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Anonymous
November 23, 2015
Question

Sonos and Samsung SmartThings Future

Hi

I am building a home automation system using Samsung SmartThings, Philips Hue lights and just bought a 2 x Play 1's.

I was really hopeful that the introduction of Sonos would add a lot of value, but unfortunately I'm quite disappointed.

Whilst not the fault of Sonos as such; I (and many other people in the community) were hoping for a lot of power with what is considered basic functionality.

For example; whilst with SmartThings I can send a single song or Text to Speech (TTS) command to play to Sonos I can't:

1. Send a song/TTS and have Sonos resume a track that's currently playing

2. There is some basic ability to resume a song but at best it will start from the beginning; most of the time it starts playing back a totally different song

3. There is no ability to dynamically create a group outside of the Sonos app.

As I said; this isn't totally Sonos' fault; but there are a lot of people desperately hoping for the situation to improve.

From what I hear from Samsung, they are pulling a lot of the Sonos functionality from their product given the issues and given the lack of any form of open API from Sonos.

Does anyone know if Sonos have any plans to create an Open API or work with Samsung to get the required functionalities in place?

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    19 replies

    The LHC
    November 23, 2015
    Samsung make their own multi-room wireless music system in direct competition with Sonos. Do you really think they would do anything to really integrate Sonos with their system?
    Anonymous
    November 24, 2015
    The point of SmartThings is to be able to integrate to all 'Internet of Things' devices so if they were seen at trying to limit themselves to their own systems they would soon run out of customers; in fact if you read all there announcements etc; they have focused these much more around Sonos and Philips Hue than their own 'branded' systems.

    I guess I could turn it around and say that if Sonos don't create an Open API and Samsungs Wireless Music System is the only 'Internet of Things' compatible device for home automation then Sonos could lose a big chunk of the market.
    buzz
    buzz
    Grand Maestro
    November 25, 2015

    SONOS uses UPnP and has been an "Open" system since inception. While there is no published SONOS API with pretty examples, UPnP is self documenting -- this is an advantage of the technology. Anyone who is familiar with UPnP can control SONOS.

      MikeV
      MikeV
      November 25, 2015
      You might want to check this article over at SmartThings about controlling Sonos...

      https://support.smartthings.com/hc/en-us/articles/200927230-Controlling-Sonos-with-SmartThings
      The S in IOT stands for Security.
      Anonymous
      November 25, 2015

      Hi guys,

      Slightly more advanced than the basic tutorial; unfortunately the Smart apps that Samsung have built don't properly work; this includes some of the features such as being able to play a voice message (.mp3) such as 'Welcome Home' which is triggered by combination of presence sensor and unlocking my door, and for Sonos to then be able to resume what ever track it was previously playing from the exact same position. The resume functionality Samsung built basically doesn't work.

      Getting a basic track listing to view within Samsung SmartThings is also riddled with issues based on the functionality they have built.

      This is the reply from SmartThings:

      "Joe Pearson (SmartThings)

      Nov 19, 17:54

      Hi,

      Thanks for getting in touch - sorry to hear about the issues you are having. The main problem is that Sonos does not provide an official API for use with the SmartThings platform therefore despite our best efforts it can be limited and prone to issues. We have now removed some of the functionality because of these issues.

      I have contacted the engineers and requested any information they have about the future of Sonos functionality (just incase they know something I don't). I will update you with any new information I get.

      Please feedback to Sonos, we would love for them to work with us on creating a better user experience. The feedback is greatly appreciated, if you have any further questions please get in touch.

      Regards

      Joe"

      Eug
      Eug
      Lyricist III
      December 31, 2015

      SONOS uses UPnP and has been an "Open" system since inception. While there is no published SONOS API with pretty examples, UPnP is self documenting -- this is an advantage of the technology. Anyone who is familiar with UPnP can control SONOS.

       


      While I believe you, I have to wonder then why Sonos isn't more embraced by 3rd parties? Is it because having an API is easier to integrate with than UPnP?

      Whatever the issue is, Sonos should be looking to assist, Reading that SmartThings is pulling some functionality because it's not reliable should be something that Sonos should worry about. And maybe they are but their lack of communication in this area and others (not announcing what they are working on) does not give users any sense of comfort. I seriously think they should revisit their official communication policy. Bring more things out in Beta and keeps what works and lose what doesn't.

      On a related side note - spend some time in the forums and see some great ideas posted years ago that are still not implemented nor promised. It's a bit depressing and I am a big Sonos fan. Some of these ideas are small things but would be great like having a longer fade out if you want to fall asleep with Sonos. These are the little things that make a difference. Others are big like integration with SmartThings and with Echo.

      The foundation is there and is solid. Sonos speakers are the best today but the competition isn't staying in place and neither should Sonos.

       

      Eug
        controlav
        controlav
        Lead Maestro
        January 2, 2016
        I have to wonder then why Sonos isn't more embraced by 3rd parties? Is it because having an API is easier to integrate with than UPnP?

        Because software is hard. And because while it is literally trivial to do pause/play/volume, as soon as you do that, people want more. Like groups. Or music selection. Or music service support. Or system configuration. And if you don't re-implement the entirely of the Sonos controller (which has taken a sizable team a decade of work) then they complain.

        Then if you try and charge them actual money for that software, even the price of a beer/coffee, some still complain.
        Author of the leading independent Sonos apps for Android, MacOS, iOS, Windows and Xbox.
          Eug
          Eug
          Lyricist III
          January 6, 2016
          I have to wonder then why Sonos isn't more embraced by 3rd parties? Is it because having an API is easier to integrate with than UPnP?

          Because software is hard. And because while it is literally trivial to do pause/play/volume, as soon as you do that, people want more. Like groups. Or music selection. Or music service support. Or system configuration. And if you don't re-implement the entirely of the Sonos controller (which has taken a sizable team a decade of work) then they complain.

          Then if you try and charge them actual money for that software, even the price of a beer/coffee, some still complain.

          I was just wondering why some of these 3rd parties seem to always request an API.

          If you are who I think you are, I love your software and gladly purchased it! I use it all the time on my Windows phone and Tablet. Thank you for it!
          Eug
            BCM
            BCM
            January 6, 2016

            I have to wonder then why Sonos isn't more embraced by 3rd parties? Is it because having an API is easier to integrate with than UPnP?

             


            Because software is hard. And because while it is literally trivial to do pause/play/volume, as soon as you do that, people want more. Like groups. Or music selection. Or music service support. Or system configuration. And if you don't re-implement the entirely of the Sonos controller (which has taken a sizable team a decade of work) then they complain.

            Then if you try and charge them actual money for that software, even the price of a beer/coffee, some still complain.

             

             


            So true. And the requests, in my opinion, a lot of times border on the ridiculous. Not saying this post is ridiculous because people want what they want, but this to me is a great example of wanting too much. I seriously can't fathom being upset that a song didn't resume in the exact position it was in when I left the house.

             

             

             

             

             


            Frankly, disarm your home alarm with your smartphone app, then click over to the Sonos app and hit resume. Done. I was reading the other night on a forum some dude was annoyed because his TV wouldn't come on to his favorite channel when he entered the room, and he also wanted it to come on to his wife's favorite channel when she walked in. That, to me, is also too much (and too far) when you expect your television to recognize you.

             

            sonburn
            Lyricist III
            April 12, 2016
            Another reasonable use-case is to have an announcement when a door is opened, and to resume playing music/tv audio after the announcement. I've got everything working except the resume, which is the missing piece of the puzzle.
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