Cast from apps on Android?

  • 29 October 2021
  • 27 replies
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R
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  • ralx
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So, when Android users are going to get feature parity with iOS users?

It's been a long time since Airplay 2 was implemented and so far nothing on Chromecast. Only Spotify (thanks to Spotify Connect) allows Android users to cast directly from the app, no other app can do it.

Why the preferential treatment if Sonos charge the same to everyone? Is it because Sonos executives use iOS devices or what? The Sonos app is bad for everything but configuring the devices and it shouldn't be forced down the throat of customers to replace their chosen service app, it's user hostile and breaks usability.

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27 replies

Airgetlam

I think the challenge here is that Sonos has already written and made publicly available an API which a few companies have chosen to take advantage of. Unfortunately, Google is not one of those, as they’ve not embedded it in the Android operating system. Since Sonos has done their part, it seems as though additional pressure should be put on Google in order to satisfy your needs. 

I’d agree, the animosity shown by Google, both in infringing on the Sonos patents, and not implementing the available ‘casting’ API is incomprehensible. 

Bruce
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Another real kludge is to use Google Home and cast the entire phone to my Chromecast on my TV, which plays through my Sonos system. Then using the Sonos app, I can play anywhere in my setup. But that requires I stop, turn on the TV, start the Sonos app, continue the podcast. Kludge, kludge, kludge, and such a waste. Ubiquitous Sonos? Not so much… Google "Don't be evil"? Good reason they dropped that from their Code of Conduct - gives them license to pull s*** like this.

Entropy never decreases. Systems spontaneously evolve towards disorder... Hey who started talking about politics?
C
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As I live in the Android world, and according to Sonos, the only apps that support Direct Control (what I assume you are calling a “connect like feature”) are Spotify and iHeartRadio. A have neither, and as stated previously, prefer to not load “just another app”. I don’t like Spotify nor will I support the company for many reasons. iHeardRadio, is a possible option, but I consider it “just another workaround” for a missing critical feature. Sonos and Google need to bury the hatchet and move forward. The historical animosity of the product managers and legal wonks on both sides does a huge disservice to the Android community. 

Entropy never decreases. Systems spontaneously evolve towards disorder... Hey who started talking about politics?
106rallye
Userlevel 7
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So what you’re saying is the app you use for podcasts does not have a Spotify Connect like feature? Could you use another app?

C
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Ok, another opinion and use case. Most of you are wrapped up in ad hominem attacks on each other and have lost the purpose of the original ask.

 

My use case: Android (don't suggest going down the Apple rabbit hole, not an option). I start a podcast in the car; don't finish; get home. Want to finish the podcast. Can't get it on Sonos. Should be simple. Just continue where I left off in the app I was using. 

Don't want to load yet another app and/or subscription. Have Amazon music, but they only make the music side available in their app. Ditto YouTube. Tried of searching, experimenting. Putting away on back burner. Maybe someday. Huge frustration. Sigh.

Entropy never decreases. Systems spontaneously evolve towards disorder... Hey who started talking about politics?
jgatie

You’re proving my point. Google is willing to play ball, but Sonos is not.

Again, all these companies support casting to their speakers: Vizio, Sony, LG, Philips, B&O Play, Grundig, Polk, Bang & Olufsen, Raumfeld, Brookstone, NAD, Onkyo, Integra, Pioneer, Rivawand, Grace Digital, Jensen, VSSL, harman/kardon, JBL, Feton, Primare, Toshiba, and Solis.

 

What are you talking about? In what way is Sonos not willing to play ball?  They've created an API for the. very purpose of letting other vendors cast to their speakers.  All Google has to do is develop it, Sonos isn't stopping them.  

J
Userlevel 2

It's also worth noting that Sonos has other ways of doing some of the things that other brands use Chromecast for, such as playing music stored on an Android phone or streaming Amazon Music or Pandora or Tidal. 

Thanks for the responses. Unfortunately, my main concern right now is casting from Chrome on my Windows PC.

J
Userlevel 2

Sonos doesn't add anything.  Google added YouTube music via the Sonos Music Partners API.  Sonos doesn't do anything except QA and maintain the API.  You are barking up the wrong tree.  Instead, go bug Google with this link:

https://developer.sonos.com/build/connected-home-get-started/

You’re proving my point. Google is willing to play ball, but Sonos is not.

Again, all these companies support casting to their speakers: Vizio, Sony, LG, Philips, B&O Play, Grundig, Polk, Bang & Olufsen, Raumfeld, Brookstone, NAD, Onkyo, Integra, Pioneer, Rivawand, Grace Digital, Jensen, VSSL, harman/kardon, JBL, Feton, Primare, Toshiba, and Solis.

J

It's also worth noting that Sonos has other ways of doing some of the things that other brands use Chromecast for, such as playing music stored on an Android phone or streaming Amazon Music or Pandora or Tidal. 

