If you’ve been hanging onto a pair of Sonos Ace headphones waiting for promised features to actually arrive, your patience has finally paid off. A year after launch, Sonos just rolled out a major software update for its first-ever headphones, and it's bringing some long-awaited improvements, including a surround-sound mode called TrueCinema.
The update is free and available now, and it adds a handful of useful tools that make the Ace feel a bit more like the premium headphones Sonos pitched in the first place.
Let’s start with the feature everyone’s been waiting for: TrueCinema. This was originally supposed to launch in late 2024, but after months of silence, it’s just now showing up—and yes, it’s a big deal if you’re already using a Sonos soundbar.
In short, TrueCinema tries to replicate the experience of listening to a surround sound system while still wearing headphones. It works by using your Sonos soundbar (Arc, Beam, or Ray) to scan your room. Then, the Ace headphones take that room data and adjust their sound to make it feel like audio is coming from speakers all around you, not just the sides of your head.
It’s not magic, but it is a clever use of spatial audio. That said, you’ll only get TrueCinema if you own a supported Sonos soundbar. If you don’t, the feature stays locked.
If you’ve ever wanted to watch TV with someone late at night—without waking up the rest of the house—this next one’s for you. Sonos has updated its TV Audio Swap feature to support not just one, but two pairs of Ace headphones at the same time. That means you and a friend can both hear the TV audio privately, in sync, through your own Ace headphones.
This feature already existed in a solo version—tap a button on the headphones and your TV audio shifts from the soundbar to your ears—but now it’s finally a shared experience. Again, you’ll need a compatible Sonos soundbar for this to work, but if you’ve already got one, this upgrade makes the Ace headphones a lot more flexible for quiet movie nights or shared binge sessions.
This update also gives the Ace a boost in day-to-day usability. The headphones now offer adaptive noise cancellation that reacts in real time based on how they’re sitting on your head.
That might sound overly technical, but the idea is simple: if your hair, glasses, or a beanie mess with the way the headphones seal around your ears, the Ace will now automatically adjust to keep noise out more effectively. It’s a subtle improvement, but one that could make a noticeable difference on flights, commutes, or noisy office days.
Phone calls are getting some love, too. The Ace now includes a feature called SideTone, which lets you hear a bit of your own voice while you’re talking with noise cancellation turned on. If you’ve ever found yourself shouting during calls because your headphones blocked out your voice too well, this will help.
Sonos has also added high-resolution audio for voice calls, which should make you sound clearer to the person on the other end—even if you’re calling from a busy street or windy patio.
If you already own the Ace, updating is pretty straightforward. Just open the Sonos app on your phone, go to Settings > Headphones > Sonos Ace, then tap Software Updates. Hit Check for Updates and follow the prompts.
You don’t need a Sonos soundbar to install the update, but you will need one to unlock the biggest new features like TrueCinema and dual TV Audio Swap.
When the Sonos Ace first came out in 2024, it was met with a mix of curiosity and criticism. On one hand, it sounded great and was comfortable to wear. On the other, it was missing key features—some of which were prominently advertised. Plus, it didn’t fully behave like other Sonos products. There was no multi-room audio support, no true Wi-Fi integration (aside from the soundbar tricks), and several things felt half-baked.
This update doesn’t fix all of that, but it does fill in some major gaps. It gives the Ace better sound customization, shared listening, improved ANC, and better calls—all without changing the hardware.
Right now, the Sonos Ace is still listed at $449, but recent sales have brought it down to $329 at retailers like Amazon and Crutchfield. If you were hesitant before because it felt incomplete, the update may change that equation.
Of course, it still won’t work like a full Sonos speaker in a multi-room setup, and there’s no sign of that kind of integration coming anytime soon. But if you’re already using a Sonos soundbar—or thinking about buying one—the Ace just became a more useful add-on.
Whether Sonos continues to build on this platform or moves on to a second-gen model, this latest update helps the Ace catch up to the expectations it set a year ago.
