well defined and tonally accurate, and high-pitched drums coming through with precision and vigor, helping the track to maintain its high energy.

Treble was especially tighter on the Ace Ultra compared to the original model, and the wider soundstage gave each individual element more room to breathe, and this became a theme across all of my listening tests.

For instance, with the funk track Joía Rara by Brylho, the upgrade the Ultra provided was considerable. On the original Sonos Ace, the soundstage felt confined, with guitars lacking definition in the mix, and as the track built, the horns, bass, vocals, and guitars sounded slightly convoluted, resulting in a messier presentation than I’d expected. But on the Ace Ultra, things were totally different. Guitars in the intro occupied a unique pocket, bass was well-balanced, and finer percussive details were perfectly audible. Vocals were also separated to greater effect, and while they weren’t the most textured or forward, they were more than clear enough.

Are the Sonos Ace Ultra the best-sounding headphones in their price bracket? Well, they’re not far behind the competition, though I do still think a couple of models edge just ahead. For example, I tested them side by side with the Sony WH-1000XM6, and I found that Sony’s cans supplied a slightly more dynamic low-end output and detailing in the mid-range. It was very close between these two, though. Of course, if you want the most expansive soundstage, headphones like the AirPods Max 2 will edge out the Ace Ultra, but they’re slightly more expensive.

Before we move onto design, we have to talk about the Ace Ultra’s handling of spatial audio. They support Dolby Atmos as well as head tracking, really helping you to immerse yourself in your favorite movies and TV shows, and the expansiveness that the headphones supply is seriously impressive.

When using TV Audio Swap with some 4K UHD Blu-ray discs, the Ace Ultra were able to conjure up an excellent sense of width, almost like some of the best Dolby Atmos soundbars can. I started by watching Elio, and the Ace Ultra did an incredible job — voices were clear, and as characters moved across the screen, they were tracked with precision, and if I tilted my head, sound shifted dynamically as if I was speaking with characters directly. As Elio returned to earth, deep, pounding bass hit with immense power too, but didn’t sound muddy or overbearing.

With Godzilla Minus One, the sense of a plane flying overhead in the opening scene was captured far more effectively than expected. It was genuinely convincing, as if the sound was truly coming from above. Dialogue was clear again, and Godzilla’s almighty screech was both tonally accurate and controlled, rather than tinny. More generally, the movie’s action scenes had tremendous width, creating a genuinely immersive experience.

• Sound quality score: 4.5/5

(Image credit: Future)Sonos Ace Ultra review: design

• Beautiful design, and very well made
• Comfortable yet secure fit
• Not fully foldable, but case included for added security

The Ace Ultra look an awful lot like the original Ace, but as someone who loved the way those headphones looked, that’s a big plus. The ear cups are relatively flat and understated, the rounded look is sleek and sexy, and the metallic details only add to the sense of premium. The button controls have shifted about slightly, but they’re incredibly easy to reach, and are all very responsive.

I tried the Soft White version which is stylish and modern, but the Ace Ultra are also available in Black, Agave, and Sand. All of these colorways are minimalistic and suit the luxurious vibe of the headphones to perfection.

In terms of fit, the Ace Ultra strike a really strong balance between comfort and security — they’re the goldilocks of headphones, if you will. There’s enough clamping power to prevent excess sound seeping in and keep them on your head during a workout or similar, but I never found this to be overbearing. Even when I was wearing a hat, the Ace Ultra felt really snug, with the plush ear cups and padded headband helping me to enjoy my music for many hours on end.

One subtle thing I like is how the inside of the right ear cup is green, making it easy to know which side is which when throwing the cans on. The right cup also features a slider, which can be used to easily adjust volume or trigger the Audio Swap feature. I usually prefer touch controls, but the tactile and reliable nature of these buttons might just have converted me.

Something that may frustrated a few users is that the Ace Ultra are not foldable. Yes, the ear cups rotate flat for when you want to stow the headphones in the case, but rivals like the Sony WH-1000XM6 offer a more compact, travel-friendly design. In addition, the case itself doesn’t quite offer the quality I was expecting, with a fuzzy exterior that’s a bit prone to picking up fibers. I also found that the zip jammed a bit easily. I much prefer the magnetic case of the XM6, which is more seamless to use and has a more quality look and feel.

• Design score: 4.5/5

(Image credit: Future)Sonos Ace Ultra review: value

• More fully featured and better sounding than the original Ace…
• …but for the same price (at the point of launch)
• A worthwhile choice for those with or without a pre-existing Sonos system

The Sonos Ace Ultra cured the single ailment that plagued the original model above else: their middling musicality. When I tested both headphones side by side, the difference was night and day. The original Ace were held back by a limited soundstage, underwhelming instrument separation, and a lack of balance across the frequency range. But the Ace Ultra sound so much more open, organized, and detailed, and truly compete with flagship rivals from Sony and Bose.

On top of that, you’re getting excellent Dolby Atmos performance, Headphone Linking and TV Audio Swap for linking up to other Sonos products, a beautiful design, and strong noise-cancelling capabilities. Considering that the Sonos Ace Ultra cost the same as the original model did at the point of launch — and less than the standard Ace initially cost in the UK — that’s pretty impressive.

At $449 / £399 / AU$699, they’re still quite the investment, of course. And I do think that some rivals, including the Sony WH-1000XM6 and Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S3 just edge above them in terms of sound quality. But those models can’t compete when it comes to movies — a big selling point of the Ace headphones. And the interactivity that these have with other Sonos products makes them a slam-dunk for owners of products like the Sonos Beam Ultra and Sonos Play.

Even if you don’t have a Sonos system, these headphones still justify their price with great all-round performance, a delicious design, higher-res audio codecs and wired lossless sound, as well as solid battery life. All in all, then, the Ace Ultra feel like a much more worthwhile investment than the original Ace, and manage to earn their price.

• Value score: 4.5/5

(Image credit: Future)Should I buy the Sonos Ace Ultra?

Attribute

Notes

Score

Features

Enhanced ANC, call quality, and battery life, better EQ options, and neat smart features like Headphone Linking.

5/5

Sound quality

Much better musicality than the original Ace and fantastic Dolby Atmos for movies.

4.5/5

Design

Gorgeous looks, comfortable and secure fit, but the carry case could be better.

4.5/5

Value

Earn their price much more than the original Ace with great performance across the board.

4.5/5

Buy them if…

You want amazing headphones for movies
With Dolby Atmos compatibility and serious spatial audio skills, the Sonos Ace Ultra are arguably the best wireless headphones you can buy for movie-watching. You’ll experience expansive, three-dimensional sound with the Ace Ultra, and head-tracking will only further your immersion in any on-screen action.