J

I understand that this would enhance the experience of some users and I'd be happy to see it. I don't expect my preferences to be shared by everyone.  But if this is important and easy then Sonos will do it.

jgatie

Sonos doesn't add anything.  Google added YouTube music via the Sonos Music Partners API.  Sonos doesn't do anything except QA and maintain the API.  You are barking up the wrong tree.  Instead, go bug Google with this link:

https://developer.sonos.com/build/connected-home-get-started/

J
Userlevel 2

If you don't like being trapped in an ecosystem then Sonos was an odd choice in the first place. 

I don't watch YouTube. If I wanted to I would do so using my TV and Sonos HT setup.

 

As would I. Or on my tablet.  Maybe it's me, but I've never understood the appeal of playing video on a screen in front of you and casting the audio to a speaker in another part of the room.  Personally, I like audio to be tethered to the screen.

Personally, I live in a studio apartment so my audio is still near my screen. Sounds sound better on my Sonos setup than my Surface Pro 8, however. 

J
Userlevel 2

This thread is 2 months old, it has exactly two posters asking for this functionality.   Would it be nice to have?  Meh, I wouldn't use it.  Is Sonos losing millions in sales because of it?  Not a chance.

Lol right, since this one thread is a barometer of everyone asking for it. Awesome hyperbole, too. I clearly said most users probably aren’t like me. I did not suggest they’re losing millions of sales. You seem smart. Do you know how to use Google? Plenty of people are asking outside this thread, and have been for years.

 

How to cast to Sonos? : sonos (reddit.com)

Any plans for Sonos to support Chromecast? : sonos (reddit.com)

Is there a way to cast all sound from your device to sonos? : sonos (reddit.com)

Can't cast YouTube Music to Sonos : sonos (reddit.com)

My number one request is cast to Sonos : YoutubeMusic (reddit.com)

How can I cast my music to Sonos One SL speaker directly from any app that supports Chromecast? : sonos (reddit.com)

YouTube music cast to sonos : sonos (reddit.com)

Cast to Sonos not working? : sonos (reddit.com)

How to cast to Sonos from YouTube music app : sonos (reddit.com)

Sonos Not Really Compatible with Android. | Sonos Community

Chromecast in S2 / Honest timeline for Chromecast | Sonos Community

 

I could keep going. 

Notice some of the reddit threads are in reference to YouTube Music. Well, they added support for that service. They could’ve supported casting en masse and avoided those frustrations to begin with. 

jgatie

If you don't like being trapped in an ecosystem then Sonos was an odd choice in the first place. 

I don't watch YouTube. If I wanted to I would do so using my TV and Sonos HT setup.

 

As would I. Or on my tablet.  Maybe it's me, but I've never understood the appeal of playing video on a screen in front of you and casting the audio to a speaker in another part of the room.  Personally, I like audio to be tethered to the screen.

jgatie

This thread is 2 months old, it has exactly two posters asking for this functionality.   Would it be nice to have?  Meh, I wouldn't use it.  Is Sonos losing millions in sales because of it?  Not a chance.

J

If you don't like being trapped in an ecosystem then Sonos was an odd choice in the first place. 

I don't watch YouTube. If I wanted to I would do so using my TV and Sonos HT setup.

J
Userlevel 2

I suspect that you greatly overestimate the importance of casting to the Sonos userbase. If I were an Apple user I wouldn't use Airplay on Sonos. As an Android user I wouldn't use Chromecast. 

Maybe i am in a minority. Time and market forces will determine whether this is an important omission or of little significance. 

All those other companies found it important/easy enough to implement. Sonos is larger than most of them. It just seems like a simple ask.

How would you play YouTube (not YouTube Music) on your Sonos? I realize most users probably don’t do that. But when there are so many Sonos competitors offering the feature, it makes it difficult/impossible for me to choose Sonos in the future. I hate being trapped into an ecosystem after spending over a thousand dollars on products. 

J

I suspect that you greatly overestimate the importance of casting to the Sonos userbase. If I were an Apple user I wouldn't use Airplay on Sonos. As an Android user I wouldn't use Chromecast. 

Maybe I am in a minority. Time and market forces will determine whether this is an important omission or of little significance. 

J
Userlevel 2

It doesn’t, generally speaking, but it’s up to Google to implement the API/feature that already has been implemented by Apple. Given that Google just lost a bunch of lawsuits for stealing tech from Sonos, it’s unlikely they’re particularly excited about adding features to a Sonos user. 

https://www.theverge.com/2022/1/6/22871121/sonos-google-patent-itc-ruling-decision-import-ban

 

Sonos doesn’t have the ability to go into the Android code, and add a full “cast” feature, that has to be done by Google themselves. 

Perhaps I should’ve been more specific. All I need is cast support. Like literally any of the speakers made by the companies on this page: Chromecast built-in - Audio (google.com)

Vizio, Sony, LG, Philips, B&O Play, Grundig, Polk, Bang & Olufsen, Raumfeld, Brookstone, NAD, Onkyo, Integra, Pioneer, Rivawand, Grace Digital, Jensen, VSSL, harman/kardon, JBL, Feton, Primare, Toshiba, and Solis did not have to go into Android code (or Windows) to make their hardware cast compatible. 

