Sonos App for Apple TV 4

Hm, so you just want a display app for parties. Sorry. That certainly is a way too narrow use case for any app creator to consider.

Huh? With the Siri Remote, the party host could control the music playback too. Just like the existing iOS app. Only on the bigscreen TV.

Sometimes you've gotta think outside the box.

And sometimes people need to stay realistic. Whatever, Sonos probably won't do it anyway, so much ado about nothing.

Well, tvOS is based on iOS, and porting apps is quite easy. Sonos should realize that music enjoyment is often a communal experience, sharing with others the artists and albums we appreciate. And that album artwork is something to be enjoyed too. Putting that content on the bigscreen while Sonos handles the music playback is another way to embrace the entirety of the experience.

I, for one, would enjoy that, rather than passing around a smartphone. And I know very many others, with Sonos equipment and AppleTV 4's, who would feel the same.

Who knows what the future holds? Feature requests from customers who use and love these products should be encouraged.

Indeed who knows. Yeah, maybe porting is easy, it is however a totally different UI (must be optimized for a remote). Yeah, an ATV4 app could be nice (I have one myself).

One more thing to consider though: the installed base of ATV4s is still very very small, compared to iOS and Android phones. Heck, even there might be even more Windows phones. Sonos seems to strictly follow market share.

There is no reason not to do this other than internal politics (i.e. They don't want to risk loosing Play Bar sales by allowing the speakers connected to the AppleTv to be a output destination)

That's not "internal politics", it is simple economics. Unless Sonos management has some sort of internal struggle between the "make money" and "go out of business" factions?

I disagree here. While initially they might see a lot of increased Apple TV output usage, long term it will simply grow their consumer base. Those of us with the whole home speaker setup realize that their strengths are the independent functioning hardware itself, the speakers! Not the software controller. The software controller UI leaves a lot to be desired, and simplifies the interface from the many audio inputs.

What I mean here is, it would not cannibalize their profits... free users will convert to paid hardware customers as they realize that the ecosystem is fantastic, and add audio to additional rooms, surrounds, etc.

I think it is important for SONOS to maintain an open garden and allow us to have the most flexibility and compatibility. Locking customers out of using the Apple TV as an output is simply shortsighted.

Indeed who knows. Yeah, maybe porting is easy, it is however a totally different UI (must be optimized for a remote). Yeah, an ATV4 app could be nice (I have one myself).

One more thing to consider though: the installed base of ATV4s is still very very small, compared to iOS and Android phones. Heck, even there might be even more Windows phones. Sonos seems to strictly follow market share.

True, but it's one of the stronger television platforms out there. It's more thought out, it's more dynamic, and it offers a compelling experience. Wouldn't SONOS want to be a part of that? After all, SONOS is a piece of the home theater equation (especially with the playbar and sub), so why would it not integrate to the television?

Well, tvOS is based on iOS, and porting apps is quite easy. Sonos should realize that music enjoyment is often a communal experience, sharing with others the artists and albums we appreciate. And that album artwork is something to be enjoyed too. Putting that content on the bigscreen while Sonos handles the music playback is another way to embrace the entirety of the experience.

I, for one, would enjoy that, rather than passing around a smartphone. And I know very many others, with Sonos equipment and AppleTV 4's, who would feel the same.

Who knows what the future holds? Feature requests from customers who use and love these products should be encouraged.

I agree wholeheartedly. A beautiful display of the currently SONOS album art, the upcoming queue, the ability to control the zone, and ability to switch into other zones to manage -- this would be fantastic. Perhaps even more simplistic than the iOS UI.

And indeed, a lot of code can be reused. I'm an iOS/tvOS/watchOS developer, and Apple has done a fantastic job of providing similar APIs for code reuse.

Being able to discuss feature requests is a great thing. It allows us as a community to identify good ideas, and further encourage SONOS to work on it.

Indeed who knows. Yeah, maybe porting is easy, it is however a totally different UI (must be optimized for a remote). Yeah, an ATV4 app could be nice (I have one myself).

One more thing to consider though: the installed base of ATV4s is still very very small, compared to iOS and Android phones. Heck, even there might be even more Windows phones. Sonos seems to strictly follow market share.

As an iOS and tvOS developer, let me say that making a tvOS UI is about 1000 times more easy. Apple has done most of the hard work by providing templates and other common UI elements that are much easier to implement on the Apple TV than the complex UIs on the iPhone/iPad.

I would be surprised if SONOS' iOS development team couldn't put together a first version in a weekend. It's really not that difficult. Following Apple's existing UI patterns are a must on tvOS, and then it feels like a natural extension of the platform and becomes a real joy for people to use.

And sometimes people need to stay realistic. Whatever, Sonos probably won't do it anyway, so much ado about nothing.

I think they will do it. It's a natural extension to move to tvOS and potentially even watchOS. So many companies with iOS apps have already done it.

The reason I think they will do it, is think back a decade ago when they had the hardware wireless controller. Then the iPhone comes along. They could have avoided making the iPhone app because of fear it would bring them less money because people stop buying the hardware wireless controller. And it did. But by staying relevant to the customer, by creating the app, they not only stayed relevant and in business, but started to thrive.

I think they are already working on this.