Android and Trueplay



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Wish I would have bought Bose!!!

 

So you wish you bought a brand which has no way to automatically tune for your room because the one which does automatically tune for your room requires a specific device?

SONOS is attempting to measure the room characteristics. A simple wired microphone typically determines conditions at a spot -- and the wire is always too short -- or “I forgot where I stored the microphone” -- or the speaker is sitting on a high shelf (“how do I attach the microphone?”).

Admittedly, I don’t have a proper sample, but most SONOS users that I encounter have iDevices. SONOS would be aware of the actual percentages that use Android.

Sure, SONOS could sell a free standing wireless microphone. How much would you be willing to pay for such a device? Would you be grumbling that iDevice users would not need to purchase such a device? Should SONOS include such a device with each speaker? Of course this would imply raising prices to accommodate development, support (remember that SONOS offers “free” support), and production costs. And, for anyone who has an iDevice, there would eventually be extra junk for the recycle stream.

SONOS is attempting to measure the room characteristics. A simple wired microphone typically determines conditions at a spot -- and the wire is always too short -- or “I forgot where I stored the microphone” -- or the speaker is sitting on a high shelf (“how do I attach the microphone?”).

Admittedly, I don’t have a proper sample, but most SONOS users that I encounter have iDevices. SONOS would be aware of the actual percentages that use Android.

Sure, SONOS could sell a free standing wireless microphone. How much would you be willing to pay for such a device? Would you be grumbling that iDevice users would not need to purchase such a device? Should SONOS include such a device with each speaker? Of course this would imply raising prices to accommodate development, support (remember that SONOS offers “free” support), and production costs. And, for anyone who has an iDevice, there would eventually be extra junk for the recycle stream.

 

I’ve noticed that every time Apple comes out with a new iDevice, it’s several months before Sonos releases Trueplay support for the device.  That makes me think it’s not just a matter of calibrating the mic on the device in order to make trueplay function properly.  Also, whatever dev and testing that needs to be done outside of mic calibration. is not trivial, otherwise it would be released within a couple weeks at the most.    Also also, it seems possible, maybe likely, that if Sonos made their own mic device, that Sonos would offset the cost by stopping the continual dev and testing of trueplay via iDevices while also increasing the market size.  Obviously, that would make a lot of people unhappy as well.  

And one last thing.  These are essentially single use devices.  Example, someone who just set a home theatre with no plans for expansion will likely avoid buying the device. If installed professionally, the installer will tune it with his own device rather than selling one to the customer.  If you install yourself,  you may decide to go without, borrow  from a friend, or a buy a used one.  If you do buy one, you don’t need it afterwards, so you can sell it or just give it away.  The point is that the actual market size for this device is probably much smaller than the number of Sonos households.

 

Do a search on “Android Trueplay” and you will see it is impossible due to quality differences in Android microphones.  The mics used in Apple are all made with the same specifications.  With Android they can vary greatly even within the same model, depending on where and when it was manufactured.  

Many have requested the ability to use a standard external microphone, but Sonos has never commented on this request. 

Clearly passionate defense of status quo.

 

 

Should be pretty easy to logically debunk that defense then.

 

Nevertheless, for the global smartphone market, more than 70 percent are Android as of 2022, according to Statcounter.  Maybe Sonos is comfortable limiting themselves to half the US market?

Your link is to worldwide data.  Here is the US only data, showing android at around 44%.  However, neither is fully relevant since Sonos does not operate in every country in the world, and the demographic of typical Sonos customer likely does match the general population of smartphone user.  I mean, a 12 year old kid has a smartphone, but they aren’t buying Sonos anything   

But for the sake of argument, let’s say android is 50% of Sonos market.   You still have to factor in that many can borrow an idevice or choose to go without.  Suggesting that Sonos is limiting themselves to half the US market assumes android users can’t use Sonos, which is just not true.  And you still have to factor in the dev costs for the variety of mics on androids vs idevice.

I would love to see trueplay on android, or a separate mic device, personally.  I’m just saying that it’s not too surprising that Sonos hasn’t done this considering what we know.

 

 

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I’m ‘fortunate’ in this scenario to be an Apple user. I’ve never gotten on with Android, despite working in IT and easily able to see some of the benefits. I’m also heavily invested in Apple/sonos ecosystems so have absolutely no interest in Android. 

 

But I can also totally see why those who favour Android would be disgruntled and especially so when there’s a perfectly adequate solution in the form of an add on microphone. Sonos really should be investing in such a feature to treat their large customer base with equal respect. Surely the investment would more than pay for itself. 
 

hopefully the increased sales and the IPO cash will give Sonos the scope to grow and develop their strategy and capability as they still seem to have a bit of a ‘mom and pop’ approach of customer service and product development. 


complacency for a one trick pony is never a good thing. 


 

 

Now I am not like other people.   If the cost is less than half of a new apple device, then I would be willing to buy something.  I am going to have 3-4 rooms with several devices so that is a reasonable expense.  I suggest enabling the Roam with microphone as a work around.  I would be willing to buy one.

