Sonos Staff

The New Sonos App and Future Feature Updates

Forum|Forum|2 years ago
May 11, 2024
2256 replies
156772 views

Hey all, today we're sharing a message from our chief innovation officer, Nick Millington in the announcement here. Going forwards we will update that topic and we therefore close this one for further replies.

We set out to create a more personalized and effortless listening experience with the updated Sonos app. It was rebuilt from the ground up to ensure it could support future innovation in the years to come. For its initial rollout, we focused on how we could answer some of the most common requests from our customers, including increased reliability, performance, and faster access to music.

Many of you have shared valuable feedback on both the improvements that have made your experience better, as well as the areas where we fell short. We are listening to all of your comments and working to address them as quickly as possible. Over the coming weeks, we will reintroduce the below features, while fixing bugs and performance issues. Thank you for your engagement and we look forward to building upon this first step to create a listening experience that meets everyone’s needs.

Available now

To access these changes, check for updates in the iOS / Android app store to download the latest version of the Sonos app. Make sure your Sonos products are also up to date.

Last updated: Oct 28, 2024. See release notes.

The update has the following version numbers:

80.11.38 - iOS
80.11.32 - Android

In this update:

Support for the all-new Arc Ultra soundbar and Sub 4
Music library improvements*
Improvements to product setup
Improved performance when browsing content in Home and in Browse on Android
Improvements to multi-system support on iOS
Fixes for multiple settings including Bluetooth display, EQ, and Sub bonding on iOS
The ability to schedule System Updates on iOS
Continued Voiceover improvements on iOS

* Requires player update - 81.1-58074 (or higher)

You can also follow along with updates in this article:

New Sonos App Update!

This topic has been closed for further comments. You can use the search bar to find a similar topic, or create a new one by clicking Create Topic at the top of the page.

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W

wayneo123

Collaborator II

Just popping in to see what the latest state of the app is so that I can sell my old Sonos gear on eBay in clear conscience and it looks like the fan boys have now taken over.
It seems bizarre to me that whilst loads of users are having a bit of a nightmare with their sonos systems theirs are working perfectly. To make matters worse there are always suggestions that it is not the app that is the problem but the users experiencing the problems being, and I am paraphrasing here, a bit thick.

All Sonos products replaced due to appalling app and sheer arrogance of CEO.

A

Audiophone

Renowned Enthusiast I

Didn't you all understand? Sonos is not interested in supporting old hardware with the new app. Buy new hardware and everything will be fine.

BTW: one old loudspeaker might flaw the whole system. So grab your generous sonos discount and replace ALL of them

Stop with the FUD. I have a Play:1 dating back to 2013. My system works fine. The app is bad enough without people spreading nonsense.

Thanks for piping in. I just tested my two older Play:1’s in the Bedroom (stereo pair) and they work fine. Also, just tested for the first time a Sonos Alarm and it worked fine. Never used a Sonos Alarm before. Has some nice features; I’ve always used Alexa Alarms as was brought to my attention yesterday by a nice user. I can live with my Sonos setup for now, just waiting for some of the missing features to come back.

Good for you. The new app, take any version, does not work AT ALL with my unchanged system. Grouping, selecting, playing, services, .... it's a mess.

Keep it simple

Ken_Griffiths

Thanks for piping in. I just tested my two older Play:1’s in the Bedroom (stereo pair) and they work fine. Also, just tested for the first time a Sonos Alarm and it worked fine. Never used a Sonos Alarm before. Has some nice features; I’ve always used Alexa Alarms as was brought to my attention yesterday by a nice user. I can live with my Sonos setup for now, just waiting for some of the missing features to come back.

Good for you. The new app, take any version, does not work AT ALL with my unchanged system. Grouping, selecting, playing, services, .... it's a mess.

@Audiophone,
It really might be something local in your case, it’s working okay here - it’s also working for friends and family, but we do think the App is a little slow in some areas, but it certainly does work to connect to our Sonos products and play from streaming services/local libraries etc. (SMB v2 or higher shared folders).

