Trending Lyricist I

sonos app as “standalone” streamer

Forum|Forum|5 months ago
April 15, 2026
18 replies
310 views

Hi,

new feature submission:

with more and more portable speakers, headphones and truly wireless devices in Sonos’ lineup it would be really nice to use the app as a separate streaming device with mobile data on the go. The devices would better justify their price tags and Sonos would be probably the first with such feature on the market, meanwhile still locking it to Sonos hardware.

let me know if you need more thoughts on the implementation.

cheers!

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PatkiAuthor

Trending Lyricist I

@melvimbe In theory the sonos app could control what devices it puts out to as it already IDs the devices. It could lock down that it only streams to Sonos devices (eg.: Roam, Move, Ace … maybe Sonos Car Audio?) if those devices are connected.

This doesn’t really resolve any of the issues/concerns I brought up. The app would need to be converted into a streamer, streaming service would still be reluctant or out right refuse to allow Sonos to do this, and Sonos doesn’t make any money from the deal.

Sonos Car audio sounds like a horrible idea in reality. Car manufacturers have upped the tech in auts making it harder and more expensive to upgrade the audio, with less benefit. Google/Amazon/Apple are busy bringing AI voice to your car. Trying to way to be a controller in that space seems crazy. Providing speaker hardware and perhaps tuning makes sense, but Sonos has said this is not the direction they want to go.

I think @buzz said it best. It doesn’t really matter if you’re using an aggregate controller or not, it’s the number of steps you have to take to get there.

Having access to Sonos Radio and the rest of the streaming services on the go as an aggregator would be a product differentiation factor in the audio market.

One can hope.

Creating a separate app for Sonos Radio outside of your network makes some sense, but I don’t think Sonos really wants to do much with radio. The service is run by Deezer and is really just a way to make some extra money off the brand name at this point (I don’t have a problem with that, that’s just what it is)

They are already supplying SONOS hardware to Audi:

https://totallyev.net/audi-q3-audio-review-is-the-sonos-system-worth-it/

With the aforementioned app upgrade and connectivity via bluetooth, they would be able to supply content and interface as well :)

jgatie

So you want them to rewrite the entire Sonos application to make it a streamer, but limit output to the Ace and/or portable units? Uhhhh . . . OK. I don’t see the advantage and/or the ROI, but . . . you are correct; it is a request.

M

Mr Lahey

Lyricist II

It’s a good feature request IMO.

Sonos playlists on the go would be great.

Also Combining content from different sources to the queue has been the best feature for me with Sonos so having this on the go with a Move would be awesome.

melvimbe

They are already supplying SONOS hardware to Audi:

https://totallyev.net/audi-q3-audio-review-is-the-sonos-system-worth-it/

With the aforementioned app upgrade and connectivity via bluetooth, they would be able to supply content and interface as well :)

Yes, they helped designed the speakers and the tuning, like I mentioned. The did not build the UI, or build any sort of streaming source aggregator for Audi.

@jgatie I’m not under the misconsception. 👆AS WRITTEN above this is a FEATURE REQUEST.

Sonos will still be able to gatekeep/control everything by limiting it to their hardware (as they do now, which for the most part already has the requirements to stream the content directly) and they would be able to market it as an exclusive feature, therefore make money from it with a little to no developer cost. This would make the kneecapped Ace headphones (and possibly their whole portable lineup) able to stream Sonos Radio and rest of their services using only one app.

Gatekeeping doesn’t work when the consumer can easily get around the gate. Sonos gatekeeping for home audio only works because they own the rights to how audio is transmitted between speakers. When you remove that ‘carrot’, you aren’t going to get people to pay more to use your gate. And no, this is not a ‘little to no developer cost’ feature. That’s just wishful thinking.

It doesn’t really matter anyway, because it’s unlikely that the major streaming service companies are going to license Sonos to use their service outside of the Sonos ecosystem, instead of using their own apps. Seriously, the only reason I think Sonos even managed to act as an aggregator in the first place is the developed their technology and established customer base long before music streaming services (modern smart phones too) even existed. It made no sense to create a streaming service and ignore that base. Honestly, it wouldn’t even surprise me if Apple up and decided not to work with Sonos anymore, preferring their consumers just use airplay.

Danny

M

Michael.B

Enthusiast II

Honestly, it wouldn’t even surprise me if Apple up and decided not to work with Sonos anymore, preferring their consumers just use airplay.

