Sonos aims to get back on track with an app update accompanying the Sonos Arc Ultra and Sonos Sub 4
The Sonos Arc Ultra and Sonos Sub 4 are available to preorder now and officially arrive at the same time as a big update to the Sonos app
It’s been a tricky six months for Sonos. Since launching its new mobile app in May, the American audio manufacturer has faced a backlash from many consumers.
There have been complaints about missing features, poor performance and the new UI, and these have detracted from the release of two highly anticipated products, the Sonos Roam 2 Bluetooth speaker and Sonos Ace noise-cancelling headphones.
The issues prompted the brand to outline a software update roadmap in July alongside a personal apology from CEO Patrick Spencer. Several of these updates have already been rolled out but some of the most impactful changes are set to coincide with the arrival of two new Sonos products at the end of October.
The company’s new flagship soundbar, the Sonos Arc Ultra, and its new subwoofer, the Sonos Sub 4, were officially announced last week and will go on sale on Tuesday, 29 October.
We hope to receive an Arc Ultra to test soon, but in the meantime, let’s look at what it and the Sub 4 bring to the table.
Sonos Arc Ultra: Specifications
- Dimensions: 1,178 x 111 x 75mm (WDH)
- Weight: 5.8kg
- Audio arrangement: 9.1.4-channel
- Physical connectivity: HDMI (eARC), optical
- Wireless connectivity: Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.3, Apple AirPlay 2
- Voice assistant support: Sonos Voice Control and Amazon Alexa
- Price: £999 inc VAT
Availability: From 29 October
Sonos Arc Ultra: Features and first impressions
While the Arc Ultra looks very similar to its predecessor, the Sonos Arc, it has a far more impressive channel count: seven tweeters, six mid-woofers and an integrated subwoofer make up a 9.1.4-channel arrangement (versus 5.0.2 channels on the Arc) and four up-firing drivers should ensure the bar handles the Dolby Atmos object-based audio format admirably.
It’s able to squeeze all of those additional speaker channels in thanks to something Sonos describes as Sound Motion, a new technology that has enabled it to reduce the size of the transducers without compromising on sound magnitude or quality. The Arc Ultra is the first Sonos product to use Sound Motion, so it will be interesting to see how effective it is.
Additionally, the Arc Ultra supports Sonos’ Trueplay tech, which optimises audio based on the acoustics of your room and is available on both Android and iOS.
We’re expecting a significant upgrade in terms of audio quality to justify the £100 price rise; the original Arc cost £899 when it launched in 2020. But as mentioned earlier, the Arc Ultra is also set to benefit from improvements to the Sonos app. Sonos has said the update that will drop with the release of the Arc Ultra is expected to see the app “surpass the performance of the previous app across important metrics, including those essential to new purchasers — system identification, the set up of new devices, and the ability to group Sonos devices together”.
It will also reintroduce 90% of the features that disappeared when Sonos moved over to its new app in May. That’s great news for existing Sonos customers who are unhappy with what they deem an inferior experience compared to the previous Sonos app.
Sonos Sub 4: Key specifications
- Dimensions: 402 x 158 x 359mm (WDH)
- Weight: 11.79kg
- Audio arrangement: Dual 5in x 8in elliptical woofers
- Physical connectivity: HDMI (eARC), optical
- Wireless connectivity: Wi-Fi 6
- Price: £799
Availability: From 29 October
Sonos Sub 4: Features and first impressions
The fourth-gen Sonos Sub will look relatively familiar to those who’ve owned one of the three previous generations but comes with an updated design and new internals.
Its dual 5 x 8in elliptical woofers are housed in an eye-catching ported cabinet that connects to other devices over Wi-Fi so can be placed in a convenient location of your choosing, though you will of course need to position the Sub 4 close to a mains socket to be able to power it. The woofers themselves face inwards in a force-cancelling design that reduces distortion and Sonos says the subwoofer can generate sub-bass frequencies as low as 25Hz.
The Sub 4 is compatible with a wide range of Sonos products, including the compact Sonos Ray, Sonos Beam, Beam (2nd Gen), the original Sonos Arc and new Arc Ultra, along with the Sonos Era 100 and Era 300 wireless speakers. Like those soundbars and speakers, the Sub 4’s output can be fine-tuned using Sonos’ room acoustic measurement Trueplay technology.
Both the Sonos Arc Ultra (£99) and Sonos Sub 4 (£799) are available to preorder from the Sonos website now, with an official release date of Tuesday, 29 October.
