Skip to main content

Today is the day of the AMA!

The new app design has been out for a week, and most of you have had a chance to get used to the new UI.

Some of you might have questions when you have had a week to get to know the new Sonos App interface. Because of that, we want to give you all a chance to ask some of the people who were integral in its creation and design, the questions that have come to mind while you have used the app.

As we mentioned in the event.

Our panelists will be:

  • Diane Roberts, Senior Director of Software Development
  • Kate Wojogbe, Senior Director of User Experience
  • Tucker Severson, Director of Product Management

It will be hosted on the 14th of May from 11:00 until 14:00 GMT -07.

But instead of me telling you what they do and what their role with the app update has been, here are their own introductions:

 

Diane

Diane Roberts is the Senior Director of Software Engineering and Product Management at Sonos responsible for the Sonos Apps. Her group of cross-disciplinary teams build Configuration, Control, and Content experiences on a foundation of Core mobile application technologies. She received dual Bachelors’ of Science in Computer Science and Music from WPI. Diane holds 6 granted patents as a co-inventor.

 

Kate

As Senior Director of User Experience, Kate leads the UX team responsible for Sonos’ home audio hardware, software, and app user experiences. This includes user interfaces on speakers and soundbars, setup for hardware and services, first and third party content experiences, and a variety of methods of control of the Sonos system. Kate graduated from the University of California Los Angeles with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Design.

 

Tucker

Tucker Severson is the Director of Product Management and leads the PM team responsible for the Sonos Apps. Tucker received his BA from Bates College and his MBA from the University of Vermont.

 

We will do our best to answer as many of your questions as possible within the 3-hour window, but we can’t promise to answer every question, especially those you know we can’t discuss.

But if we see a question repeated or a reply getting a lot of likes, don’t worry. We will prioritize those to ensure that many people get the answers they seek.

 

Remember, we can’t talk about things on the roadmap - but if you have questions or feedback about the app redesign, want to know more about our panelists, like their background or favorite band, then the sky is the (cough cough.. NDA) limit!

Thank you, everyone, for participating. We covered as many of the most asked questions as possible. We know tracking the responses wasn't as easy as we had hoped. But we wanted to let the community air frustrations and have their questions answered.

I got a lot of DMs during the AMA, and I will be sure to answer them when I can. Thanks for reaching out!

Keith and I will work on recapping all the questions and feedback we have responded to, and we will update the post here when that is complete. If we didn't get to your question, don't worry. Keith and I are grabbing all the feedback from this thread, even the things we didn't respond to, and ensuring the right people will see the message. This was the first time we created a live AMA in the community, and we learned a lot for future AMAs.

We appreciate all the feedback and questions you gave through this AMA. It helps us understand your most significant feedback and your reasoning. We hear you, and we will ensure the right teams get your feedback. They are listening.

We look forward to rolling out the updates with features (new and old) as soon as they are ready. Keith shared an overview of the timeline for expecting these features to return to the app. Today was the first update, reintroducing alarms and improving the iOS voiceover.

We look forward to seeing your reactions to our future app developments. We hope you all appreciate the work our developers are putting into making the app as fast and easy to use as possible for the general user.
​​

The workflow in the new app seems to differ from what it used to be and the old way was better. 

Old way:

  1. Open app
  2. Click on music
  3. Select favorite station or playlist or whatever to play
  4. A slide-up menu where I would pick which speaker(s) or zones would play 
  5. The music plays in those zones

New way:

  1. Open app
  2. Slide up system list
  3. Select speaker or group of speakers from the slide up 
  4. Slide it back down
  5. Select music service or playlist 
  6. The music plays - hopefully in the right zone 

It just seems backwards and no better than before. I want to select what I want to hear, and then tell the system where I want it to play. 

 Hey everyone! Today is the day of the AMA!

The new app design has been out for a week, and most of you have had a chance to get used to the new UI.

Some of you might have questions when you have had a week to get to know the new Sonos App interface. Because of that, we want to give you all a chance to ask some of the people who were integral in its creation and design, the questions that have come to mind while you have used the app.