You already own a Sonos system
If you own Sonos products like the Sonos Beam Gen 2 or Sonos Play, then the Ace Ultra are a very sensible buy. TV Audio Swap and Headphone Linking enable you to seamlessly transfer sound across your system, giving you unrivalled control over your music-listening and movie-viewing experiences.

Don’t buy them if…

You want the best-sounding headphones in this price-bracket
While the Sonos Ace Ultra offer great musicality, they can still be beaten. The Sony WH-1000XM6 provide a bit more bite and detailing, while the Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S3 provide even more nuanced soundstaging and instrument separation.

You want the best possible cans for travel
The Sonos Ace Ultra supply awesome ANC and do come with a carry case, but unlike some rivals, they’re not fully foldable. Rivals like the WH-1000XM6 are much more compact if you’re on the go and don’t have much space in your bag, for instance.

Sonos Ace Ultra review: also consider

Sonos Ace Ultra

Sony WH-1000XM6

Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S3

Price

$449 / £399 / AU$699

$449 / £399 / AU$699

$479 / £399 / AU$699

Drivers

Next-gen 40mm custom

30mm dynamic

40mm dynamic

Active noise cancellation

Yes

Yes

Yes

Battery life

35 hours (ANC on)

30 hours (ANC on)

30 hours (ANC on)

Weight

0.7lbs / 322g

0.6lbs / 254g

0.7lbs / 300g

Connectivity

Bluetooth 6.0, USB-C

Bluetooth 5.3, 3.5mm

Bluetooth 5.3, USB-C

Frequency range

20Hz-20kHz

20Hz-20kHz

10Hz-22kHz

Sony WH-1000XM6
The Sony WH-1000XM6 are true all-rounders, boasting some of the best ANC in the game, beautifully balanced audio, and a huge range of features. They’re fully foldable, offer exceptional call clarity, and support the LDAC codec for higher-res Bluetooth listening. At this price-point, they still feel like the best headphones that you can buy for the money. Read my full Sony WH-1000XM6 review.

Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S3
For me, the Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S3 are probably the best-sounding headphones you can buy in this price-range, with an exceptionally spacious, nuanced soundstage, impeccable detailing right across the frequency range, but dynamic and exciting enough to keep you engaged for hours on end. They also look truly premium, supply USB-C audio passthrough, and have an excellent control app — though their ANC isn’t anything special. Read our full Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S3 review.

How I tested the Sonos Ace Ultra

(Image credit: Future)

• Spent about two weeks testing
• Compared to competitors and original Sonos Ace
• Predominantly streamed music over Tidal; also watched Dolby Atmos movies

I spent about two weeks testing the Sonos Ace Ultra headphones, during which time I exhausted their various features, like TV audio swap, watched a handful of movies with Dolby Atmos soundtracks, and listened to hours worth of music.

When listening to music, I predominantly streamed tunes over Tidal on my Xiaomi 17 phone, which supports aptX codecs. To start with, I sifted through the TechRadar testing playlist, but I also listened to a wide variety of tracks from my personal library. On top of this, I compared the Sonos Ace Ultra to some of their major competitors, like the Sony WH-1000XM6, as well as the original Sonos Ace.

More generally, I’ve spent years testing gadgets here at TechRadar, where I serve as a Senior Reviews Writer. I’ve tested a wide range of audio gear, including other premium headphones like the Sony 1000X The Collexion, party speakers like the Marshall Bromley 750, Dolby Atmos soundbars like the JBL Bar 1300MK2, and more.

• Read TechRadar’s reviews guarantee
• First reviewed: September 2026

Sonos Beam Ultra review

The Sonos Beam Ultra doesn’t merely feel like an evolution of the pre-existing Beam products. Instead, it feels like something of a middle child between the Sonos Beam Gen 2 and the Sonos Arc Ultra. After all, it sits bang in between its sibling models when it comes to channel configuration, boasting a 7.1.2 setup with nine drivers, and while it has up-firing drivers for true Dolby Atmos, it still maintains a fairly compact design.

But the Beam Ultra certainly isn’t an awkward middle-child; it’s a highly capable mid-range option that provides striking cinematic sound, while still being able to fit into a smaller setup. But is the Sonos Beam Ultra worth its $699 / £699 / AU$1,099 asking price?

Like most of the best soundbars, the Sonos Beam Ultra supports Dolby Atmos (though notably Sonos omits DTS:X), and it handles the format very effectively. When watching a 4K UHD Blu-ray of The Mask, the soundbar seamlessly tracked the titular character as he tornadoes across the screen, with audio sounding as if it far exceeded the limited confines of the soundbar. When The Mask jumped upwards, diagonally, his upward trajectory was captured with precision.

(Image credit: Future)

And the Beam Ultra continued to impress me with its height effects across multiple movies. For instance, in Godzilla Minus One, the sense of a plane flying overhead was replicated more naturally than I expected from a mid-range bar. When Godzilla first appeared, the width of the kaiju’s movement was handled brilliantly — it sounded as if the creature’s stomping and destruction were emanating from different corners of the testing room, rather than a set of speakers, even without the help of surround speakers.

What’s more, the Sonos Beam Ultra nails the fundamentals. Watching Top Gun: Maverick, the roar of jet engines was palpable, and I found this to be the case across multiple films. For a mid-sized standalone bar, the Beam Ultra produces incredibly regimented, deep, and responsive low-end sound, which is excellent for movies with high-octane action sequences and dark, impactful scores. The Beam Ultra can also get seriously loud if you want to fill a more open space, but I never noticed any tinniness or harsh compression.

Still, this doesn’t come at the expense of sounds elsewhere in the frequency range. I found dialogue to be generally clear and detailed too, though I will note that turning on the Speech Enhancement mode and setting it to Medium gave me the best results. This means you can bring voices forward without hampering the fidelity of other elements in the mix.

The Beam Ultra even proved to be a hit for music, whether I was listening to an Atmos or stereo mix. With an Atmos mix of I’m Gonna Love You Just A Little More Baby by Barry White, there was tremendous width to the guitars, the vocals were perfectly clear in the center, and the bass had pleasant warmth to it. Moving over to First Summer by H.K., deep bass came through with attention-grabbing impact, sounding more full-sounding than I’d anticipated, yet keys and vocal chops in the mid-range still maintained excellent clarity, as did articulate drums in the treble.

(Image credit: Future)

The Sonos Beam Ultra isn’t just a great performer; it’s also rammed full of useful features. TruePlay is here, which can optimize sound for your room in mere seconds, but there are also ways to manually adapt audio. For instance, you can adjust height effects to your choosing, and there’s even a height-effect simulation mode if there’s less than four inches of space above your soundbar — ideal if you’re placing the Beam Ultra on a shelf in your TV stand, say.