This is an interesting point about Apple.
Unlike Tidal, Qobuz, Spotify etc., Apple Music is not natively supported on Sonos’s competitor systems like Wiim, Bluesound, Denon/HEOS and others.
Looks like Sonos is the only non-Apple streaming platform with natively integrated Apple Music.
Hopefully Apple isn’t going to abandon it in the near future.
Airplay isn’t actually a valid option for AM users on Sonos.

PatkiAuthor

Trending Lyricist I

They are already supplying SONOS hardware to Audi:

https://totallyev.net/audi-q3-audio-review-is-the-sonos-system-worth-it/

With the aforementioned app upgrade and connectivity via bluetooth, they would be able to supply content and interface as well :)

Yes, they helped designed the speakers and the tuning, like I mentioned. The did not build the UI, or build any sort of streaming source aggregator for Audi.

@jgatie I’m not under the misconsception. 👆AS WRITTEN above this is a FEATURE REQUEST.

Sonos will still be able to gatekeep/control everything by limiting it to their hardware (as they do now, which for the most part already has the requirements to stream the content directly) and they would be able to market it as an exclusive feature, therefore make money from it with a little to no developer cost. This would make the kneecapped Ace headphones (and possibly their whole portable lineup) able to stream Sonos Radio and rest of their services using only one app.

Gatekeeping doesn’t work when the consumer can easily get around the gate. Sonos gatekeeping for home audio only works because they own the rights to how audio is transmitted between speakers. When you remove that ‘carrot’, you aren’t going to get people to pay more to use your gate. And no, this is not a ‘little to no developer cost’ feature. That’s just wishful thinking.

It doesn’t really matter anyway, because it’s unlikely that the major streaming service companies are going to license Sonos to use their service outside of the Sonos ecosystem, instead of using their own apps. Seriously, the only reason I think Sonos even managed to act as an aggregator in the first place is the developed their technology and established customer base long before music streaming services (modern smart phones too) even existed. It made no sense to create a streaming service and ignore that base. Honestly, it wouldn’t even surprise me if Apple up and decided not to work with Sonos anymore, preferring their consumers just use airplay.

Gatekeeping works in a convenience-based economy. It’s easier to use one app then switch around all the time. If sonos is forcing people to use an app for their headphones (which they rewrote just for these purpuses explicitly) they might aswell not half-ass it and go all the way offering the benefit of convenience …because as I see currently it’s anything but ... and technically it would stay inside the Sonos Ecosystem. The walled garden would only expand to portable devices. You wouldn’t need to switch when leaving home from the sonos ecoysystem to third party, but would have a seamless musical experience when switching from your home wifi or is out of reach. BTW can we talk about why the Sonos Ace still doesn’t support playing music directly through the app or the Sonos Ecosystem without a soundbar??? 🤣

kdowling

BTW can we talk about why the Sonos Ace still doesn’t support playing music directly through the app or the Sonos Ecosystem without a soundbar??? 🤣

Because the Sonos app doesn’t stream or play music. No music plays in the Sonos app. The Sonos app is nothing more than a remote control for sonos devices. Just like your TV remote controls your TV.

The Ace headphones aren’t a Sonos speaker/room. They are Bluetooth headphones with an added feature of being able to swap sound with a Sonos soundbar. They will play what the device they are paired with sends via Bluetooth, and they can swap sound with a Sonos soundbar.

Or is your question why didn’t Sonos create the Ace headphones so that they can be a Sonos room/speaker?

PatkiAuthor

Trending Lyricist I

BTW can we talk about why the Sonos Ace still doesn’t support playing music directly through the app or the Sonos Ecosystem without a soundbar??? 🤣

Because the Sonos app doesn’t stream or play music. No music plays in the Sonos app. The Sonos app is nothing more than a remote control for sonos devices. Just like your TV remote controls your TV.

The Ace headphones aren’t a Sonos speaker/room. They are Bluetooth headphones with an added feature of being able to swap sound with a Sonos soundbar. They will play what the device they are paired with sends via Bluetooth, and they can swap sound with a Sonos soundbar.

Or is your question why didn’t Sonos create the Ace headphones so that they can be a Sonos room/speaker?

I know. The latter (kind of). Again, as I wrote earlier, not a question, it’s a conversation and a FEATURE REQUEST 👆(please read the original description)

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