As we mentioned in the event.

Our panelists will be:

  • Diane Roberts, Senior Director of Software Development
  • Kate Wojogbe, Senior Director of User Experience
  • Tucker Severson, Director of Product Management

It will be hosted on the 14th of May from 11:00 until 14:00 GMT -07.

But instead of me telling you what they do and what their role with the app update has been, here are their own introductions:

 

Diane

Diane Roberts is the Senior Director of Software Engineering and Product Management at Sonos responsible for the Sonos Apps. Her group of cross-disciplinary teams build Configuration, Control, and Content experiences on a foundation of Core mobile application technologies. She received dual Bachelors’ of Science in Computer Science and Music from WPI. Diane holds 6 granted patents as a co-inventor.

 

Kate

As Senior Director of User Experience, Kate leads the UX team responsible for Sonos’ home audio hardware, software, and app user experiences. This includes user interfaces on speakers and soundbars, setup for hardware and services, first and third party content experiences, and a variety of methods of control of the Sonos system. Kate graduated from the University of California Los Angeles with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Design.

 

Tucker

Tucker Severson is the Director of Product Management and leads the PM team responsible for the Sonos Apps. Tucker received his BA from Bates College and his MBA from the University of Vermont.

 

We will do our best to answer as many of your questions as possible within the 3-hour window, but we can’t promise to answer every question, especially those you know we can’t discuss.

But if we see a question repeated or a reply getting a lot of likes, don’t worry. We will prioritize those to ensure that many people get the answers they seek.

 

Remember, we can’t talk about things on the roadmap - but if you have questions or feedback about the app redesign, want to know more about our panelists, like their background or favorite band, then the sky is the (cough cough.. NDA) limit!

 

Why are we 10 minutes and you haven’t answered anything?

It appears it’s an ASK me anything.  Not an ANSWER me anything.

Is this the actual AMA? WTF?

Yep.

Given the considerable dissatisfaction with the way in which this app has been released is  the CEO going to publicly comment?   His silence is notable.

Knock, knock.. Who's there? ... Not Sonos!  😂😂

I don’t think anyone is coming guys. 
Pack it up, this clearly isn’t the place to AskMeAnything. Shame 

They bailed on their own “Olive Branch?” 

This is the AMA new style. Same as the new app :-(

What has Sonos learnt from this? It has strikingly similarities to the forced S1 to S2 debacle!

They'll probably only respond if you ask them what their favourite bands are...

So many features missing, but one of the CORE BASIC functions of a CONTROLLER app should be to CONTROL what songs play and in what order. However, I can't really do that because you removed any kind of queue management. How is this remotely a useful controller app?

How is something that eliminated half the features an "upgrade"? I do not think that word means what you think it means.

Btw, please be aware that many of us are waiting for some kind of apology before we're willing to trust you for anything again. Please acknowledge that you have done damage here. Otherwise it seems like you just don't get what basically ALL of your customers are saying, and I see no reason to spend any more money on any of your products in the future.

Come on this can’t be for real - what is this and why shoot yourself in the foot with such an “event”

Please upvote this post: Can you please provide an immediate easy way to rollback the mobile app to the prior version for those who can’t make the current version meet their needs.

If you are on Android you can role back yourself really easily by uninstalling the new version, downloading the older APK file, copying it to your device and installing it. This is what I did and it works as before (you need to turn off auto updates of course other wise it gets overwritten) .

Please upvote this post: Can you please provide an immediate easy way to rollback the mobile app to the prior version for those who can’t make the current version meet their needs.

You will need to side load an older version of the app. Easy with Android via an apk repository. Not so easy with Apple devices. 

Wait, so is the AMA this comment thread? Where is the event link?