I've already mentioned the Speech Enhancement mode, which has multiple levels to emphasize speech as little or much as you need, but there’s also a Night mode if you don’t want to disturb others. You can turn these options on in the Sonos app, but there’s also an option to add a voice assistant if you want to make adjustments on the fly.

The Beam Ultra can, as you'd expect, also interact with other components in your Sonos system. You can pair compatible speakers, such as the Sonos Play, and use them as surround speakers. TV Audio Swap is also back, and enables you to transfer sound from your Beam Ultra to your Sonos Ace or Sonos Ace Ultra headphones. I tried this out with the latter cans, and found that switching was speedy and responsive, while the quality of spatial audio was exceptional — make sure to read my Sonos Ace Ultra review for a deeper dive.

There are a fair few ways to connect to your Sonos Beam Ultra too. Of course, HDMI eARC is the most important — this is what you’ll use to hook the soundbar up to your TV and experience Dolby Atmos movies in all their glory. There’s also Wi-Fi 6 for streaming content over a local connection, allowing you to use services like Tidal Connect and Spotify Connect. And, unlike with the Beam Gen 2, you also get Bluetooth 5.3 connectivity as well as USB-C line-in.

One thing I would have really have loved to see, though, is an HDMI input, which has been left off of the Sonos Beam Ultra. Given that connecting the soundbar up to your TV already takes away one precious HDMI slot, it would’ve been great to get a passthrough port on this model — it’s something I use on my Marshall Heston 120 at home, given that I have multiple game consoles connected up.

Something that does not disappoint, though, is the Beam Ultra’s design. It’s sleek, modern, and stylish — but understated enough to seamlessly slot into just about any living space. It also has a great standard of build, intuitive touch controls, and handy status indicator lights to signify connection status. There’s also a microphone slider, which you can deactivate if you don’t want your soundbar listening in on you.

But here comes the big question: is the Sonos Beam Ultra actually worth the money? While $699 / £699 / AU$1,099 is by no means cheap, I still think the answer is yes. It’s priced right in between the Beam Gen 2 and Arc Ultra, and feels like a true best-of-both-worlds option — the height channels give it much more convincing Atmos performance than the Beam Gen 2, but you also get amazing power in a single, compact package.

Sure, you could get a soundbar and sub combo like the Samsung HW-Q800F for a similar price, and that will give you even deeper, more cinematic bass. But that model has a more restrictive 5.1.2 configuration, and if you want something more low-profile, it won’t fit the bill. You also get an excellent suite of features from the Beam Ultra, and you can add a compatible sub and other other Sonos speakers for surround sound if you wish.

As a result, the Sonos Beam Ultra might just be the best compact Dolby Atmos soundbar I’ve tested. In spite of its modest size, it plates up powerful, immersive, and clear audio, so if you want a simple plug-and-play solution to get amazing audio into just about any space, this is my top recommendation.

(Image credit: Future)Sonos Beam Ultra review: Price and release date

• Priced at $699 / £699 / AU$1,099
• Released in September 2026

The Sonos Beam Ultra is priced at $699 / £699 / AU$1,099, placing it mid-way between the Sonos Beam Gen 2 and the Sonos Arc Ultra. While you can get some multi-box options for a similar price, like the Sony HW-Q800F, for instance, the Beam Ultra features an extensive 7.1.2 driver configuration, and its compact nature is a central part of its appeal.

Sonos Beam Ultra review: specs

Dimensions

29.5 x 2.6 x 4.1 inches / 750 x 65 x 105mm

Speaker channels

7.1.2

Connections

HDMI eARC, Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.3, USB-C

Dolby Atmos / DTS:X

Yes / No

Sub included

No

Rear speakers included

No

(Image credit: Future)Should I buy the Sonos Beam Ultra?

Attribute

Notes

Score

Features

Good connectivity options, great sound modes, can add sub and surrounds, no DTS:X or HDMI passthrough.

4.5/5

Performance

Expansive sound in a compact package with imposing bass and clear dialogue.

5/5

Design

Stellar looks, slim build, neat touch controls.

5/5

Setup & usability

Plug and play set-up, easy to connect to via Wi-Fi or Bluetooth.

5/5

Value

Not cheap, but a perfect marriage of the standard Beam and Arc that’s priced accordingly.

4.5/5

Buy it if…

You want a compact soundbar with amazing Dolby Atmos
So many compact Dolby Atmos soundbars fall flat when it comes to Dolby Atmos. Often, that’s due to a lack of dedicated up-firing drivers to provide convincing height effects. But the Beam Ultra has those — and it also conjures up an impressive sense of width.

You already own a Sonos system
If you already have a compatible sub and speakers like the Sonos Play or Sonos Era 100, you can connect them to the Beam Ultra to open up even more immersive, three-dimensional audio. TV Audio Swap is also available if you’ve got the Sonos Ace or Sonos Ace Ultra headphones.

Don’t buy it if…

You need HDMI passthrough
The Sonos Beam Ultra does not offer HDMI passthrough, which might be troublesome if, like me, you have multiple games consoles, a 4K Blu-ray player, and other devices that use HDMI.

You need DTS:X
The Sonos Beam Ultra supports Dolby Atmos, but not DTS:X, much like other Sonos soundbars, including the Sonos Arc Ultra. A number of 4K discs make use of DTS:X, so if you’re someone who often makes use of that format, it may be worth looking elsewhere.

Sonos Beam Ultra review: also consider

Sonos Beam Ultra

Samsung HW-Q800F

Bose Smart Ultra Soundbar

Price

$699 / £699 / AU$1,099

$1,099 / £799 / AU$1,099

£899 / $899 / AU$1499

Dimensions

29.5 x 2.6 x 4.1 inches / 750 x 65 x 105mm

Main soundbar: 43.7 x 2.4 x 4.7 inches / 1110.7 x 60.4 x 120mm; subwoofer: 9.8 x 9.9 x 9.8 inches / 249 x 251.8 x 249mm

2.3 x 41 x 4.2 inches / 58 x 1045 x 107mm

Speaker channels

7.1.2

5.1.2

5.1.2

Connections

HDMI eARC, Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.3, USB-C

1x HDMI input, 1x HDMI eARC, digital optical, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 5.3

HDMI eARC, digital optical, Ethernet, USB (service only), Bluetooth, Wi-Fi

Dolby Atmos / DTS:X

Yes / No

Yes / Yes

Yes / No

Sub included

No

Yes

No

Rear speakers included

No

No

No

Samsung HW-Q800F
This multi-box Samsung soundbar can now be found for a similar price to the Sonos Beam Ultra, if not less. It supplies exceptional sound, with impeccable bass from its dedicated sub, clear dialogue, and engrossing Atmos effects. It doesn’t offer the Beam Ultra’s compact size, but it does have DTS:X and HDMI passthrough. Read my full Samsung HW-Q800F review.

