I would like to issue my feedback:
Oh my gosh the new app, sonos website + forum are very complex!
I could easily list a number of fundamental user interface rules that are broken, and many interfaces that are just so complex that it beggars belief.
Many folks that I know personally who have purchased on my sonos recommendation are similarly expressing their frustrations with such a massive UI change, to make matters worse, without warning.
Michael Lee - 20 years software development professional.
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Now I have to mess around going from screen to screen selecting rooms and back to browsing music for selections.
This seems like a rushed product to fit in with the release of the new sonos-1.
I find myself using the desktop app instead and its so much easier.
With the likes of amazon and google biting at your heels you need to do a much better job of the software.
Two principles to follow that may help you get on better with the new app:
1. Come back to the tab bar as the base for all navigation. Rooms button to select Rooms. Browse, Search or My Sonos for choosing music. If you are on the Now Playing screen, swipe down to show the tab bar.
2. Do not use the rooms thing on the Now Playing screen for anything. It is useless. Instead, tap the Rooms button and use the Rooms screen for all rooms management.
1. Come back to the tab bar as the base for all navigation. Rooms button to select Rooms. Browse, Search or My Sonos for choosing music. If you are on the Now Playing screen, swipe down to show the tab bar.
2. Do not use the rooms thing on the Now Playing screen for anything. It is useless. Instead, tap the Rooms button and use the Rooms screen for all rooms management.
Can I just add my user experience of the new app. It is flawed, makes no sense to any of my users (we are a SONOS delaer) and needs to change.
From the Rooms menu, I can do nothing. I have to select the room, which logically would expect you to access the room "options", but no, you then have select a different nav bar icon, which is counter intuitive - wy can I not access rooms, then select music, without jumping between nav bar items?
If I double click the room I go to a full screen "Now Playing" view which allows me to do - well not very much really.
I cannot select music from the now playing screen - it seems to be an enormous waste of space when they could easily give you more usable features.
Frankly, there are too many "ways" of getting to the end result.
Swipe, select from Nav, select room, then access nav bar again, then search - wow - so many different styles of UI to get music playing.
It could be so, so, so much simpler.
This app makes NO SENSE whatsoever. Even after using it for hours I find it frustratingly useless as a UI
Nothing is logical. The thing you want to do you need to approach from the wrong direction.
I would actually pay money to get a better app.
SONOS need to admit that they have failed badly on this one - the product is outstanding -this app UI is a car crash, a complete disaster of a user experience.
From the Rooms menu, I can do nothing. I have to select the room, which logically would expect you to access the room "options", but no, you then have select a different nav bar icon, which is counter intuitive - wy can I not access rooms, then select music, without jumping between nav bar items?
If I double click the room I go to a full screen "Now Playing" view which allows me to do - well not very much really.
I cannot select music from the now playing screen - it seems to be an enormous waste of space when they could easily give you more usable features.
Frankly, there are too many "ways" of getting to the end result.
Swipe, select from Nav, select room, then access nav bar again, then search - wow - so many different styles of UI to get music playing.
It could be so, so, so much simpler.
This app makes NO SENSE whatsoever. Even after using it for hours I find it frustratingly useless as a UI
Nothing is logical. The thing you want to do you need to approach from the wrong direction.
I would actually pay money to get a better app.
SONOS need to admit that they have failed badly on this one - the product is outstanding -this app UI is a car crash, a complete disaster of a user experience.
I find it easy, quick and logical. You find it the opposite. Let's agree to differ.
This is reaching the point of trolling John B. Not only do almost all the actions in the new app require more clicks, meaning they aren't quick and easy. Both the previous app as well as the spotify allow people to switch rooms, using the dropdown on the now playing screen. Removing that functionality is therefore the opposite of logical.
John B - we know you like the app. Stop chiming in all the time to tell us. Let people have their say on this as there seem to be a lot of people who do not like the recent change.
