Sonos will ramp up its launches in 2026; these are the products we want to see next

This could be a big year for Sonos. The US firm has just announced its first product since the Arc Ultra soundbar in late 2024, and while the Amp Multi might not be as mainstream a proposition as the brand's wireless speakers or soundbars, it does mark the start of a new era for the firm.

Not only is the product the first launched under the stewardship of new CEO Tom Conrad, but it also heralds the start of a busy year for the brand, whose hardware launches will ramp up in the second half of its fiscal year, it told Bloomberg.

Given that its fiscal year ends in September, we could see a flurry of product announcements over the next eight months.

So which products will launch? Here are our predictions and what we would like to see.

Sonos Ace 2

The Ace headphones were a disappointment. Given the quality of Sonos’s wireless speakers and soundbars, we had high hopes for its first pair of wireless over-ears. Unfortunately they were part of the firm's annus horribilis of 2024, during which its botched app update angered customers and led to the replacement of its CEO.

The Ace launched without all its intended features (although TrueCinema has since arrived). The features it did have were a bit buggy in parts. And in a field crowded with five-star rivals, the sound quality was distinctly underwhelming – hence our three-star review score.

But we’re optimists. We know Sonos can do better. And we have no doubt that it will.

The Sonos Ace 2 needs to improve sound quality drastically to compete with the likes of the Sony WH-1000XM6 and Sennheiser HDB 630. And if the headphones can launch with a full set of features, even better.

Over its two decades in business, Sonos has built a compelling multi-room ecosystem into which a pair of wireless headphones could slot seamlessly. Here's hoping the Ace 2 is that pair.

Sonos Beam Gen 3

The Beam Gen 2 launched back in 2021, but it's still going strong – at the tail end of last year, it won its fifth consecutive What Hi-Fi? Award. Quite a run.

But five years is a long time in soundbar terms – some companies update their models annually. Though when you have a soundbar of the Beam Gen 2's quality, a yearly update is hardly warranted.

Since its launch, we have seen the Sonos Arc Ultra break new ground in the premium soundbar space, earning five stars and a What Hi-Fi? Award in the process. So hopefully Sonos could apply some of these learnings to its more wallet-friendly Beam range.

How could Sonos improve on the Beam Gen 2? We're hoping for more HDMI ports for connecting games consoles and the like directly to the soundbar. Don't hold your breath, though: it's likely that Sonos will stick with just the one in order to keep costs down.

Fingers crossed for up-firing drivers to provide a genuine Dolby Atmos effect, rather than the virtual processing applied to the current model (though the Gen 2's sound is still phenomenal for the price). And we'd like DTS:X support for a greater range of immersive content and Bluetooth to go with its wi-fi connection, please.

Sony HT-A3000 vs Sonos Beam Gen 2: which should you buy?

Sonos Five Gen 2

A moment please, for the Sonos Five. In all the hoopla surrounding the Era 300 and 100, Sonos’s largest wireless speaker has been somewhat forgotten. That hasn’t been helped by its name. It was originally called the ZonePlayer S5 (back when Sonos’s naming conventions were different), before being rechristened the Play:5, and then launched in a subsequent generation, in 2020, as the Sonos Five. Confusing much?

The Five earned four stars from us. In our Sonos Five review, we praised its “bold, expansive sound” and potential for multi-room greatness, though we had some reservations over its overly bassy sound and rounded-off treble.

The time is nigh for a sequel. Improvements to sound are a must, and it could even follow the Era 300 in adding spatial audio (though this would step on the Era 300's toes somewhat). Bluetooth would also be a no-brainer, and since Sonos brought it to the Era speakers, it really has no excuse not to do so here.

A home cinema setup

Sonos already has home cinema products in the form of the Ray, Beam Gen 2, Arc and Arc Ultra soundbars; but what about some separates to go with these?

You can use other Sonos wireless speakers as part of a surround sound setup, of course, but seconding an Era 300 or even 100 to such duties seems like overkill. (As does using the Sub Mini – which is actually pricier than the Beam Gen 2 most of the time.) We would rather see some cheaper dedicated satellite speakers, that are intended for that task alone.

Sonos can do cheap. Remember its Symfonisk tie-in with Ikea?

We would also like to see a smart, streamlined AV amplifier, similar to the Sonos Amp but purely for home cinema. The chances of this one are probably low – but that won't stop us wishing.

Streaming box

This one is even less likely, as in March last year it was reported that Sonos had “shelved” its plans for an Apple TV-like streaming box. Hardly surprising – when you have been burned entering a new market (wireless headphones) just months earlier, and are still working on undoing the harm you did to your mobile app the previous year, it makes sense to put new projects on ice and focus on fixing the mess you created.

But still. The Apple TV 4K stands alone in terms of premium TV streamers, and could do with some real competition. Admittedly Sonos has no experience in visual entertainment, but given its track record of quality home entertainment products, we do have high hopes that this will see the light of day at some point.

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I switched from the Sony WH-1000XM5 to the Sonos Ace and was surprised