New Sonos App and Accessibility

Keith N

At Sonos, we take accessibility seriously and aim to build listening experiences that everyone can enjoy.

 

The redesigned Sonos app was built from the ground up to support both modern and future Sonos experiences, and as part of that, we’ll be implementing ongoing improvements and enhancements over time. On May 7, the app will have basic support for screen readers, allowing you to swipe through and read through all items on the screen. Following launch, ongoing improvements to the accessibility of the updated mobile app will remain a top priority. A software release available May 21 will improve screen readers so you can select items on screen in any order. Further improvement will be added to the experience regularly until we reach parity with the S2 app by late June. 

 

In the meantime, the Sonos Windows and Mac applications will continue to operate as normal until our new web app has met our accessibility standards.

 

Thank you for your patience as we continuously improve the accessibility of the Sonos app. 

Corry P 11 days ago

Hi All

This thread is related to Accessibility functionality of the new app. Any further off-topic comments will be removed. 

There are plenty of other threads relating to the new app that are not about Accessibility - please feel free to post to them instead.

View original

50 replies

J
Userlevel 5
Badge +1

It is reauthorised fine. My issue is that after authorisation, it’s no longer accessible. Specifically, if I swipe through the list of playlists, VoiceOver is completely silent. Trying to find tracks, I am getting unlabelled graphics and no track names. It is completely unusable now. Someone else on mastodon is confirming the experience too.

Bumper
Userlevel 7
Badge +14

It is reauthorised fine. My issue is that after authorisation, it’s no longer accessible. Specifically, if I swipe through the list of playlists, VoiceOver is completely silent. Trying to find tracks, I am getting unlabelled graphics and no track names. It is completely unusable now. Someone else on mastodon is confirming the experience too.

Voiceover is reading tracks, playlists, albums and artists as I swipe through them from my library in Apple Music. It is also reading Top Picks and other content from Apple Music in the Sonos App. I’m using version 80.00.04 of the app.

J
Userlevel 5
Badge +1

And have you associated the new Sonos app with your Sonos account? I think this may be the issue.

Bumper
Userlevel 7
Badge +14

And have you associated the new Sonos app with your Sonos account? I think this may be the issue.

Yes I have.

J
Userlevel 5
Badge +1

OK, that rules out that theory then. :)

I’m not sure what’s going on, but it is broken for more than just me. Very intriguing and frustrating.

Bumper
Userlevel 7
Badge +14

OK, that rules out that theory then. :)

I’m not sure what’s going on, but it is broken for more than just me. Very intriguing and frustrating.

I’ve had apple music issues with sonos in the past and removing and then re-adding the service has worked, as well as deleting the app and then reinstalling. I’m clearly grasping at straws but that’s all I’ve got.

M
Userlevel 4

This whole experience has been extremely disheartening from Sonos and has shattered your reputation and trust in the blind community. You've demonstrated your commitment to accessibility by releasing an app that completely locks out blind and low vision customers and seemed to deprioritize accessibility until the very end.
If accessibility is so important to the company, could you have not waited two weeks until the stated fixes were implemented?
I can no longer recommend Sonos as an inclusive and accessible brand that truly wants all customers to listen better. At the very least, Sonos needs to not only ensure their apps are fully accessible and efficient as soon as possible, but build accessibility and experiences from disabled users from the very beginning to ensure this never happens again.

J
Userlevel 5
Badge +1

Well, deleting and reinstalling is no longer an option I’m afraid.

Bumper
Userlevel 7
Badge +14

Well, deleting and reinstalling is no longer an option I’m afraid.

What I mean is deleting the new app and  reinstalling it again. It will trigger the new on boarding, which if it’s an account issue this may fix. 

P

I’m a VoiceOver user and I'm also experiencing the issues with Apple Music. I can select albums, artists, etc but after that, VoiceOver no longer reads any text labels. I haven’t updated to the new Sonos app on any of my devices, I have not been asked to reauthorize Apple Music, and I have only one AM account. I’ve changed absolutely nothing on my end, and it still broke.

P

Apologies if double posting is frowned upon here, but either posts can’t be edited or that’s another thing that’s inaccessible.

 

I think cover images might have something to do with what VoiceOver can no longer read. It still reads artist names, and if you manage to get into an album, it reads the track titles. It’s album names, and album and station buttons on the main Apple Music screen, that VoiceOver no longer reads labels for.