I'll add my vote to how disappointing the current (IOS) app is. The old version was so good I always felt it could be extended to be a music library manager beyond Sonos. Now - as people say, it's no longer intuitive, too many clicks to do something simple like adding rooms. And now all Sonos Playlists seem to have been moved into My Sonos, rather than as a separate library. This means that the specific favourite ones are now no longer quickly availing in My Sonos. Each update seems to be a step backward. Please - the controller is a key part of the system. It used to be great - now it's a barrier.
I was careful to state it was just an opinion. The post I was responding to was a response to my post offering two simple principles that make the use of this app, right now, fairly straightforward. If you look back at that post, I describe one feature of the new app as useless.
I have never claimed the new app was better than before. I have criticised many aspects. But the fact remains that if you use the tab bsr and avoid the quick group thing, life becomes easier. And I will continue to point that out. You are free to disagree.
Providing useful information is not trolling. I am not seeking to provoke but help. I don't give a $@!! what you think of me.
I have never claimed the new app was better than before. I have criticised many aspects. But the fact remains that if you use the tab bsr and avoid the quick group thing, life becomes easier. And I will continue to point that out. You are free to disagree.
Providing useful information is not trolling. I am not seeking to provoke but help. I don't give a $@!! what you think of me.
Providing useful information is indeed not trolling. Pretending the new app is easy, quick and logical however - despite this forum being a clear testament to the contrary, for over a month now - definitely is.
Totally agree the new interface is appallingly inintuitive. Then to voice y concerns I have to create an account and then I have to spend 5 minutes trying to work out how to reply. Maybe a big colored button with reply here. Who ever is responsible for UI in Sonos is harming the product
Providing useful information is indeed not trolling. Pretending the new app is easy, quick and logical however - despite this forum being a clear testament to the contrary, for over a month now - definitely is.
I am not arguing, and never have, that this was a good change by Sonos, or that the new app is better than the old. I respect everyone's right to think it a step backwards, too bright, less easy to use...whatever. But anyone finding it impossible to select a room and get the music of their choice playing in it is missing a trick, because that IS easy.
Right now, the only Sonos app we have to work with is 8.2. My only aim now is to help people to see that it isn't impossible or even difficult, even though they may legitimately think it less easy than before, or a step backwards, or a pointless change.
So I will continue to try and help those who are finding it impossible, to find it possible, and start enjoying their Sonos systems again until such time as any changes to the app are made.
And one of the key bits of advice remains to avoid the 'quick group' thing, which is at best useless and at worst the cause of confusion and frustration and should be scrapped. I am not trying to defend Sonos or the app, but to help individuals to avoid a couple of pitfalls that undoubtedly exist, and use the app in the best way possible..
Userlevel 7
+22
Providing useful information is indeed not trolling. Pretending the new app is easy, quick and logical however - despite this forum being a clear testament to the contrary, for over a month now - definitely is.
I also really like the new controller for iOS. I think it has some major issues but it's a great start.
Too bright for sure. That needs addressing. Menu items disappear when now playing screen shows. I don't use Playlists so can't/won't comment on them.
How can you call this a great start? Sonos is not some right out of the gates startup, and neither is this some early release new app.
We are discussing version 8 of an app that already was quite mature and which got changed for the worse without a sound reason to do so. At best it's change for the sake of change, but more likely this is the result of mindlessly copying another app (e.g apple music).
Userlevel 7
+20
Providing useful information is indeed not trolling. Pretending the new app is easy, quick and logical however - despite this forum being a clear testament to the contrary, for over a month now - definitely is.
Who appointed you as some kind of moderator over whose opinions are right, and whose are wrong?
There are millions of Sonos users. Those who are happy with the new app won’t feel the need to post on this forum to say so.
Thank you John. I appreciate your advice. It is making the app more useablefor me. I can’t go as far as saying I like it...but your advice is helping me.
No one did, and the same goes for that handful of sonos fanboys dominating this board. Doesn't stop them of acting like the thought police though.
That the new app isn't quick and easy (compared to the previous version) can be easily argued objectively (as you now need more clicks). When someone explicitly states the opposite it's therefore fair to state it's getting close to trolling.
Userlevel 7
+20
No one did, and the same goes for that handful of sonos fanboys dominating this board. Doesn't stop them of acting like the thought police though.