A

Audiophone

Renowned Enthusiast I

Thanks for piping in. I just tested my two older Play:1’s in the Bedroom (stereo pair) and they work fine. Also, just tested for the first time a Sonos Alarm and it worked fine. Never used a Sonos Alarm before. Has some nice features; I’ve always used Alexa Alarms as was brought to my attention yesterday by a nice user. I can live with my Sonos setup for now, just waiting for some of the missing features to come back.

Good for you. The new app, take any version, does not work AT ALL with my unchanged system. Grouping, selecting, playing, services, .... it's a mess.

@Audiophone,
It really might be something local in your case, it’s working okay here - it’s also working for friends and family, but we do think the App is a little slow in some areas, but it certainly does work to connect to our Sonos products and play from streaming services/local libraries etc. (SMB v2 or higher shared folders).

Thanks for the feedback. Some users tried to reinstall they old system from scratch, upgrade firmwares etc. For some it worked, at least a bit, for others it was worse. So I'm afraid to do that as it may completely destroy my system. I froze my system and still can use it with the old app. But at some point it might get defunct.

I'm 35+ years SW developer. My boss would kill me if i had delivered such a mess. Was there any testing at all before releasing?

Keep it simple

Ken_Griffiths

Thanks for the feedback. Some users tried to reinstall they old system from scratch, upgrade firmwares etc. For some it worked, at least a bit, for others it was worse. So I'm afraid to do that as it may completely destroy my system. I froze my system and still can use it with the old app. But at some point it might get defunct.

I'm 35+ years SW developer. My boss would kill me if i had delivered such a mess. Was there any testing at all before releasing?

Seems an unusual thing for a software developer to say that they’re afraid to reinstall a controller App - it has no effect on the Sonos system, as it’s merely a ‘remote’ - you’re just generating a new remote to control your setup.

KenS

Enthusiast II

Thanks for the feedback. Some users tried to reinstall they old system from scratch, upgrade firmwares etc. For some it worked, at least a bit, for others it was worse. So I'm afraid to do that as it may completely destroy my system. I froze my system and still can use it with the old app. But at some point it might get defunct.

I'm 35+ years SW developer. My boss would kill me if i had delivered such a mess. Was there any testing at all before releasing?

Seems an unusual thing for a software developer to say that they’re afraid to reinstall a controller App - it has no effect on the Sonos system, as it’s merely a ‘remote’ - you’re just generating a new remote to control your setup.

I will be generous and assume you misunderstood his comment. Deleting the app and reinstalling is a trivial matter -- agreed. But some have suggested in other threads to factory reset all Sonos products and create a new Sonos account and then re-add the Sonos products to the new account. Essentially a complete re-do, which some have reported solved some issues but others say did not help. Depending on the household and location and number of Sonos devices this is a non-trivial exercise. Sonos has gotten this badly wrong.

John Guarr

Enthusiast II

We set out to create a more personalized and effortless listening experience with the updated Sonos app. It was rebuilt from the ground up to ensure it could support future innovation in the years to come. For its initial rollout, we focused on how we could answer some of the most common requests from our customers, including increased reliability, performance, and faster access to music.

Many of you have shared valuable feedback on both the improvements that have made your experience better, as well as the areas where we fell short. We are listening to all of your comments and working to address them as quickly as possible. Over the coming weeks, we will reintroduce the below features, while fixing bugs and performance issues. Thank you for your engagement and we look forward to building upon this first step to create a listening experience that meets everyone’s needs.

Available now

To access these changes, check for updates in the iOS / Android app store to download the latest version of the Sonos app. Make sure your Sonos products are also up to date.

Last updated: Jun 17, 2024. See release notes.

Added numerical values to volume and group-volume sliders
Updated the volume icon to reflect the volume level on iOS
Introduced mute button on Android
Added stereo or mono configuration for Amp/Port output on iOS
Improved TalkBack screen reader support for volume sliders on Android
Added support for SonosNet channel selection on iOS
Expanded support for service reauthorization on Android

Coming soon

Continued improvements to navigation for visually-impaired customers: mid-June
Local music library search and playback: mid-June
Improved playback settings including Play Now: July
Create and edit local music library: July
Improved Autoplay settings: July
Improved Sub audio settings with Amp: July
Snooze alarms: TBD

Our latest update resolves some of the most critical known issues, but know we have more to do. We hear your feedback and are working hard to deliver the experience you expect and deserve.

