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a_rock_lobster
Contributor I
October 9, 2017

Desktop app lagging behind

  • October 9, 2017
  • 17 replies
  • 793 views
It used to just be ugly, but now the desktop apps are falling behind in functionality (for example the Sonos favourites). Just wanted to let somebody at Sonos know that some people aren't completely converted to controlling everything from their phones and would like the desktop apps to keep up (surely it's their turn now).
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17 replies

Lyricist II
March 10, 2018
Do the desktop apps have access to the "My Sonos" section?
Prodigy II
March 10, 2018
Do the desktop apps have access to the "My Sonos" section?

Yes, although the terminology is "favourites", and the "favourites" screen is a simple list of all your flagged favourites. No splitting by category, no hiding favourite playlists in the "all Sonos playlists" folder, no including lists of Spotify playlists, and no edit screen that lets you accidentally rename or permanently delete stuff if you're not careful. Just a list of your favourite stuff.

But wondering where something is because it's called different things in different official Sonos v8.4 controller apps is understandable.
Lyricist II
March 10, 2018
No splitting by category, no hiding favourite playlists in the "all Sonos playlists" folder, no including lists of Spotify playlists, and no edit screen that lets you accidentally rename or permanently delete stuff if you're not careful. Just a list of your favourite stuff.


So, in this case, the desktop app is indeed lagging behind the smartphone app
Prodigy II
March 11, 2018
So, in this case, the desktop app is indeed lagging behind the smartphone app

Well it's certainly a different approach. And as there's a gap between the (actually rather awesome) intended behaviour of the "My Sonos" screen, and the current implementation, you could argue that the unchanged desktop app is actually ahead of mobile when it comes to fast navigation access to favourite items and playlists.
Contributor I
March 26, 2018
I use the desktop app with windows 10. For a company that is keen to develop and evolve their products, Sonos have been very slow to modernise the desktop control. It is not very user friendly at all. Two things I would like to see: Firstly, a choice of 'skins' and/or choice of colour scheme; blue on black is not great if you are visually impaired. Secondly, the addition of an alphabetically led search, so you just click on a letter and the listing will jump straight to that letter, avoiding the need for a scroll. I can't fault Sonos for sound quality, ease of set-up etc. Making the interface easier to use would seem to be a relatively simple thing to do, but it doesn't seem to be on the Sonos R&D radar.
controlav
Lead Maestro
March 26, 2018
Other features missing from the Desktop version: the Inbox feature. Setup for Alexa support. Setup for a few music services (eg Apple Music, on PC).

The Desktop apps are in legacy mode: only updated to keep working with newer hardware, no new features.
Author of the leading independent Sonos apps for Android, MacOS, iOS, Windows and Xbox.
Prodigy II
March 26, 2018
Secondly, the addition of an alphabetically led search, so you just click on a letter and the listing will jump straight to that letter, avoiding the need for a scroll.

On many library screens (eg. Music Library->Artists), you can just hit a letter key to jump to that point in the list. But I'm pretty sure that, as with so many Sonos screens, it's not completely consistent, and quick alphabetical navigation doesn't just magically appear after the list gets large enough.

Anyone who owns a Sonos is aware that making the controller experience really awesome and consistent across all desktop and mobile platforms is not top priority at Sonos. Vent in the forums, learn the workarounds, repeat...