(Image credit: Future)
As a Formula 1 engine ripped through the center channel of the new Sonos Beam Ultra, I decided I simply was not audibly immersed enough. I picked up two Sonos Play speakers from a side shelf and set them down on a long table behind the couch.Without touching a phone or digging through a settings menu, the Sonos system registered a subtle, satisfying "boop." The accelerometers inside the portables recognized they’d been placed down, fired off an imperceptible ultrasonic chirp to locate the soundbar and instantly reconfigured themselves into active rear surround channels.But remembering I was in a public setting and should probably respect everyone else’s ears, I double-tapped the physical action button on the earcup of the new Ace Ultra headphones. The roar of the race track instantly lifted off the soundbar and dropped straight into my ears.No Bluetooth pairing screen, no app lag — just an instantaneous network handoff.After two years of software headaches, this seamless handoff felt like the turning point Sonos has so desperately needed.Earning back trust with Sonos 27It’s no secret that Sonos software has faced intense scrutiny from its most passionate users, primarily via Reddit, over the last two years or so.But rather than dancing around the past, Sonos is framing its new operating system, Sonos 27, as a direct answer to that feedback. In fact, surveying the room, I learned that members of the Sonos Reddit community were actively participating in demos right alongside the media.Get instant access to breaking news, the hottest reviews, great deals and helpful tips."We’ve been listening to customers all along, but especially in the last two years... we've learned a ton about what customers actually want," explained Andrew Sutherland, Sonos Senior Director of Product Management during an interview with me following the event.