Sonos speakers are now basically blue tooth speakers, they had a good system but the self-inflicted wound of the rubbish app upgrade has created a lot of damage to their reputation. I am definitely not buying a Sonos product again. Their speakers performance tends to degrade in performance, overtime. I boothed up my first Sonos speaker , the old Play 5. It sounded like the type s smart speakers you buy in a supermarket. We deserve better for our money.

You mention turning Sonos speakers into Bluetooth speakers, I’m confused, I know they are still Wi-Fi speakers, but why, every time I open the app, I get a box directing me to settings to turn on Bluetooth for accessories? I never do that, since Bluetooth is a drain on battery life, but what accessories are they talking about? And is this why you are thinking the speakers are now Bluetooth?

A

Audiophone

Renowned Enthusiast I

Thanks for the feedback. Some users tried to reinstall they old system from scratch, upgrade firmwares etc. For some it worked, at least a bit, for others it was worse. So I'm afraid to do that as it may completely destroy my system. I froze my system and still can use it with the old app. But at some point it might get defunct.

I'm 35+ years SW developer. My boss would kill me if i had delivered such a mess. Was there any testing at all before releasing?

Seems an unusual thing for a software developer to say that they’re afraid to reinstall a controller App - it has no effect on the Sonos system, as it’s merely a ‘remote’ - you’re just generating a new remote to control your setup.

No, you're wrong. The new app also asks for a firmware update of the speakers. But not always. New firmware means it may not work anymore with old app. But a guarantee that it will work with new app? Nope.

Sonos seems to push more onto a server based system now. It seems that the app in many cases is contacting the local speaker AND the remote server. That's why they discontinued the standalone windows app and you now have a web interface.

The Sonos app is no more a mere controller app, it's a thin client relying on a server.

The old app did not work outside your wifi. No need, as the speakers are stationary.

But with headphones you also want to listen to your services, your music, etc outside the house. So the major control is shifted towards central servers. Maybe they did not tune the load balancing yet, that's why it's so slow.

Keep it simple

Ken_Griffiths

No, you're wrong. The new app also asks for a firmware update of the speakers. But not always. New firmware means it may not work anymore with old app. But a guarantee that it will work with new app? Nope.

Sonos seems to push more onto a server based system now. It seems that the app in many cases is contacting the local speaker AND the remote server. That's why they discontinued the standalone windows app and you now have a web interface.

The Sonos app is no more a mere controller app, it's a thin client relying on a server.

The old app did not work outside your wifi. No need, as the speakers are stationary.

But with headphones you also want to listen to your services, your music, etc outside the house. So the major control is shifted towards central servers. Maybe they did not tune the load balancing yet, that's why it's so slow.

The Sonos Ace Headphones do not use a WiFi connection, other than a 5Ghz ad-hoc connection with the Sonos Arc - The Ace has never connected to our WiFi router. It’s not possible to do that.

I use my Roams and Moves (from Home) at multiple locations too - a single Sonos system/Household can store up-to 16 WiFi networks - here’s some of mine in the old Sonos App (attached). Just to add I run a vpn server on my Linux NAS anyway, so remote connection to my Home Sonos system has never particularly been an issue.

If you do not wish to upgrade your firmware, which is your prerogative) then there’s perhaps not much more you can do - it’s likely why your App is maybe not performing as it should be.

M

MattM TN

Listener

What about queues that are longer than 100 songs?

I lost all my playlists built on Amazon Music as a source in the old app. I have now rebuilt them using the Amazon app. I have a “Music Master” with over 3000 of my favorite songs but when trying to play it only takes the first 100 in alphabetical order so I’m stuck in only A/B and it won’t shuffle.

My short term fix is to use the Amazon app with airplay but that doesn’t work for my old play:1 with sub I use outside….no airplay. So infuriating…

When will this be fixed and you no longer limit my usage? Date for fix please!!

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