Sonos Ace headphones will have magnetic ear cushions and 30-hour battery life

One day after a German authorized Sonos partner accidentally pulled back the veil on the company’s long-in-the-works headphones, The Verge has learned comprehensive details about the hardware capabilities and software features that will be offered by the Sonos Ace. 

As their rumored price of around $450 suggests, Sonos plans to market its first wireless headphones as a premium product that can go toe to toe with the Sony WH-1000XM5, Apple AirPods Max, and Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones. The company believes it has developed active noise cancellation and transparency modes that can rival the best of the best.

The Ace headphones will offer lossless audio playback over Bluetooth (presumably via AptX Lossless), and they’ll be capable of dynamic head tracking when a user is listening to spatial audio content on supported music services. The headphones will also deliver spatial audio for Dolby Atmos home theater content when you’re listening to TV audio; a Sonos soundbar will be required for the convenient feature of TV sound passthrough.

Taking a page from Apple’s AirPods Max, the Sonos Ace headphones will include detachable magnetic ear cushions, which will make them easy to replace whenever that time comes. There’s some metal in the construction of these headphones, but Sonos has mindfully aimed for a lightweight fit meant to remain comfortable over long stretches of time. Battery life will be 30 hours, which is the same amount of listening time that Sony advertises for its 1000XM5.

What still remains unclear is exactly how deeply the Sonos Ace headphones will integrate with the company’s whole-home audio ecosystem. You’ll be able to privately listen to TV audio with them — I know that much — but can the Ace stream music over Wi-Fi or be set as a zone like any Sonos speaker? If the answer is no, that might spell disappointment for some. But you’ll be able to listen over the included 3.5mm and USB-C cables for wired, lossless audio.

Sonos is expected to launch the Ace headphones sometime in June, so an official announcement likely isn’t far off. The company reports its second quarter earnings this afternoon — already a busy day in the tech world — and CEO Patrick Spence could potentially offer more insight on Sonos’ hardware roadmap during the call with analysts.