trueplay for Android?

https://en.community.sonos.com/ask-a-question-228987/android-trueplay-app-6732743

TruePlay for Android is very important.

I am sure Sons doesn't want to be known as only supporting proprietary devices.

Maybe Sonos can make a dedicated Andoid controller or "approve" a few devices from major manufacturers such as Samsung.

NJSS

Or maybe the manufacturers can standardize. Why should Sonos have to get into the cell phone development business?

Sonos has in the past made a dedicated controller.

What I am suggesting is that they either:-

1. Test & approve a number of Android devices; and/or

2. Produce a dedicated Android controller, which could be based on an existing Android device.

Supporting Apple devices exclusively is a retrograde step.

1. Test & approve a number of Android devices; and/or


And what if one of the approved devices wasn't any of the ones you have?

Don't blame Sonos... Blame the various manufacturers for not adapting a standard.

Not supporting Android devices which were never previously supported hardly fits the dictionary definition of retrograde.

On the other hand I'd argue that getting back into the dedicated controller game would be a ridiculously retrograde step business-wise. Reinventing the wheel, being behind the technology curve, lacking the economies of scale, consuming piles of R&D dollars in return for zero USP. It's hard to think of anything worse for Sonos to contemplate.

The impression Sonos have given is that even 'premier' lines of Android devices had major variations in microphone characteristics. Presumably if they could have supported some models and/or Android variants they'd have done so. They clearly acknowledge the requirement.

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I am sure Sons doesn't want to be known as only supporting proprietary devices.

Maybe Sonos can make a dedicated Andoid controller or "approve" a few devices from major manufacturers such as Samsung.



Uhhh, does anyone else see the irony here?

No irony. Sonos should definitely not become dependent on proprietary devices from third parties where factors beyond their control can limit or eliminate positive elements of the end user experience.. Sonos definitely should develop and maintain their own proprietary devices that lets them control all aspects of quality, function, and the total user experience.

Sonos definitely should develop and maintain their own proprietary devices that lets them control all aspects of quality, function, and the total user experience.
And, after all that R&D spend, would you care to speculate how many users would actually fork out $300, $400, $500 for a dedicated controller when all they need do is reach in their pocket and grab their phone? We've been here before, with the CR200, and Sonos no doubt heaved a corporate sigh of relief to be able to discontinue it.

The right solution would be to support a select set of bluetooth microphones, to be used with iPads, iPhones or Android devices. The microphone quality would be a lot better and any device could be used.

Bluetooth has pretty indifferent audio quality, and BT microphones tend to be aimed at the human vocal range. Can you identify any quality microphones with a decent frequency response covering the entire audible spectrum?

And inaudible spectrum if descriptions of the tuning process are to be believed.

We've been here before, with the CR200, and Sonos no doubt heaved a corporate sigh of relief to be able to discontinue it.

Mainly because they needed a way out of the high failure rate of the touchscreens that they never could resolve. If it weren't for that problem I believe the CR200 would still be in production as an alternative to the app controllers and Sonos would likely be considering a CR300 with microphone to support TruePlay. That device could very well have been the "customized" Android device discussed here as opposed to putting out R&D for homegrown hardware.

Also a $300+ controller is not out of line for a 32 zone whole house audio system which is what Sonos was designed from the ground up to be. It is only folks who treat Sonos as a fancy Bluetooth equivalent or high end boombox who would balk at the notion of paying for a dedicated controller.

Thing with the controllers is that smartphones were in their infancy when Sonos hit the market, so they were necessary. Now they aren't... I still use my 100 in the kitchen when cooking, but won't miss it if it dies. It is real easy to with it to hit the stop button and adjust the volume with it... more convenient than drying my hands to access the app on my smartphone or iPad. But, I'm fine either way... I love the options.

If it weren't for that problem I believe the CR200 would still be in production as an alternative to the app controllers
That would be the CR200 which, back at v5.4, was deemed to be sufficiently compromised in terms of capacity that all functions other than for basic playback control were removed....

Also a $300+ controller is not out of line for a 32 zone whole house audio system which is what Sonos was designed from the ground up to be. It is only folks who treat Sonos as a fancy Bluetooth equivalent or high end boombox who would balk at the notion of paying for a dedicated controller.

So, in that 32 zone house, where would the $300 controller live? Would there be 32 of them, or just 16?

Accept that the world has moved on, and acknowledge the convenience of a powerful handheld computer already in one's pocket which can simply be flipped out to control music wherever one chooses to listen. There's no need to pejoratively categorise such users as merely wanting a BT boombox.

Sonos still supports dedicated controllers and they are number one in wireless music distribution. All of their competitors only support app based control and none of them are doing very well by comparison despite the fact that smartphones are no longer in their infancy.

You're clearly associating Sonos' market position with once having dedicated controllers. Since they haven't sold them for some time, therefore, their sales should have tanked. They've done quite the opposite.

Competitors reliant on phone/tablet apps are frequently criticised for their software quality. That's much more the issue than having an app per se. Oh, and not forgetting the questionable reliability, multiroom performance, acoustic quality and lack of online service support in competitor systems.

So, in that 32 zone house, where would the $300 controller live? Would there be 32 of them, or just 16?


I have 22 zones and 11 controllers so I would assume for 32 zones it would be 16 or less. I don't walk around with a cell phone in my pocket when I am in my own house and I wouldn't want to have to start doing so just to control my music system.

I have 22 zones and 11 controllers so I would assume for 32 zones it would be 16 or less. I don't walk around with a cell phone in my pocket when I am in my own house and I wouldn't want to have to start doing so just to control my music system.
In that case just buy a handful of iPod Touch 5th/6th gen units, set them into Guided Access mode, and scatter them round the house.

Amazing how people that the more people have the more they want. What's the problem with slipping your phone in your pocket or slapping it on a holster? Especially when its such an integral part of your sound system. Sometimes you have to adapt.

Yeah, why do people have such a problem understanding what the "mobile" in "mobile phone" actually means? It means it doesn't have to be left in one place! Utterly bizarre, my phone is never anywhere other than my pocket.

Just something else to complain about in my opinion.

Someone who would contemplate spending $3300 on dedicated controllers has an interesting kind of problem.

Someone who would contemplate spending $3300 on dedicated controllers has an interesting kind of problem.

Compared to the cost of 22 zones of players the controller cost was trivial... until Sonos started disabling functionality on them. I'm not going to criticize people who want to be tethered to an electronic device they carry all the time. It just isn't the paradigm I wanted when I purchased my system.

But this is getting off the original point that Sonos could better manage Trueplay support if they had more control over the hardware it was using.