Right: no-one did. And yet you're the only one I've observed trying to 'police' things. At least John B and a few others have been trying to provide assistance to those who are struggling with the updated app., whereas your contributions are not exactly dripping with helpfulness.
Your opinion is as valid as anyone else's on this forum, and I respect that. It's just not more valid.
Being respectful is indeed what this is about, also towards those who are not happy (or accepting) of the new interface. And systematically trivializing that critique by calling it exaggerated and ridiculous, to the point of calling the poster flat out stupid is not respectful.
While more polite that some of the other posters. John's reaction in this thread is typical in this. kme_anderson kindly asks to add their opinion to the list, explains some of the issues with the new app and how cumbersome it is to use as a result. And what is the response?
"I find it easy, quick and logical. You find it the opposite. Let's agree to differ."
That's not helpful or adding to the conversation. It's stiffing a debate before it even gets started, and typical of quite some of the replies on this board which don't add much value, unless one's keen on smothering dissent.
If you are happy with new the interface, that's fine. And if someone sees that differently, you are more than entitled to explain why you disagree with their critique and how the new app is actually better. But actually do so then, instead of being dismissive of people's critique as such. Engage in an actual conversation and debate.
Here is another thing you may or may not be aware of, and which I am finding useful:
To take music with you when you move rooms.using the physical buttons on the speakers, pause the music in the room you are in, walk to new room, LONG press on play button there. Music transferred. (If you leave the music playing in Room 1 instead of pausing it, the speakers will be grouped.)
So. Rooms button, select room, Browse, Search, or My Sonos button to select music for that room.
Please explain how that is slow, difficult or illogical. Not how it is inferior to the previous app, I'll concede that one to you. Just how that is that not quick, easy and logical, since you have accused me of 'pretending' to believe that.
I indeed started to lump you in with it, even though a couple of weeks ago I explicitly excluded you. The reason for it being that you appear to get intolerant of the dissent.
You may not have noticed it in this regard, but the post you followed up to was kme_anderson's first post in more than a week. And you basically shut down the conversation in response.
The reason this bothers me so much is that we'd all benefit from having out concerns heard - assuming someones listening. And our feedback will be a lot more meaningful if we have constructive discussions on what's wrong and how it can be improved, instead of trying to shut each other up.
Well the problem is exactly that. Quick and easy are relative concepts, which means it's a judgement call versus a reference point. In case of sonos that reference points is inevitably the previous app, as well as whatever other music app customers are using (spotify, deezer, tidal, pandora, google music, etc).
And the new app is arguable slower than the previous one, in terms of clicks, as well as scrolling. That's why I equated it to trolling when you stated the new app was quick and easy, as in comparison it simply isn't.
Same for logical and intuitive. It's not because it's possible to figure out how to work the app that those goals are achieved. Having the rooms dropdown on now playing not behave like the rooms menu option is the case in point here. Especially as you can't even get to switching rooms from there. That just isn't logical, not on it's own and certainly not in reference to the previous app as well as spotify where that's both possible.
This is also why people are so upset. The changes made to the app are a step back in comparison to what they had. And there is simply no sense to found in the decision to do that. Again, not logical.
Did you not read the bits where I said i have never claimed the new app was better than the old? It is impossible to discuss this rationally because you constantly misrepresent what I have said. I ask you what is illogical about a simple set of steps in the app and you tell me what is illogical about Sonos' decision to change the app. The same tactics are used over and over again.
Does it take more clicks now? Probably compared with previous tablet version, not sure about phone. But can I get the music I want playing in the room I want in a few seconds without difficulty? Yes. That is all I am claiming.
Does it take more clicks now? Probably compared with previous tablet version, not sure about phone. But can I get the music I want playing in the room I want in a few seconds without difficulty? Yes. That is all I am claiming.
John B we spoke about this a week ago. Leave well enough alone. You promised a last post on this new app. 😃 As you can see I am so out of this. I read now for entertainment purposes. Can’t keep arguing the same points for weeks.
I now quietly await further developments from Sonos.
I know. I was trying to offer helpful advice, and avoid getting into arguments, but got criticised for that. I'm feeling quite relaxed about it though.
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