Bose Smart Ultra Soundbar
The Bose Smart Ultra Soundbar is a great 5.1.2 soundbar with wide, detailed sound, excellent build quality, and an effective companion app. It doesn’t quite offer the height or bass weight of the Sonos Beam Ultra, but it can often be found on sale for less than $700 / £500. Read our full Bose Smart Ultra Soundbar review.

How I tested the Sonos Beam Ultra

(Image credit: Future)

• I spent one week testing the soundbar in our TV testing space at Future Labs
• I watched a variety of movies, and listened to music in both Dolby Atmos and stereo formats

I spent one week testing the Sonos Beam Ultra at our TV testing space at Future Labs, during which time I exhausted its various features, watched a variety of movies, and listened to music in both Dolby Atmos and stereo formats.

To test the Beam Ultra, I hooked it up to the Samsung R95H TV via HDMI. I also made use of the Panasonic DP-UB820 to view Dolby Atmos-enabled 4K UHD Blu-rays. When listening to music, I streamed tunes over Tidal Connect via Wi-Fi, and made use of the TV Audio Swap feature to transfer audio from the soundbar to the Sonos Ace Ultra headphones.

I also compared the Sonos Beam Ultra directly against the Sonos Beam Gen 2 to assess improvements to height effects, expansiveness, and general functionality.

I’ve spent several years testing audio-visual gear at TechRadar, where I'm a Senior Reviews Writer. I’ve tested a vast number of soundbars specifically, from compact models like the Marshall Heston 60 to grand surround systems like the LG Sound Suite Immersive Suite 7 Pro.

• Read TechRadar’s reviews guarantee
• First reviewed: September 2026

Sonos Ace Ultra: two-minute review

Sonos is making a real statement of intent with its new wireless headphones, the Sonos Ace Ultra.

The multi-room master has made a whole host of improvements to this upgraded wireless over-ear model, which has arrived two years after the original Ace came to market. The Sonos Ace Ultra have enhanced custom 40mm drivers, a new headphone engine, better battery life, better noise-cancelling, and more detailed EQ to name a few things. So can they finally compete with flagship rivals from the likes of Sony and Bose to become some of the best noise-cancelling headphones we've tested? Here’s what I think after weeks of testing.

Let’s start by addressing the most important area of all: sound quality. We felt that the original Ace fell short of the best headphones around due to one main issue: their middling musicality. But the Ace Ultra have remedied that, and then some.

When listening to the Sonos Ace Ultra beside the original model, the differences were stark. Where the standard Sonos Ace sounded confined, overstretched, and unrefined, the Ace Ultra offered openness, intricate detailing, and a broader, more organized soundstage. What’s more, they provide better balance across the frequency range, with deep yet controlled bass, rich but less overzealous mids, and tight, articulate treble.

While I still consider some similarly priced competitors, like the Sony WH-1000XM6 and Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S3 to supply slightly more premium, detailed sound (for music, that is), the Ace Ultra are really not far behind. Sonos listened to the critics, and proved that it's up to the task of going toe-to-toe with the titans of the headphone world.

We already loved the original Ace for movies, though, finding that they offered immersive Dolby Atmos audio with effective head-tracking to boot. And that’s much the same on the Ace Ultra. They whip up wonderful width, strong command over height effects, and never neglect the fundamentals like clear dialogue and cinematic, pounding bass.

But what’s new on the Ace Ultra? Although music got a seismic upgrade, other alterations feel a bit more incremental — but that’s by no means a bad thing. Two more microphones have been added to the Ultra, bringing the total to ten, and ANC is great here. Wherever I was, my soundings were subdued to great effect, almost creating a bubble of silence. ANC is adaptive this time around and adjusts nicely, and the transparency mode works a treat. Call quality is strong too, as you may expect.

Battery life has also seen a boost, and you’ll now get up to 35 hours with ANC on. Is this anything groundbreaking? No. But it’s slightly above the 30-hour standard for headphones in this price bracket, and I never felt that I had to charge these cans very regularly. The battery is also replaceable, and a rapid charging mode means you can get three hours of playback if you spend three minutes juicing them up.

EQ options have also been expanded beyond the basic two-band equalizer found on the standard Ace headphones. There’s an eight-band option now as well as adaptive EQ, meaning you can genuinely tailor sound to your specific tastes.

We also need to talk about the Wi-Fi capabilities of the Sonos Ace Ultra. No, we’re still not at the point where we can directly stream tunes over a local internet connection, but there are some nifty features at play. First of all, TV Audio Swap is back, enabling you to link the headphones to a compatible Sonos soundbar, and transfer sound seamlessly. This is highly responsive and effective, and while I didn’t find myself using this feature a ton, you can avoid the latency issues you’d get from connecting headphones to your TV over Bluetooth.

The Ace Ultra also add Headphone Linking, though, which means you can also transfer sound from compatible speakers, like the Sonos Play, for instance. This is equally reliable as TV Audio Swap, and is a great option if you’re listening to music at home but want to keep listening without distracting others.

It’s clear to see that the Sonos Ace Ultra don’t look very different from the previous model, but that’s no bad thing. They’re sleek, well-built, and offer a neat combination of comfort and over-ear security. They’re not fully foldable, and the included case could be better quality-wise, but these are fairly minor pain points in the grand scheme of things.

Considering that the Ace Ultra cost the same as the original Ace at the point of launch — and actually less in the UK — they feel like a much more worthwhile investment. They’re by no means cheap, but their enhancements are meaningful and substantial, making these a great pair of headphones whether you have a pre-existing Sonos system or not. As a result, these are a great pair of headphones for music and movie lovers alike that feel worth the outlay — and are easy to recommend if you want a great all-round pair of premium wireless headphones.

(Image credit: Future)Sonos Ace Ultra review: price & release date

• Priced at $449 / £399 / AU$699
• First released September 2026

The Sonos Ace Ultra were released in September 2026, about two years after the original Sonos Ace headphones. The new model is priced at $449 / £399 / AU$699, which is the same as the standard Ace cost at launch in the US and Australia, though they’re actually cheaper in the UK than the original Ace were at the point of release.

Given their price, the Ace Ultra have some extremely hot competition. For example, the Sony WH-1000XM6 are similarly priced, and offer an incredible mix of balanced, dynamic, and impactful sound alongside some of the best noise-cancelling on the market and a giant suite of features. Other competitors include the noise-crushing Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones Gen 2, the spacious sounding Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S3, and the ultra-detailed Sennheiser HDB 630.