I have several comments:

  1. I will not be upgrading my iOS app. Ever. At all. Until this is fixed. You’re the reason I don’t have auto-updates on.
  2. Am I right in thinking that you removed volume numbers from the sliders? Please don’t do that. It’s essential for anyone with a multi-device system where volume amounts need to vary by room. I know what the “right” levels are for the different spaces, and I don’t want to guess.
  3. Queuing songs is the primary function of your product. Why was this feature removed? It’s similar to having a social media site where you remove the ability to post or comment.
  4. Is there any chance of you just publishing the old app again for the next few months, so that we can all continue using our systems the way we expect? It seems like a very small thing to ask.

Where is the AMA? How do I join? I was expecting actual people live on a stage or something. Very disappointing.

Any plans to implement the editing of queues when using song radio on YouTube Music? Presumably this issue exists for other services too.

Not having any auto-play feature where you can view and edit what’s coming up is really disappointing

Did Patrick lose control of the company, or is this his executive leadership in action?

 

thank you

 

Why was this major overhaul not release as a separate beta preview app in the app stores? That seems like such an easy way to have avoided all the blowback from this release.

Release the app separately so people have the option to choose until the new version is completely baked.

This would help your case for now. Diane, if you are watching this. A couple clicks will save your job.

  • What is this a joke?
    Ask me anything you want!
    That's how you can gamble away the rest of your trust in sonos.
    Great work!

What a disaster.

I bet there are some journalists here. At least one signed with a publication earlier.

Nice way to fuel a PR disaster! This is beyond disrespectful and I am giving up on this AMA and won’t be purchasing any Sonos products or recommend them. 

So are there actually any of the devs here? How do we see their responses?

 Hey everyone! Today is the day of the AMA!

The new app design has been out for a week, and most of you have had a chance to get used to the new UI.

Some of you might have questions when you have had a week to get to know the new Sonos App interface. Because of that, we want to give you all a chance to ask some of the people who were integral in its creation and design, the questions that have come to mind while you have used the app.

As we mentioned in the event.

Our panelists will be:

  • Diane Roberts, Senior Director of Software Development
  • Kate Wojogbe, Senior Director of User Experience
  • Tucker Severson, Director of Product Management

It will be hosted on the 14th of May from 11:00 until 14:00 GMT -07.

But instead of me telling you what they do and what their role with the app update has been, here are their own introductions:

 

Diane

Diane Roberts is the Senior Director of Software Engineering and Product Management at Sonos responsible for the Sonos Apps. Her group of cross-disciplinary teams build Configuration, Control, and Content experiences on a foundation of Core mobile application technologies. She received dual Bachelors’ of Science in Computer Science and Music from WPI. Diane holds 6 granted patents as a co-inventor.

 

Kate

As Senior Director of User Experience, Kate leads the UX team responsible for Sonos’ home audio hardware, software, and app user experiences. This includes user interfaces on speakers and soundbars, setup for hardware and services, first and third party content experiences, and a variety of methods of control of the Sonos system. Kate graduated from the University of California Los Angeles with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Design.

 

Tucker

Tucker Severson is the Director of Product Management and leads the PM team responsible for the Sonos Apps. Tucker received his BA from Bates College and his MBA from the University of Vermont.

 

We will do our best to answer as many of your questions as possible within the 3-hour window, but we can’t promise to answer every question, especially those you know we can’t discuss.

But if we see a question repeated or a reply getting a lot of likes, don’t worry. We will prioritize those to ensure that many people get the answers they seek.

 

Remember, we can’t talk about things on the roadmap - but if you have questions or feedback about the app redesign, want to know more about our panelists, like their background or favorite band, then the sky is the (cough cough.. NDA) limit!

 

Why are we 10 minutes and you haven’t answered anything?

It appears it’s an ASK me anything.  Not an ANSWER me anything.

maybe gone home 😢

“Something Went Wrong” is a message I see most frequently with the new app. I think that pretty much summarizes the whole degraded user experience. I’ve been a loyal customer since 2012 having purchased 11 speakers and (previously) extolling the virtues of Sonos. No More!!

 

“Something Went Wrong” with Sonos. I’ll be looking for a different wireless solution if you all don’t fix this mess within 2 months. Stop “new” features. Bring back the “old” functionality. Give us a choice when to switch to a major “update”.

 

Terms & ConditionsCookie settings