Introducing S2, New App and OS for Sonos

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Introducing S2, New App and OS for Sonos

The next generation of Sonos software is now available. Sonos S2 is a new app and an operating system for compatible devices, which brings support for higher resolution audio, saved groups, support for new Sonos products, and more.

Learn more about the Sonos S2 app on our S2 home page.

 

Support for the newest Sonos products

The all new Sonos Arc, Sonos Five, and Sonos Sub will require the Sonos S2 app. These new players are not supported by the Sonos S1 Controller. 

 

Saved Groups

The new S2 app can save groups of rooms to create groups quickly and easily. Once a group is created, you can select it to start playing music and the players will automatically group up. 

 

High Resolution Audio

 

With S2, Sonos speakers now have support for high resolution audio, 24-bit, 44.1/48kHz for FLAC/ALAC only. This support is for local music libraries shared from computers and network attached drives. We’ve updated the article on Sonos supported music formats here.

The Sonos Arc is a Dolby Atmos soundbar, and S2 brings support for that audio to Sonos for home theater and music. Dolby Atmos can be read from Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby MAT, and Dolby TrueHD. 

 

How to get S2

All Sonos systems will be able to update to Sonos version 11.2, which contains some bug fixes and stability improvements. This version is a new S1 update, and compatible with all players. 

Once the 11.2 update is completed, systems compatible with Sonos S2 will receive a notification that the new app is available. You can tap that notification to start updating and the new app which will guide you through updating compatible players to the new platform. If you don’t see the notification banner, you go to System Tools in Settings to check compatibility and update. Sonos S2 is Sonos version 12.0.

You can check our Sonos S2 Compatibility article for a list of products that are compatible with S2.​​​​​

 

Articles and important information about S2

We will support products on Sonos S1 with bug fixes and security patches, and we will do what we can to ensure they keep working with the music services you love given their limited RAM and processing power.

We’ve put together answers to some of the top questions we’ve seen around S2 here, so please check out the following articles on:

Sonos S2 Overview - A great starting place to learn more about S2.

Sonos S2 Compatibility - Information about the differences between Sonos S2 and S1, including which Sonos products are compatible.

Set up separate S1 and S2 systems - Learn how to set up a separate Sonos S1 system with Sonos products that are not compatible with S2.

Known limitations with separate S1 and S2 Sonos systems - This article covers what you can expect when using two separate S1 and S2 systems.

Set up a separate Sonos S1 system

Remove Sonos products that are not compatible with S2 - Instructions on how to use the product removal tool in the Sonos S1 Controller before updating to Sonos S2.

Information about Trade Up:

If you’re interested in updating older Sonos speakers, here’s all the details on our Trade Up program, a way to get a big discount on any new Sonos products that are S2 compatible.

Trade Up home page - Get a general overview of the Sonos Trade Up program.

Trade Up support article - Step by step instructions on how to trade up your eligible Sonos products.

So what is the user experience if I have a mixture of new and old equipment which is going to be the majority of us for some time.  Do I have to use one app for the S1 equipment and then the newer S2 for the newer equipment?  How do I sync playing music across that ecosystem?  Thanks


Hi, 
Was really hoping for 96Khz and DD+…
Thanks @Ryan S 


So what is the user experience if I have a mixture of new and old equipment which is going to be the majority of us for some time.  Do I have to use one app for the S1 equipment and then the newer S2 for the newer equipment?  How do I sync playing music across that ecosystem?  Thanks

 

There is no ability to sync an S2 system with an S1 system.  They are 2 separate systems with 2 separate apps. 


Is there still no support for streaming high res? 24-bit, 44.1/48kHz  FLAC was already supported wasn’t it?


My whole Sonos system is upgraded to version 11.2 (build57377280), as is also my IOS Sonos app (new name Sonos S1).

However I don't see any notification that the new S2 app is available.


Is there still no support for streaming high res? 24-bit, 44.1/48kHz  FLAC was already supported wasn’t it?

Hesitating to upgrade because not sure my Control4 integration will still work afterwards but from what I  understood so no Tidal Master support, only local files: “With S2, Sonos speakers now have support for high resolution audio, 24-bit, 44.1/48kHz for FLAC/ALAC only.  This support is for local music libraries shared from computers and network attached drives.”


However I don't see any notification that the new S2 app is available.

You have to download the new app.


However I don't see any notification that the new S2 app is available.

You have to download the new app.

"Once the 11.2 update is completed, systems compatible with Sonos S2 will receive a notification that the new app is available. You can tap that notification to start updating and the new app which will guide you through updating compatible players to the new platform."

 

So the new notification should appear in the old app.

If I search on Sonos in the Apple App Store, there is no S2 version available, so maybe we should just wait …
Anybody else who sees S2 in the App Store?

 

EDIT: if you search for Sonos S2 in the app store, the new app appears. Gold Icon.
EDIT2: new app installed, Sonos system successfully updated to Sonos OS S2 version 12.0 (4x Sonos One, 1 Port, 1 Play:3) :)


Is there still no support for streaming high res? 24-bit, 44.1/48kHz  FLAC was already supported wasn’t it?

Hesitating to upgrade because not sure my Control4 integration will still work afterwards but from what I  understood so no Tidal Master support, only local files: “With S2, Sonos speakers now have support for high resolution audio, 24-bit, 44.1/48kHz for FLAC/ALAC only.  This support is for local music libraries shared from computers and network attached drives.”