Sonos Ace Ultra review: specs

Drivers

Next-gen 40mm custom

Active noise cancellation

Yes

Battery life

35 hours (ANC on)

Weight

0.7lbs / 322g

Connectivity

Bluetooth 6.0, USB-C

Frequency range

20Hz-20kHz

(Image credit: Future)Sonos Ace Ultra review: features

• Excellent ANC with adaptive mode and effective transparency option
• Higher-res audio available as well as Dolby Atmos for spatial sound
• TV Audio Swap and Headphone Linking works very well

The Sonos Ace Ultra boast an excellent suite of features and are a highly personalizable, smart set of headphones.

Let’s kick off with ANC, which has had quite the revamp. Now, you can toggle on an adaptive mode, which adjusts for things like fit, whether you’re wearing glasses, and if you make sudden head movements. But that’s not all.

Sonos has also boosted the number of mics for the Ultra, with ten to the original Ace’s eight. The mics can monitor your surroundings and cut out external noise in real time, and they do this to great effect. Yes, the Ace Ultra supply great ANC, and no matter my environment, I was treated to satisfying, distraction-free listening.

When out on walks, the sounds of cars passing by were totally nullified. When typing away in the office, the clacking of keyboards was fully subdued, and when travelling on public transport, engine sounds and surrounding chatter were put right to the sword. The Aware Mode is also very effective, and makes it incredibly easy to tune into your surroundings, with the new Voice Boost mode able to improve the clarity of voices around you if you toggle it on.

The upgraded microphone system also helps the Ace Ultra to handle phone calls with greater care than ever before. When taking calls when out and about, my speech was perfectly comprehensible, and never sounded obscured by background noise, even when walking in a busy part of my city.

Something else that’s received a boost is battery life. Sonos says that the Ace Ultra are capable of staying alive for 35 hours on a single charge, and my testing found this to be pretty accurate. This is a slight improvement on the original Ace, which could deliver 30 hours of use, which is essentially the standard for headphones in this price category. There’s also a rapid charging option, which gives the Ace Ultra three hours of playback from a three minute charge and a power saving mode if you want to extend the headphones’ life in a pinch.

One of the more welcome additions to the Ace Ultra is their expanded EQ options. Now, you can make use of an eight-band equalizer to customize the sound of the headphones to your specific taste. This is a big improvement on the basic two-band equalizer on the original Ace (for bass and treble levels), though there’s a more basic three-band option on the Ace Ultra if you prefer a less detail-oriented approach.

Let’s stick with sound, because there are a number of great features here that help you get the best out of both music and movies. First of all, you get all the hi-res goodness from the original Ace, with aptX codec support, as well as lossless audio via USB-C — and there’s a USB-C to 3.5mm cable bundled if you want to use them with a laptop, DJ controller, or other source device.

Dolby Atmos also returns on the Ace Ultra, enabling you to enjoy spatial audio on the go. Once again, this works an absolute treat — especially for movies, where head-tracking also helps to further immerse you in on-screen action. I tried using the TV Audio Swap feature, which enabled me to connect the headphones to the Sonos Beam Ultra, and Atmos movies sounded wonderful — more on that in the ‘sound quality’ section.

While the situations in which I’d use TV Audio Swap are admittedly niche, it's a very reliable feature. It harnesses Wi-Fi connectivity, so you don’t have to deal with the latency issues that connecting headphones to your TV over Bluetooth would bring. And you can easily switch between the soundbar, headphones, and other compatible Sonos speakers with a simple press of a button, which is highly convenient.

The Ace Ultra’s new Headphone Engine 2 also enables Headphone Linking, which allows them to directly connect to other components in your Sonos system — including compatible speakers such as the Sonos play — and move audio to and from your speakers and headphones. Like TV Audio Swap, this feels seamless and speedy to activate, and is great if you’re blasting music at home, but don’t want to disturb others if they want some peace and quiet.

On top of all of this, you get the usual good stuff: multi-point pairing, Bluetooth 6.0 connectivity, wear detection, and a relatively intuitive companion app. And when you add all of this together, I think it's fair to say that the Ace Ultra offer an incredibly fleshed-out, and well-refined feature set.

• Features score: 5/5

(Image credit: Future)Sonos Ace Ultra review: sound quality

• Big improvement over original Ace with better soundstaging, detailing, and control
• Deep, immersive bass, clean mids, and tight, expressive treble
• Fantastic Dolby Atmos performance

While we considered the original Sonos Ace to be a good pair of headphones, their somewhat middling musicality ended up holding them back from greatness. But luckily, Sonos has listened to the criticism, implemented next-gen 40mm custom drivers, and remedied a lot of the issues we had with the previous model. The result? A genuinely great-sounding pair of headphones.

I tried comparing the Sonos Ace Ultra against the original model directly, and when I say that the difference is striking, I truly mean it. In essence, the Ace Ultra provide a significantly broader soundstage with far better organization and balance, as well as deeper, more controlled bass, and more articulate, detailed treble. I also found them to offer superior handling of dynamics and enhanced instrument separation, meaning that, for me, Sonos is closer to rivals like Bose and Sony than ever before.

Sonos has been keen to talk up the Ace Ultra’s improved bass, so I started out by listening to a house track, Get It On by Jansons. The Ace Ultra delivered palpable, pumping bass, that was rhythmic and rapid, never sounding lethargic or boomy. This never concealed other sounds across the frequency range, either, with synths in the mid-range sounding well defined and tonally accurate, and high-pitched drums coming through with precision and vigor, helping the track to maintain its high energy.

Treble was especially tighter on the Ace Ultra compared to the original model, and the wider soundstage gave each individual element more room to breathe, and this became a theme across all of my listening tests.

For instance, with the funk track Joía Rara by Brylho, the upgrade the Ultra provided was considerable. On the original Sonos Ace, the soundstage felt confined, with guitars lacking definition in the mix, and as the track built, the horns, bass, vocals, and guitars sounded slightly convoluted, resulting in a messier presentation than I’d expected. But on the Ace Ultra, things were totally different. Guitars in the intro occupied a unique pocket, bass was well-balanced, and finer percussive details were perfectly audible. Vocals were also separated to greater effect, and while they weren’t the most textured or forward, they were more than clear enough.

Are the Sonos Ace Ultra the best-sounding headphones in their price bracket? Well, they’re not far behind the competition, though I do still think a couple of models edge just ahead. For example, I tested them side by side with the Sony WH-1000XM6, and I found that Sony’s cans supplied a slightly more dynamic low-end output and detailing in the mid-range. It was very close between these two, though. Of course, if you want the most expansive soundstage, headphones like the AirPods Max 2 will edge out the Ace Ultra, but they’re slightly more expensive.

Before we move onto design, we have to talk about the Ace Ultra’s handling of spatial audio. They support Dolby Atmos as well as head tracking, really helping you to immerse yourself in your favorite movies and TV shows, and the expansiveness that the headphones supply is seriously impressive.

