Contributor I

Android and Trueplay

176 replies
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I have read the thread on no Android integration for Trueplay, but I would hope spending 1500 on a system there would be a better solution than "borrow an iOS device from a friend"! Especially after3+ years!!! First thought, if it is a microphone issue, then standardize your system with 1 mic to calibrate your system with. Yamaha, Marantz, Denon, Pioneer etc ALL provide a setup mic with their systems. Microphones among iOS devices also differ, they are different from year to year and model to model. So that verbage doesn't add up or holdmuch water. Second, before the android bashing begins, I bet the cost of my system if the table was turned and it only worked on android and not iOS devices, there would be a loud outcry of Apple users, especially if told to go "borrow" an android from a friend. Not that this will change anything but I got to express my opinion. I'm the proud owner of a top-of-the-line Sonos system that is"Meh" at best.

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Pinned Reply By Xander P

Hi @ihavoc, thanks for reaching out to the Sonos Community.

While it may not be specified on the Arc page that an iOS device is required for Trueplay, you can find here a list of Trueplay compatible devices, and it’s also stated on the main TruePlay page that an iOS device is required - that being said I’ll be happy to pass on your feedback to make it a little more obvious.

Regarding the different models of each iPhone line having different microphones - while this is true, the number of different models of phone running Android operating systems is on a different scale (a quick Google search showed 24,000 different models in 2015), with potentially thousands of different models of microphone installed, and different combinations of microphone, OS, and other hardware components. While we would love to bring Trueplay support to all Sonos systems, accounting for that level of variability in a process which requires precise measurements like Trueplay is unfortunately not feasible.

I do agree though that bringing Trueplay to non-iOS households (like my own) would be a great improvement, and hopefully it’s something that will be possible in the future.

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J

John B

I believe that Sonos is going to suffer the same fate the BlackBerry phone went through

Hi. I have been a fairly active member of this community for a decade now and have lost count of the number of times I have seen this prediction. The only thing that changes is the reason given for why this Is going to happen.

jgatie

It's no secret that Sonos is not happy with Google because of the theft of Sonos' proprietary intellectual property.

But to say that the quality of the microphone in a Samsung phone lacks the technical ability to positively affect Trueplay is the sign of someone in the C Suite that is all butt hurt and wants revenge anyway possible towards Google.

Unless the device can be calibrated prior to testing, there is no technical difference between iOS & Android on a phone and if Sonos can set up Trueplay for iOS, it can be done for Android.

Sonos can have Trueplay work with Android, Sonos chooses not to allow that.

If Sonos requires only Android users to purchase an external mic, citing that Android phones lack a technically qualified mic, without introducing mic calibration on either platform, what word best describes treating one group differently because of ideology?

I believe that Sonos is going to suffer the same fate the BlackBerry phone went through - a management team so wrongly focused it doesn't see the disruption coming its way - and then some other company hands Sonos their butt because that hungry company can't afford to put out a product limited by executive ego, drama and narrow-mindedness.

Nice to know you are privy to the inner workings of a corporation. It’s either that, or you have made up this entire fantasy in your head in order to justify . . . something.

jgatie

Hi. I have been a fairly active member of this community for a decade now and have lost count of the number of times I have seen this prediction. The only thing that changes is the reason given for why this Is going to happen.

The death of Sonos due to some perceived slight is rivaled only by the threat of class action lawsuits, neither of which has seen the light of day in the almost 2 decades Sonos has existed. This one is extra hilarious because Trueplay has been around without Android support for going on 9 years. You’d think if no Android support meant Sonos suffering the same fate as Blackberry, it would have happened by now.

buzz

Grand Maestro

Here in the Community we don’t know the percentage of Apple vs Android users. Based on my own observations, tech orientated users often use Android and non tech users almost always use Apple controllers. Users looking for the lowest price will use Android.

If you want to claim that SONOS made a mistake, the original mistake was to offer Apple users a free, convenient way to improve their audio system with Trueplay. This was possible for Apple products because of the limited number of microphones to deal with. Even if one assumes that the microphone characteristics for the entire run of an Android model are identical (there are debates about this point), there are many, many models and manufacturers, each potentially using a different microphone and microphone placement in the phone/pad body.

The cheap Android users may not want to invest in SONOS, regardless of features, and would certainly chafe at the idea of needing to purchase a separate calibration device -- especially if Apple users did not need this device. Overall it would be cheaper for SONOS to give up the idea of using Apple products for Trueplay and simply raise prices and add the calibration device into the package.

J

John B

If Sonos had never introduced Trueplay on iOS, Android users would be entirely happy with their setup, which would have sounded and cost the same as now. But out of some crazed jealousy towards iOS users, in the eyes of a small minority of Android users, somebody else’s good fortune becomes their bad luck

FWIW, I am an Android user, but one whose wife has an iPad.) Many Android users will be able to borrow an iOS device' from friends or family for the few minutes required.

It seems clear that for newer products Sonos is moving away from using external devices in tuning, a much more controllable approach.

melvimbe

Overall it would be cheaper for SONOS to give up the idea of using Apple products for Trueplay and simply raise prices and add the calibration device into the package.

I would like to see Sonos sell a calibration device, or USB mic, sold separately. While I get that the market may be small, it probably isn’t smaller than the market for those who want a wireless charger for their Roam, for example. I don’t want to continually pay for, or really even receive, tech products I don’t need. I mean, I have a few optical to HDMI convertors I’ve never used stored in a drawer somewhere.

Alternatively, you could include a calibration device option for free when ordering from Sonos, so that you only receive it you want or need it.

It seems clear that for newer products Sonos is moving away from using external devices in tuning, a much more controllable approach.

I don’t think it’s quite like that. Sonos adopted the quick tuning for their portable devices because it doesn’t make sense to retune portables everytime they are move. The quick tune was never meant to be as good or a replacement for full trueplay tuning. I think the reason it got adopted on non-portables as well was because it was easy to implment and would make some customers happy. Quicktuning has not been implemented on any home theatre setup, and we’ll have to see if that changes in the future.

Danny

A

Anonymous

I play an audio file from my server to a pair of One SLs at 35 now, (Trueplay enabled) where I used to play the same file at a volume of 13 and the only change has been an update making the iOS system on my iPhone 6 not supported.

This goes back to my point that my 40 year old, plug in turn up and sit down, legacy equipment is still going to be working 25 years from now, but in all likelihood our Sonos products may require some sort of physical reprogramming to remain viable, imo

btw, a shout out to all those who have participated with me and my rant, thank you.

jgatie

Participated? I don't think that word means what you think it does. But you were dead on with the meaning of rant, I'll give you that.

106rallye

Does it matter what number is showing in the app?

And indeed all computer based devices will have a shorter usable life than non-connected devices.

A

Anonymous

The numbers were used so that a person could understand my reference as to the difference between the sound the system produced prior to the downgrade that resulted when my iPhone 6 was no longer supported.

I know of no other way to offer a means of reference regarding the differences in sound level, how would you have done it?

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