Sonos Ace Ultra headphones have surfaced in an FCC filing that offers the clearest picture yet of the company’s next pair of headphones. Documents published on 10 August 2026 describe a Sonos “Wireless Headphone” under model number RM052, internally referenced as S52A, with certification covering Bluetooth as well as 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz Wi-Fi. Sonos has not confirmed the product name itself, but multiple outlets, including Bloomberg and MacRumors, report the headphones are expected to launch as the Sonos Ace Ultra.
Sonos Ace Ultra: Five Colors and an AI-First Feature Set
Where the original Sonos Ace launched in just black and white, the FCC filing points to five finishes for the follow-up: Greige, Shadow Black, Agave, Blush and Sand. That is a notably broader palette for a category Sonos entered only in 2024. More significant than the colors, though, is what the filing hints at for software: support for Sonos Voice Control, and voice commands that route to third-party AI chatbots. It fits the direction Sonos signaled during its most recent earnings call, where the company described a broader push into AI-enabled products across its lineup.
No official imagery of the Ace Ultra exists yet. The photo above shows the current Sonos Ace (2024), the model the Ace Ultra is expected to replace or sit above.
A September Launch Event Is Already Confirmed
Sonos CEO Tom Conrad has already told investors to expect a product launch event in September 2026, without naming the product. The timing of the FCC filing, roughly a month out, lines up closely with that window, and several outlets now treat a September Ace Ultra debut as the most likely scenario. Sonos Ace Ultra would go up against Apple’s AirPods Max and Sony’s WH-1000XM6 in the premium over-ear category, an increasingly crowded segment where voice-assistant integration and multi-device switching have become the main battlegrounds.
What Carries Over From the Original Ace
Sonos has said nothing officially about Ace Ultra specifications beyond what the FCC filing implies, so the safest assumption is that the model builds on the existing Sonos Ace rather than replacing its core feature set outright. Whatever else changes, Sonos Ace Ultra is expected to keep a similar over-ear design to that current Ace, still on sale at $399, offers Active Noise Cancellation, Aware mode, Dolby Atmos with dynamic head tracking, lossless audio over Bluetooth or USB-C, and roughly 30 hours of battery life. Whether Ace Ultra keeps that dimensional footprint and driver architecture, or introduces genuinely new hardware alongside the new colorways and AI features, remains unconfirmed until Sonos speaks officially.
Why the FCC Filing Matters
FCC filings are one of the more reliable pre-announcement leaks in consumer electronics, since manufacturers are legally required to certify wireless devices before they ship in the United States. The RM052 filing does not include product photography, and Sonos itself has not confirmed the S52A codename publicly, but the radio testing details, the five-color spread, and the timing right before Sonos’ own September event give this leak more weight than a typical rumor. The last time Sonos went through this cycle, similar FCC paperwork preceded the original Ace launch by several weeks.
Pricing and availability
Sonos has not announced pricing, a release date, or the Ace Ultra name itself. Everything in this story comes from an FCC filing and reporting built around it; treat the September launch date and the Ace Ultra branding as strong indications rather than confirmed facts until Sonos’ own announcement.
Key specifications (per FCC filing, unconfirmed by Sonos)
- Model number RM052, internal codename S52A
- Bluetooth plus 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz Wi-Fi radios
- Reported colors: Greige, Shadow Black, Agave, Blush, Sand
- Sonos Voice Control support, plus third-party AI chatbot voice commands
- Expected category: premium over-ear noise-canceling headphones
- Launch window: September 2026, per Sonos CEO Tom Conrad’s earnings-call comments
Sonos has not published a statement on the RM052 filing or the Sonos Ace Ultra name. Coverage referenced here draws on reporting from Bloomberg and the FCC’s public filing database.