When using TV Audio Swap with some 4K UHD Blu-ray discs, the Ace Ultra were able to conjure up an excellent sense of width, almost like some of the best Dolby Atmos soundbars can. I started by watching Elio, and the Ace Ultra did an incredible job — voices were clear, and as characters moved across the screen, they were tracked with precision, and if I tilted my head, sound shifted dynamically as if I was speaking with characters directly. As Elio returned to earth, deep, pounding bass hit with immense power too, but didn’t sound muddy or overbearing.

With Godzilla Minus One, the sense of a plane flying overhead in the opening scene was captured far more effectively than expected. It was genuinely convincing, as if the sound was truly coming from above. Dialogue was clear again, and Godzilla’s almighty screech was both tonally accurate and controlled, rather than tinny. More generally, the movie’s action scenes had tremendous width, creating a genuinely immersive experience.

• Sound quality score: 4.5/5

(Image credit: Future)Sonos Ace Ultra review: design

• Beautiful design, and very well made
• Comfortable yet secure fit
• Not fully foldable, but case included for added security

The Ace Ultra look an awful lot like the original Ace, but as someone who loved the way those headphones looked, that’s a big plus. The ear cups are relatively flat and understated, the rounded look is sleek and sexy, and the metallic details only add to the sense of premium. The button controls have shifted about slightly, but they’re incredibly easy to reach, and are all very responsive.

I tried the Soft White version which is stylish and modern, but the Ace Ultra are also available in Black, Agave, and Sand. All of these colorways are minimalistic and suit the luxurious vibe of the headphones to perfection.

In terms of fit, the Ace Ultra strike a really strong balance between comfort and security — they’re the goldilocks of headphones, if you will. There’s enough clamping power to prevent excess sound seeping in and keep them on your head during a workout or similar, but I never found this to be overbearing. Even when I was wearing a hat, the Ace Ultra felt really snug, with the plush ear cups and padded headband helping me to enjoy my music for many hours on end.

One subtle thing I like is how the inside of the right ear cup is green, making it easy to know which side is which when throwing the cans on. The right cup also features a slider, which can be used to easily adjust volume or trigger the Audio Swap feature. I usually prefer touch controls, but the tactile and reliable nature of these buttons might just have converted me.

Something that may frustrated a few users is that the Ace Ultra are not foldable. Yes, the ear cups rotate flat for when you want to stow the headphones in the case, but rivals like the Sony WH-1000XM6 offer a more compact, travel-friendly design. In addition, the case itself doesn’t quite offer the quality I was expecting, with a fuzzy exterior that’s a bit prone to picking up fibers. I also found that the zip jammed a bit easily. I much prefer the magnetic case of the XM6, which is more seamless to use and has a more quality look and feel.

• Design score: 4.5/5

(Image credit: Future)Sonos Ace Ultra review: value

• More fully featured and better sounding than the original Ace…
• …but for the same price (at the point of launch)
• A worthwhile choice for those with or without a pre-existing Sonos system

The Sonos Ace Ultra cured the single ailment that plagued the original model above else: their middling musicality. When I tested both headphones side by side, the difference was night and day. The original Ace were held back by a limited soundstage, underwhelming instrument separation, and a lack of balance across the frequency range. But the Ace Ultra sound so much more open, organized, and detailed, and truly compete with flagship rivals from Sony and Bose.

On top of that, you’re getting excellent Dolby Atmos performance, Headphone Linking and TV Audio Swap for linking up to other Sonos products, a beautiful design, and strong noise-cancelling capabilities. Considering that the Sonos Ace Ultra cost the same as the original model did at the point of launch — and less than the standard Ace initially cost in the UK — that’s pretty impressive.

At $449 / £399 / AU$699, they’re still quite the investment, of course. And I do think that some rivals, including the Sony WH-1000XM6 and Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S3 just edge above them in terms of sound quality. But those models can’t compete when it comes to movies — a big selling point of the Ace headphones. And the interactivity that these have with other Sonos products makes them a slam-dunk for owners of products like the Sonos Beam Ultra and Sonos Play.

Even if you don’t have a Sonos system, these headphones still justify their price with great all-round performance, a delicious design, higher-res audio codecs and wired lossless sound, as well as solid battery life. All in all, then, the Ace Ultra feel like a much more worthwhile investment than the original Ace, and manage to earn their price.

• Value score: 4.5/5

(Image credit: Future)Should I buy the Sonos Ace Ultra?

Attribute

Notes

Score

Features

Enhanced ANC, call quality, and battery life, better EQ options, and neat smart features like Headphone Linking.

5/5

Sound quality

Much better musicality than the original Ace and fantastic Dolby Atmos for movies.

4.5/5

Design

Gorgeous looks, comfortable and secure fit, but the carry case could be better.

4.5/5

Value

Earn their price much more than the original Ace with great performance across the board.

4.5/5

Buy them if…

You want amazing headphones for movies
With Dolby Atmos compatibility and serious spatial audio skills, the Sonos Ace Ultra are arguably the best wireless headphones you can buy for movie-watching. You’ll experience expansive, three-dimensional sound with the Ace Ultra, and head-tracking will only further your immersion in any on-screen action.

You already own a Sonos system
If you own Sonos products like the Sonos Beam Gen 2 or Sonos Play, then the Ace Ultra are a very sensible buy. TV Audio Swap and Headphone Linking enable you to seamlessly transfer sound across your system, giving you unrivalled control over your music-listening and movie-viewing experiences.

Don’t buy them if…

You want the best-sounding headphones in this price-bracket
While the Sonos Ace Ultra offer great musicality, they can still be beaten. The Sony WH-1000XM6 provide a bit more bite and detailing, while the Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S3 provide even more nuanced soundstaging and instrument separation.

You want the best possible cans for travel
The Sonos Ace Ultra supply awesome ANC and do come with a carry case, but unlike some rivals, they’re not fully foldable. Rivals like the WH-1000XM6 are much more compact if you’re on the go and don’t have much space in your bag, for instance.

Sonos Ace Ultra review: also consider

Sonos Ace Ultra

Sony WH-1000XM6

Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S3

Price

$449 / £399 / AU$699

$449 / £399 / AU$699

$479 / £399 / AU$699

Drivers

Next-gen 40mm custom

30mm dynamic

40mm dynamic

Active noise cancellation

Yes

Yes

Yes

Battery life

35 hours (ANC on)

30 hours (ANC on)

30 hours (ANC on)

Weight

0.7lbs / 322g

0.6lbs / 254g

0.7lbs / 300g

Connectivity

Bluetooth 6.0, USB-C

Bluetooth 5.3, 3.5mm

Bluetooth 5.3, USB-C

Frequency range

20Hz-20kHz

20Hz-20kHz

10Hz-22kHz

Sony WH-1000XM6
The Sony WH-1000XM6 are true all-rounders, boasting some of the best ANC in the game, beautifully balanced audio, and a huge range of features. They’re fully foldable, offer exceptional call clarity, and support the LDAC codec for higher-res Bluetooth listening. At this price-point, they still feel like the best headphones that you can buy for the money. Read my full Sony WH-1000XM6 review.

Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S3
For me, the Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S3 are probably the best-sounding headphones you can buy in this price-range, with an exceptionally spacious, nuanced soundstage, impeccable detailing right across the frequency range, but dynamic and exciting enough to keep you engaged for hours on end. They also look truly premium, supply USB-C audio passthrough, and have an excellent control app — though their ANC isn’t anything special. Read our full Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S3 review.

How I tested the Sonos Ace Ultra

(Image credit: Future)

• Spent about two weeks testing
• Compared to competitors and original Sonos Ace
• Predominantly streamed music over Tidal; also watched Dolby Atmos movies

I spent about two weeks testing the Sonos Ace Ultra headphones, during which time I exhausted their various features, like TV audio swap, watched a handful of movies with Dolby Atmos soundtracks, and listened to hours worth of music.

When listening to music, I predominantly streamed tunes over Tidal on my Xiaomi 17 phone, which supports aptX codecs. To start with, I sifted through the TechRadar testing playlist, but I also listened to a wide variety of tracks from my personal library. On top of this, I compared the Sonos Ace Ultra to some of their major competitors, like the Sony WH-1000XM6, as well as the original Sonos Ace.

More generally, I’ve spent years testing gadgets here at TechRadar, where I serve as a Senior Reviews Writer. I’ve tested a wide range of audio gear, including other premium headphones like the Sony 1000X The Collexion, party speakers like the Marshall Bromley 750, Dolby Atmos soundbars like the JBL Bar 1300MK2, and more.

• Read TechRadar’s reviews guarantee
• First reviewed: September 2026

Sonos Beam Ultra review

The Sonos Beam Ultra doesn’t merely feel like an evolution of the pre-existing Beam products. Instead, it feels like something of a middle child between the Sonos Beam Gen 2 and the Sonos Arc Ultra. After all, it sits bang in between its sibling models when it comes to channel configuration, boasting a 7.1.2 setup with nine drivers, and while it has up-firing drivers for true Dolby Atmos, it still maintains a fairly compact design.

But the Beam Ultra certainly isn’t an awkward middle-child; it’s a highly capable mid-range option that provides striking cinematic sound, while still being able to fit into a smaller setup. But is the Sonos Beam Ultra worth its $699 / £699 / AU$1,099 asking price?

Like most of the best soundbars, the Sonos Beam Ultra supports Dolby Atmos (though notably Sonos omits DTS:X), and it handles the format very effectively. When watching a 4K UHD Blu-ray of The Mask, the soundbar seamlessly tracked the titular character as he tornadoes across the screen, with audio sounding as if it far exceeded the limited confines of the soundbar. When The Mask jumped upwards, diagonally, his upward trajectory was captured with precision.

(Image credit: Future)

And the Beam Ultra continued to impress me with its height effects across multiple movies. For instance, in Godzilla Minus One, the sense of a plane flying overhead was replicated more naturally than I expected from a mid-range bar. When Godzilla first appeared, the width of the kaiju’s movement was handled brilliantly — it sounded as if the creature’s stomping and destruction were emanating from different corners of the testing room, rather than a set of speakers, even without the help of surround speakers.

What’s more, the Sonos Beam Ultra nails the fundamentals. Watching Top Gun: Maverick, the roar of jet engines was palpable, and I found this to be the case across multiple films. For a mid-sized standalone bar, the Beam Ultra produces incredibly regimented, deep, and responsive low-end sound, which is excellent for movies with high-octane action sequences and dark, impactful scores. The Beam Ultra can also get seriously loud if you want to fill a more open space, but I never noticed any tinniness or harsh compression.

Still, this doesn’t come at the expense of sounds elsewhere in the frequency range. I found dialogue to be generally clear and detailed too, though I will note that turning on the Speech Enhancement mode and setting it to Medium gave me the best results. This means you can bring voices forward without hampering the fidelity of other elements in the mix.

The Beam Ultra even proved to be a hit for music, whether I was listening to an Atmos or stereo mix. With an Atmos mix of I’m Gonna Love You Just A Little More Baby by Barry White, there was tremendous width to the guitars, the vocals were perfectly clear in the center, and the bass had pleasant warmth to it. Moving over to First Summer by H.K., deep bass came through with attention-grabbing impact, sounding more full-sounding than I’d anticipated, yet keys and vocal chops in the mid-range still maintained excellent clarity, as did articulate drums in the treble.

(Image credit: Future)

The Sonos Beam Ultra isn’t just a great performer; it’s also rammed full of useful features. TruePlay is here, which can optimize sound for your room in mere seconds, but there are also ways to manually adapt audio. For instance, you can adjust height effects to your choosing, and there’s even a height-effect simulation mode if there’s less than four inches of space above your soundbar — ideal if you’re placing the Beam Ultra on a shelf in your TV stand, say.

I've already mentioned the Speech Enhancement mode, which has multiple levels to emphasize speech as little or much as you need, but there’s also a Night mode if you don’t want to disturb others. You can turn these options on in the Sonos app, but there’s also an option to add a voice assistant if you want to make adjustments on the fly.

The Beam Ultra can, as you'd expect, also interact with other components in your Sonos system. You can pair compatible speakers, such as the Sonos Play, and use them as surround speakers. TV Audio Swap is also back, and enables you to transfer sound from your Beam Ultra to your Sonos Ace or Sonos Ace Ultra headphones. I tried this out with the latter cans, and found that switching was speedy and responsive, while the quality of spatial audio was exceptional — make sure to read my Sonos Ace Ultra review for a deeper dive.

There are a fair few ways to connect to your Sonos Beam Ultra too. Of course, HDMI eARC is the most important — this is what you’ll use to hook the soundbar up to your TV and experience Dolby Atmos movies in all their glory. There’s also Wi-Fi 6 for streaming content over a local connection, allowing you to use services like Tidal Connect and Spotify Connect. And, unlike with the Beam Gen 2, you also get Bluetooth 5.3 connectivity as well as USB-C line-in.

One thing I would have really have loved to see, though, is an HDMI input, which has been left off of the Sonos Beam Ultra. Given that connecting the soundbar up to your TV already takes away one precious HDMI slot, it would’ve been great to get a passthrough port on this model — it’s something I use on my Marshall Heston 120 at home, given that I have multiple game consoles connected up.

Something that does not disappoint, though, is the Beam Ultra’s design. It’s sleek, modern, and stylish — but understated enough to seamlessly slot into just about any living space. It also has a great standard of build, intuitive touch controls, and handy status indicator lights to signify connection status. There’s also a microphone slider, which you can deactivate if you don’t want your soundbar listening in on you.