 

Also this is not limited to iOS. Album names on the Windows app are no longer read by JAWS or NVDA.

M
  1. Bring back the old S2 app
    2. Bring back full functionally to the new app or your company is doomed
P

The Apple Music issue seems to be fixed on my end. Both iOS and Windows are back to normal for me.

Bumper
Userlevel 7
Badge +14

The Apple Music issue seems to be fixed on my end. Both iOS and Windows are back to normal for me.

What do you think was the issue or did you do anything to fix it? 

P

The Apple Music issue seems to be fixed on my end. Both iOS and Windows are back to normal for me.

What do you think was the issue or did you do anything to fix it? 

I didn’t do anything at all. Just checked it an hour later and it was back to the way it was. As @Jmosen said, it was probably server side. Something in the content that gets pushed when you access Apple Music.

J
Userlevel 5
Badge +1

Sadly no change for me even after exiting the app, restarting the device. But perhaps there is hope and a fix is rolling out.

Bumper
Userlevel 7
Badge +14

Statement from The NFB urging Sonos to restore accessibility 

https://nfb.org/about-us/press-room/national-federation-blind-urges-sonos-restore-accessibility

————

National Federation of the Blind Urges Sonos to Restore Accessibility

Baltimore, Maryland (May 7, 2024):  The National Federation of the Blind (NFB), the transformative membership and advocacy organization of blind Americans, today expresses deep disappointment concerning a recent redesign of the Sonos smartphone apps that has significantly degraded their accessibility to blind users. Blind people who have experienced a beta version of the new app are reporting that these changes significantly disrupt their ability to operate Sonos’ audio systems. 

“Many blind people, including me, have made significant investments in Sonos speakers and equipment, as has the National Federation of the Blind at our Baltimore headquarters,” said Mark Riccobono, President of the National Federation of the Blind. “As paying customers, we have a right to expect equal access to all functions of these unique, high-quality audio products. While we are now hearing that remediation is planned, Sonos never should have released an app with significant accessibility regression in the first place, as it would never so degrade the user experience for sighted customers. Furthermore, remediation efforts will be meaningless unless it includes user testing by blind customers. If Sonos values us and is committed to accessibility as it claims, we urge the company to collaborate with the National Federation of the Blind as it implements its plan to bring the new app experience to the high accessibility standard of the S2 app that blind users have loved for years. Together, we can ensure that the new app’s full functionality remains accessible to everyone. We are ready to provide user experience feedback informed by the expertise of our Center for Excellence in Nonvisual Access and the lived experience of blind customers to help Sonos reinstate and enhance the accessibility of their products going forward.”

D
Userlevel 1

The strange thing in this statement is the discontent between “we really care about accessibility” and the idea that they would release with accessibility broken for weeks as apparently a conscious decision as it seems to be in their roadmap they aren’t sharing. You care but not enough to delay for a few weeks?  So the amount you care is less than how much you care about releasing early?

G
Userlevel 1
Badge

Hello,

I have invested quite a bit in the Sonos system, attracted by its simplicity and accessibility via the app. However, following the recent update, I find it nearly impossible to use my products effectively.

VoiceOver only emits a blank sound when browsing screens by exploration. Swiping through the app allows access only to certain elements as the focus shifts back to the top of the app. Reaching the player, located at the very bottom, is virtually impossible. Finding the search function is also extremely challenging. There are errors in button descriptions and repeated navigational elements, such as in the settings. Controls like switches for options are also incorrectly read.

Sonos, what you have done with this app, the service, and the trust of your visually impaired users, is completely incomprehensible. How could such an untested product be released?

Additionally, how can it be claimed that accessibility is ensured, only to release an app and then state that full accessibility will be available by the end of June? This approach not only misleads but also disappoints users who rely on these features daily.

If this update had been issued as a separate product, it would be possible to continue using the old version. Now, there's no way to revert these detrimental changes.

I hope that accessibility to the app will be restored as quickly as possible.

 

Accessibility rules.
T
Badge

Hello, I have been a Sonos customer since 2018 and have always suggested your brand to other blind users like me, because it has always respected accessibility.

But this new app has been a huge regression, to listen to a song I have to go back and forth who knows how many times, alarm clocks cannot be set and modified currently, browsing and searching has become a challenge, if I want to listen to music or a streaming I’d like to be able to relax, not to fight against obstacles.