And Google losing to Sonos doesn’t make me want more Sonos products. Sonos supporting Google’s Chromecast like nearly every other major speaker manufacturer would make me consider continuing to buy their products. I don’t want Sonos to be the reason I’m locked into Apple’s ecosystem. 

It’s idiotic to me for Sonos not to implement cast. It’s hurting them, not Google. 

Airgetlam

It doesn’t, generally speaking, but it’s up to Google to implement the API/feature that already has been implemented by Apple. Given that Google just lost a bunch of lawsuits for stealing tech from Sonos, it’s unlikely they’re particularly excited about adding features to a Sonos user. 

https://www.theverge.com/2022/1/6/22871121/sonos-google-patent-itc-ruling-decision-import-ban

 

Sonos doesn’t have the ability to go into the Android code, and add a full “cast” feature, that has to be done by Google themselves. 

Bruce
J
Userlevel 2

Has there been any news on this? I frequently switch between iOS/Android and macOS/Windows. It’s incredibly annoying that AirPlay 2 allows me to send any audio, but using Android or Windows severely limits what I can do with the exact same set of speakers.

Is Apple paying Sonos? All this does is make me want to abandon Sonos in the future as I can’t use whatever device I’d like with them. If I want the best Sonos experience, I must use Apple products.

How in the world does that make sense for Sonos from a business perspective? 

J

Sonos is just another faceless company that doesn't care about improving customer experience as much as increasing price and profits, 

The way to make profits long-term is to offer a good customer experience at prices enough people think offer better value than the competitors.  There is no conflict between the two aims.  You can’t please everyone, obviously.

Do you have the Sonos skill for Alexa installed so as to cast from Amazon Music?  (Please see the document I linked.)

Airgetlam

I presume it’s the possibility of the litigation between the two companies, as I stated in the quoted post. Not working for either one, I can’t be sure about that. But yes, as an outside observer, just like your assertions, they are pure speculation. 

Bruce
R
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Or is it Google who’s unwilling to provide access to Chromecast to Sonos, perhaps due to their ongoing litigation? What if Sonos has been begging them to allow this for years, and there’s been no positive response from Google, so Sonos just implemented the Apple version in the hopes that it would push Google over the edge?

Not sure I understand why it is “preferential” treatment. Any more so than one service provider allowing all content, and another, such as the BBC, only allowing certain streams to exist on Sonos. Is that also preferential treatment by the BBC to allow access only on their own application, and not on Sonos?

I mean there are more than two dozen companies (bigger and smaller) working with Google https://www.google.com/intl/en_us/chromecast/built-in/.

Do you have any specific reason to think they are blocking Sonos? Or it's just plain speculation?

Android users matter
R
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Maybe one reason for Airplay 2 being implemented and not Chromecast is that Apple are clearly fully committed to Airplay for audio streams, whereas Google canned the Chromecast audio device years ago

But let’s just deal with the glaring factual inaccuracy.  “Only Spotify (thanks to Spotify Connect) allows Android users to cast directly from the app, no other app can do it”.  Apart from Amazon Music, Tidal and Pandora.  Plus Audible and a few others.  It is kind of funny and ironic that you have even tagged Amazon Music and Pandora in your post.

https://support.sonos.com/s/article/3549?language=en_US

The first app that could be cast to Sonos was Google Play Music. This was available only on Android, and Airplay was not then supported.  (The obvious conclusion is that at that time all the Sonos execs had Android devices.)  Google replaced GPM with YTM, but casting hasn’t (yet) been made possible.  Perhaps Sonos and Google are working on this, perhaps not.  I’m sure Sonos would welcome this facility. 

There is also ‘On this mobile device” on the Sonos Android app (only) to allow streaming of music stored on an Android mobile device to any Sonos speaker / player.

@ralx .  I am surprised you are still taking an interest in this topic, given that you informed us in a post 10 months ago that you had sold all of your Sonos speakers because of this issue.

 

Amazon Music doesn't work for me to Cast from my Android device, can you post an screenshot showing it working from an Android device? It only lists my Chromecast compatible TVs and Speakers. I already pay three services, are you telling me I should pay two more?

There are more than two dozen brands working with Chromecast protocol (including my Vizio and Sony TVs, and some Harman Kardon, JBL and Sony speakers I tried in the past) so not sure what you're talking about.

And yes, I bought an Arc, a Sub and and two ones (lots of money) for a home theater because I like the sound better, I still have the Google Nest for other uses but would prefer to fully use Sonos without having to use my work iPhone when I don't use Spotify.

But reading messages like yours one can understand why Sonos couldn't care less about this, you even checked my past posts to search for something to attack me personally. Remember that Sonos is just another faceless company that doesn't care about improving customer experience as much as increasing price and profits, so don't waste your time defending them unless you have a financial interest there.

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