I’d personally wait - I see no new useful features yet. I still cannot play any of my hires library or Tidal


Upgrade worked like a charm. On S2 now and certainly the screen theme looks a lot nicer… everything else is the same 😂


No local files hires support while SMB remains v1 only. V1 is insecure, out of support and it’s use discouraged on any modern network. Bare in mind v2 was released in 2006 so we’re hardly asking for a quick implementation!


Is S1 App still compatible with older Android Versions albeit with the limited functionality?


Is S1 App still compatible with older Android Versions albeit with the limited functionality?

No, S2 requires 

  • iOS 11 and higher
  • iPadOS 13 and higher
  • Android 7.0 and higher (Sonos app is not supported on Chromebooks)
  • Fire OS 6.2 and higher

The limited compatibility mode for older OS are unable to control systems on S2.


Is S1 App still compatible with older Android Versions albeit with the limited functionality?

No, S2 requires 

  • iOS 11 and higher
  • iPadOS 13 and higher
  • Android 7.0 and higher (Sonos app is not supported on Chromebooks)
  • Fire OS 6.2 and higher

The limited compatibility mode for older OS are unable to control systems on S2.

Hi Ryan - it was the S1 App I was asking about?


Very disappointed you didn’t move to Hi-Res streaming service support, especially with Tidal announcing an expanded Dolby Atmos library this seemed a no brainer. It can’t even be network bandwidth or internet connection issues as modern connections will all support 2 or 3 streams at that bitrate without missing a beat. Mine could support over 30 such streams and still manage 2 Netflix UHD films and usual internet use to boot. So why isn’t it supported?


Is there still no support for streaming high res? 24-bit, 44.1/48kHz  FLAC was already supported wasn’t it?

Hesitating to upgrade because not sure my Control4 integration will still work afterwards but from what I  understood so no Tidal Master support, only local files: “With S2, Sonos speakers now have support for high resolution audio, 24-bit, 44.1/48kHz for FLAC/ALAC only.  This support is for local music libraries shared from computers and network attached drives.”

I’d personally wait - I see no new useful features yet. I still cannot play any of my hires library or Tidal

Thanks for sharing! Will wait if no highres streaming is available yet.

3x Port, 2x Connect, 3x One, 1x Amp.


Very disappointed you didn’t move to Hi-Res streaming service support, especially with Tidal announcing an expanded Dolby Atmos library this seemed a no brainer. It can’t even be network bandwidth or internet connection issues as modern connections will all support 2 or 3 streams at that bitrate without missing a beat. Mine could support over 30 such streams and still manage 2 Netflix UHD films and usual internet use to boot. So why isn’t it supported?

 

It could very well be that Sonos intends to, but figured that switching to a new system, and releasing 3 new products in the matter of two days ways more than enough for Sonos support to handle.  Sonos could develop and test playback of FLAC from a music library much faster than they could in working with Tidal to support Hi-Res streaming, if Tidal was even willing to work on it right now. I would not be surprised to see this released in the future.


I have 2 x Play:1, a Play:3 and a Sub, all are apparently compatible with S2 yet S2 says otherwise on my MacOS.

 

How do I get S2 too work?


Happy to report a successful upgrade to S2! There were a few minor bumps in the road …

  • Windows controller upgraded to S1. Would have been super-nice to be asked “I see you’ve got all modern devices, would you like to upgrade to S2?” Fix: download S2 and install.
  • S2 installation nearly gave me a hear attack with “Yo, some of your devices are not S2 compatible.” Say what?!?! Deep breath, closed the install and tried again, all good.
  • Existing Music Library hosted on the Windows machine (in other words, a drive on the Windows machine, published via the Sonos Library Service) was no bueno with the S2 app. Fix: remove the Music Library, add it back, all good.

Any news about SMB v1 and the 64k limit under S2?


Is S1 App still compatible with older Android Versions albeit with the limited functionality?

No, S2 requires 

  • iOS 11 and higher
  • iPadOS 13 and higher
  • Android 7.0 and higher (Sonos app is not supported on Chromebooks)
  • Fire OS 6.2 and higher

The limited compatibility mode for older OS are unable to control systems on S2.

Hi Ryan - it was the S1 App I was asking about?

Apologies, seems I still haven’t had enough coffee yet… Limited compatibility controllers from 11.1 will still be limited with 11.2 (S1). They just can’t work with S2.

 

Any news about SMB v1 and the 64k limit under S2?

No news. I’ll add you to the list requesting them though.

 

I have 2 x Play:1, a Play:3 and a Sub, all are apparently compatible with S2 yet S2 says otherwise on my MacOS.

 

How do I get S2 too work?

Assuming your MacOS X is 10.11 or higher, you can download the S2 Sonos app and use it with your system. If the MacOS isn’t updated, you will need to update your MacOS or use a different controller if you’d like to use S2. 


Any news about SMB v1 and the 64k limit under S2?

Add me as well. Thanks for the 24bit support!


Any news about SMB v1 and the 64k limit under S2?

Add me as well. Thanks for the 24bit support!

Added :)


Hmm... am I missing something? I what way does S2 support hi-res any more than S1?


Please re read the first post in this thread. 

 

High Resolution Audio

 

With S2, Sonos speakers now have support for high resolution audio, 24-bit, 44.1/48kHz for FLAC/ALAC only. This support is for local music libraries shared from computers and network attached drives. We’ve updated the article on Sonos supported music formats here.

The Sonos Arc is a Dolby Atmos soundbar, and S2 brings support for that audio to Sonos for home theater and music. Dolby Atmos can be read from Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby MAT, and Dolby TrueHD