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Long-time S2 user considering upgrade - feedback from playlist-heavy users on the latest APP/Desktop?

  • June 19, 2026
  • 6 replies
  • 108 views
S
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Hi all,

I'm looking for feedback from users who regularly manage playlists rather than simply play music.

I've been running a Sonos system for many years and, after the 2024 disastrous app launch, I stayed on the older S2 app and avoided firmware updates because playlist editing and queue management were critical to how I use Sonos.

My system currently consists of:

  • 3 x Play:3
  • Play:5 Gen 2
  • Amp
  • Roam

My music comes from:

  • Amazon Music
  • YouTube Music
  • iBroadcast

I often create Sonos playlists containing tracks from multiple services and regularly:

  • Add and remove tracks
  • Reorder playlists
  • Edit queues
  • Save queues back to playlists

I also make heavy use of the desktop controller because I find playlist management on a large screen much easier than on my Android phone.

The reason I'm reconsidering upgrading is that without upgrading, I can’t run the desktop application on on my Windows 11 PC without updating the system.

For anyone who manages Sonos in a similar way:

  1. How good is playlist editing in the current Android app compared to the old S2 app?
  2. Is queue management now fully restored?
  3. Can you comfortably maintain large playlists from multiple services?
  4. How useful is the current desktop app compared to the legacy desktop controller?
  5. Has anyone moved from a frozen S2 setup and been happy with the change?

I'm particularly interested in feedback from users who regularly build and edit playlists rather than simply start playback.

Thanks in advance.

6 replies

MoPac
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  • MoPac
  • Headliner III
  • June 19, 2026

I’m a huge playlist guy.  I use streaming services and I have M3U playlists that are in my local library.  I do all my streaming services playlist editing within the streaming service.  I do have a few Sonos Playlists, but I don’t focus heavily on those because of the memory limit.

The latest app does allow you to add tracks to the queue then save that edited queue as a Sonos Playlist.  So at least that option now works.

There are some problems with how Sonos works with some streaming service playlists.  With Amazon Music a playlist of say 436 tracks shows only 400 tracks when loaded into the queue.  So Sonos is rounding off the playlist track count.  With Apple Music if you use the Apple Music option to sort the playlist by Artist Sonos does not show that playlist correctly; tracks will not necessarily be shown in order.

    AjTrek1
    • AjTrek1
    • June 19, 2026

    I’m not a heavy playlist curator. However you should know that the OS desktop app is due to be phased out in favor of the WebBased app.

    Together Everyone Achieves More = T.E.A.M.
      R
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      • RavingDave
      • Enthusiast II
      • June 19, 2026

      I use the Sonos desktop app on Windows 11 and it works just fine in all the scenarios you are looking for. In fact it fills some of the gaps that the iOS controller still lacks, or has implemented in a minimal fashion. How long the desktop app will last seems to be unknown, but at present it works well with playlists. A mobile controller is still needed for system setup and updates. 

      A
      • agtilden2
      • Contributor I
      • June 19, 2026

      I added some queue editing features to MiSonos that I always wanted. To move tracks around you can switch between incremental buttons (good for mobile) and drag and drop (good for desktop). 

      Each zone also autosaves its queues on destructive operations (3 deep). This is nice when you switch to radio or tv and then want your zone to go back to the queue you were listening to. You can pick the queue from the library but the controller also gives you a nudge to restore when you stop the radio/TV stream.

      106rallye
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      • 106rallye
      • June 20, 2026

      ​@RavingDave TS probably cannot find an older version of the Sonos app to install on his (new?) computer. The current version of the Sonos app will need recent firmware on the speakers to work. Whence the need to update that.

      controlav
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      • controlav
      • Lead Maestro
      • June 20, 2026

      Use one of my apps on Windows https://www.phonosultimate.com/ , they will not force any updates.

      Author of the leading independent Sonos apps for Android, MacOS, iOS, Windows and Xbox.
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