I have a sensation: not that blind people are DELIBERATELY neglected, but it’s the new platform used -no longer native development- which has no accessibility optimization at the very beginning; more and more companies are switching to multi-platform app development frameworks, as they can then deploy a software to app store and to Play Store simultaneously, with one package only.

Then, another factor I’m fighting with everyday is the eternal conflict between testers, developers and commercials.

Commercials know very little about what we -devs and testers- do, and if they decide it’s better to publish a product, bugs or not, it must be published.

I’m feeling this new app is a sort of unstable public beta

 

Elena Brescacin
N
Userlevel 2
Badge

After the update from today, the app still keeps crashing.

It takes about 2 seconds.

I own a Iphone 15 pro max ios 17.5 

And a Samsung with the newest android.

My daughter has the Iphone 12 pro max ios 17.4.1

All the phones keeps crashing.

The android came with a pop-up that the sonos app has a bug🙈🙈

The workarround is to turn off Wifi, then open the app, and then turn on the wifi.

Then the app won't crash.

 

Please fix

 
T
Badge

Latest update has accessibility even worse: whatever you access, VoiceOver screen reader on the iPhone doesn’t even intercept the “back” button. No “scrub” gesture to go back…

I spent a lot of money for this system, I’m a happy 5-years-long customer.

But I really feel frustrated about all these accessibility issues. I know it’s not something intentional to harm blind people, this would be hate speech and I’m not that kind of person.

The main announcement said FIRST remediations are coming on May the 21st and then for the end of June it might be accessible again, but let me say, computer science is not an exact science and anything can change.

So, please, if you can, respect the developers’ time and don’t run because marketing tells you to hurry up.

 

Ensure it’s fixed before releasing, otherwise errors will stay there till the end of times.

Elena Brescacin
G
Userlevel 1
Badge

Latest update has accessibility even worse: whatever you access, VoiceOver screen reader on the iPhone doesn’t even intercept the “back” button. No “scrub” gesture to go back…

I spent a lot of money for this system, I’m a happy 5-years-long customer.

But I really feel frustrated about all these accessibility issues. I know it’s not something intentional to harm blind people, this would be hate speech and I’m not that kind of person.

The main announcement said FIRST remediations are coming on May the 21st and then for the end of June it might be accessible again, but let me say, computer science is not an exact science and anything can change.

So, please, if you can, respect the developers’ time and don’t run because marketing tells you to hurry up.

 

Ensure it’s fixed before releasing, otherwise errors will stay there till the end of times.

I'm the one who has a different impression. Of course, it is very far from full availability. In version 82.xxx 
1. The big blocking element all over the screen has disappeared. 
2. The back button is in the upper left corner and works. 
3. Focus hardly escapes to the top of the application.

 

Accessibility rules.
T
Badge

Confirming that focus no longer jumps around, I don’t find the button at the left top corner

the interface is mostly a mess, though - at least provide HEADINGS to switch from a section to another (recently played, services, etc).

not to talk about alarm clocks which are not selectable or cannot be modified at all, no way to understand which one is active and which one isn’t, the volume sliders not always work

I am using iPHone 13 pro max and iPad mini 2021 with iOS 17.4 latest build - going to update 17.5 today.

What about changing speakers, I mean, choosing which song must play where?

That’s a mess. Lots of images, it does not tell me which one is selected, the interface has become so complicated

 

Elena Brescacin
W

The strange thing in this statement is the discontent between “we really care about accessibility” and the idea that they would release with accessibility broken for weeks as apparently a conscious decision as it seems to be in their roadmap they aren’t sharing. You care but not enough to delay for a few weeks?  So the amount you care is less than how much you care about releasing early?

What this person said! 
Sonos could argue that that there is issues with QA or development process, and that this was the reason behind this. However, multiple departments would have either had to fail at verifying accessibility in the new app OR one knew about the state and still went on with the release. 
After having to register a user on this forum I’m afraid to share that there are basic accessibilty issues related to just the signup form, like not all intearctive elements getting visible focus (2.4.7). Have a look at WCAG, rules of WAI-ARIA and/or hire some certified accessibility consultants. 

I’m ready to sell all my Sonos gear if such an issue is repeated. Please be better Sonos!

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