But here comes the big question: is the Sonos Beam Ultra actually worth the money? While $699 / £699 / AU$1,099 is by no means cheap, I still think the answer is yes. It’s priced right in between the Beam Gen 2 and Arc Ultra, and feels like a true best-of-both-worlds option — the height channels give it much more convincing Atmos performance than the Beam Gen 2, but you also get amazing power in a single, compact package.

Sure, you could get a soundbar and sub combo like the Samsung HW-Q800F for a similar price, and that will give you even deeper, more cinematic bass. But that model has a more restrictive 5.1.2 configuration, and if you want something more low-profile, it won’t fit the bill. You also get an excellent suite of features from the Beam Ultra, and you can add a compatible sub and other other Sonos speakers for surround sound if you wish.

As a result, the Sonos Beam Ultra might just be the best compact Dolby Atmos soundbar I’ve tested. In spite of its modest size, it plates up powerful, immersive, and clear audio, so if you want a simple plug-and-play solution to get amazing audio into just about any space, this is my top recommendation.

(Image credit: Future)Sonos Beam Ultra review: Price and release date

• Priced at $699 / £699 / AU$1,099
• Released in September 2026

The Sonos Beam Ultra is priced at $699 / £699 / AU$1,099, placing it mid-way between the Sonos Beam Gen 2 and the Sonos Arc Ultra. While you can get some multi-box options for a similar price, like the Sony HW-Q800F, for instance, the Beam Ultra features an extensive 7.1.2 driver configuration, and its compact nature is a central part of its appeal.

Sonos Beam Ultra review: specs

Dimensions

29.5 x 2.6 x 4.1 inches / 750 x 65 x 105mm

Speaker channels

7.1.2

Connections

HDMI eARC, Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.3, USB-C

Dolby Atmos / DTS:X

Yes / No

Sub included

No

Rear speakers included

No

(Image credit: Future)Should I buy the Sonos Beam Ultra?

Attribute

Notes

Score

Features

Good connectivity options, great sound modes, can add sub and surrounds, no DTS:X or HDMI passthrough.

4.5/5

Performance

Expansive sound in a compact package with imposing bass and clear dialogue.

5/5

Design

Stellar looks, slim build, neat touch controls.

5/5

Setup & usability

Plug and play set-up, easy to connect to via Wi-Fi or Bluetooth.

5/5

Value

Not cheap, but a perfect marriage of the standard Beam and Arc that’s priced accordingly.

4.5/5

Buy it if…

You want a compact soundbar with amazing Dolby Atmos
So many compact Dolby Atmos soundbars fall flat when it comes to Dolby Atmos. Often, that’s due to a lack of dedicated up-firing drivers to provide convincing height effects. But the Beam Ultra has those — and it also conjures up an impressive sense of width.

You already own a Sonos system
If you already have a compatible sub and speakers like the Sonos Play or Sonos Era 100, you can connect them to the Beam Ultra to open up even more immersive, three-dimensional audio. TV Audio Swap is also available if you’ve got the Sonos Ace or Sonos Ace Ultra headphones.

Don’t buy it if…

You need HDMI passthrough
The Sonos Beam Ultra does not offer HDMI passthrough, which might be troublesome if, like me, you have multiple games consoles, a 4K Blu-ray player, and other devices that use HDMI.

You need DTS:X
The Sonos Beam Ultra supports Dolby Atmos, but not DTS:X, much like other Sonos soundbars, including the Sonos Arc Ultra. A number of 4K discs make use of DTS:X, so if you’re someone who often makes use of that format, it may be worth looking elsewhere.

Sonos Beam Ultra review: also consider

Sonos Beam Ultra

Samsung HW-Q800F

Bose Smart Ultra Soundbar

Price

$699 / £699 / AU$1,099

$1,099 / £799 / AU$1,099

£899 / $899 / AU$1499

Dimensions

29.5 x 2.6 x 4.1 inches / 750 x 65 x 105mm

Main soundbar: 43.7 x 2.4 x 4.7 inches / 1110.7 x 60.4 x 120mm; subwoofer: 9.8 x 9.9 x 9.8 inches / 249 x 251.8 x 249mm

2.3 x 41 x 4.2 inches / 58 x 1045 x 107mm

Speaker channels

7.1.2

5.1.2

5.1.2

Connections

HDMI eARC, Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.3, USB-C

1x HDMI input, 1x HDMI eARC, digital optical, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 5.3

HDMI eARC, digital optical, Ethernet, USB (service only), Bluetooth, Wi-Fi

Dolby Atmos / DTS:X

Yes / No

Yes / Yes

Yes / No

Sub included

No

Yes

No

Rear speakers included

No

No

No

Samsung HW-Q800F
This multi-box Samsung soundbar can now be found for a similar price to the Sonos Beam Ultra, if not less. It supplies exceptional sound, with impeccable bass from its dedicated sub, clear dialogue, and engrossing Atmos effects. It doesn’t offer the Beam Ultra’s compact size, but it does have DTS:X and HDMI passthrough. Read my full Samsung HW-Q800F review.

Bose Smart Ultra Soundbar
The Bose Smart Ultra Soundbar is a great 5.1.2 soundbar with wide, detailed sound, excellent build quality, and an effective companion app. It doesn’t quite offer the height or bass weight of the Sonos Beam Ultra, but it can often be found on sale for less than $700 / £500. Read our full Bose Smart Ultra Soundbar review.

How I tested the Sonos Beam Ultra

(Image credit: Future)

• I spent one week testing the soundbar in our TV testing space at Future Labs
• I watched a variety of movies, and listened to music in both Dolby Atmos and stereo formats

I spent one week testing the Sonos Beam Ultra at our TV testing space at Future Labs, during which time I exhausted its various features, watched a variety of movies, and listened to music in both Dolby Atmos and stereo formats.

To test the Beam Ultra, I hooked it up to the Samsung R95H TV via HDMI. I also made use of the Panasonic DP-UB820 to view Dolby Atmos-enabled 4K UHD Blu-rays. When listening to music, I streamed tunes over Tidal Connect via Wi-Fi, and made use of the TV Audio Swap feature to transfer audio from the soundbar to the Sonos Ace Ultra headphones.

I also compared the Sonos Beam Ultra directly against the Sonos Beam Gen 2 to assess improvements to height effects, expansiveness, and general functionality.

I’ve spent several years testing audio-visual gear at TechRadar, where I'm a Senior Reviews Writer. I’ve tested a vast number of soundbars specifically, from compact models like the Marshall Heston 60 to grand surround systems like the LG Sound Suite Immersive Suite 7 Pro.

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• First reviewed: September 2026