HOT STUFF
ALL THE BIGGEST STORIES FROM PLANET TECH
[ Words Tom Wiggins ]
Everything in its right Ace
There are controls on the right for volume, playback, answering or rejecting calls and engaging the Aware mode. The buttons on the left cup are for power and pairing.
Let’s Ace the music and dance
If your phone supports Snapdragon Sound you can use these ’phones to listen to lossless audio over aptX Bluetooth. If it doesn’t, you can just plug in a USB-C cable.
All about that Ace
Each of the earcups has a custom-designed 40mm dynamic driver inside, and there are a total of eight beamforming mics for the ANC and voice pickup.
ACE FOR THE PRIZE
Sonos Ace
Can you keep a secret? Because Sonos certainly can’t. Rumours of an imminent headphones launch have been doing the rounds for years, with various patents, leaks and comments by company bigwigs meaning the arrival of these Bluetooth over-ears is about as surprising as Crufts being won by a dog.
That doesn’t mean they don’t deserve their spot here in the Hot Five, though. Sonos has designed the Ace cans to be as happy at home as they are outside, with the ability to switch seamlessly to them from a Sonos soundbar – handy if you’re partial to a late-night JohnWick marathon but for some reason the other people in your household find it hard to drop off to the sound of gunfire.
Support for head-tracking spatial audio should make it sound like those bullets are ricocheting right off your living-room walls, and the 30hr battery life will easily see you to the end of Chapter 4, but if you need to pop out for more snacks there’s also active noise-cancelling on board… with an Aware mode that’ll let you hear any baddies trying to sneak up on you in the crisps aisle. As hot as… Daisy the beagle coming back from the dead and winning Crufts £449 / sonos.com