I would be good with the Roams as tuning mic as well.  Not sure that that is possible, and I’m sure many would be offended by a $180 tuning mic.  If it were possible but the required code didn’t fit in with Roams other functions, I would even be ok with having to do a factory reset to put it in ‘tuning mode’.

Completely unrelated, but I also like the idea of putting the Roam in “voice remote” mode and bonding to Sonos room that does’t have any voice mics in it.  You can effectively do this now, but you have to remember to state the room name.  I really just think the form factor of the Roam, and think it could be used in many different ways.

Good grief, "C suite?"  Discrimination?  Because of a phone choice?  Think about that for a second.  🤣

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.

 

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.  

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.  

Honestly the Sonos Arc will be my first and last Sonos device unless they change this stance and others.  As others have stated nothing on the Sonos Arc main page mentions TruePlay is iOS only. In my opinion this is very deceptive in their marketing. From the Sonos Arc main page below.

“Tuned to perfection

Trueplay tuning technology optimizes the sound for the unique acoustics of the room where Arc is placed, calibrating the height channels for precise localization.”

The omission of DTS, which I did know going into buying the Arc, is just dumb, charge extra for a DTS model.  A lot of people are going out and buying a HDFury Arcana to solve LipSync issues because of a lack of an HDMI input on the device. Another poor design decision.  If it wasn’t for the rave reviews of the Arc on sound quality I would have passed.

I would gladly buy an approved or official Sonos mic to plug into my android device to run tune my Arc. I work for a Vendor myself and nothing pisses customers off more than a nonchalant answer like borrow a friends iPhone.  Borrowing an iPhone is not easy for me, especially in COVID days, almost all my friends and family use Android. 

Lastly if I decide to move my device to another TV or rearrange my room I need to inconvenience someone else so I can tune my Sonos is absurd.  

I thought when I bought the Arc it was going to be the beginning of a larger Sonos rollout in my house but sadly I will be looking for alternatives.

 

Ok but other products like bose provides all of their customers a way to tune their system because it's common sense that not everyone give 1 crap about ios devices 

I think that having sold almost 30 million units, and expecting to double their revenue by 2024 (mostly at the cost of Android users), Sonos could afford to buy AT LEAST phones from the biggest brands in the Android market, and test them in order to get to know their microphone frequencies response, and make Trueplay available for those. The idea of borrowing an iPhone from a friend is just ridiculous...

 

The amount of tribalism and attachment toward profit-seeking corporations is funny. Consumerism at its finest.

Android users want a feature that's useful and rightfully feel left out and that their user needs are not being met. No, they're not entitled to TruePlay and making salty proclamations of ending their relationship with Sonos does essentially nothing. But they're Sonos users like anyone else, and are voicing a valid opinion that does have interesting context and questions around it.

Does Sonos see vastly higher user numbers on iOS and feel that Android users don't buy Sonos anyway? Do they think that TruePlay is a big draw and that adding it for Pixel/Galaxy will bring in more Android users, or do they feel like it doesn't really affect purchasing patterns? Are there technological limitations involved? We probably won't get a satisfying answer to these questions, but the end result is that Android users wish they could have a very useful feature, and are saying as much.

Personally I think it's inevitable that Sonos does expand TruePlay to Android to maximize the number of potential customers, but it all comes down to prioritization. Until that happens, all Android users can do is to continue making it known that there's a demand for it.

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Sonos would have to buy one of every model and buy another if any changes were made to the microphone circuitry.

The USB attached mike is a much more simpler fix.

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If the Android mic is indeed the limiting factor, I don't see why a Sonos mic plugged into an Android phone's usb port wouldn't be the solution.  As a Samsung phone owner, I'm feeling a bit oppressed by the man. 

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Just one microphone and individuals get their own adaptor if needed?

Calibration of the mics is done with a file that's loaded to the measurement software. Just like in any professional case it would be done. No mic is "calibrated" from factory, there's always manufacturing tolerances. The whole idea of calibration is measuring the deviation of the microphone once it's ready and adjusting the measurements to that unit's deviation. This might come as a surprise to some iDevice fans, but their device's microphones are not calibrated. Sonos has probably measured a few samples and created an average "calibration" for said devices but in reality they're just as useful as any random microphone off the shelf (or in any Android device). No two microphones will give the same measurement if they're not uniquely calibrated after manufacturing. So if it's too bold to say assume everyone's got a calibrated mic I'd say assume no one's got a calibrated mic and throw one in the box with the speakers.

 

And yeah the microphones I mentioned do work on android devices. I've tested. And I can use the supplied calibration files too so I can make reliable and repeatable measurements with either one. But you do need a 3,5 mm connector for the Dayton or USB OTG for Umik so I guess iDevices are out of luck?

I would think all of the software would be on the speakers. 

Actually all the heavy processing for the Trueplay tuning is carried out on the iDevice. The filters are then uploaded to the speakers.

https://tech-blog.sonos.com/posts/trueplay-spectral-correction/

Scroll down to the section headed “Trueplay can help!”

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At this point I am almost positive I will be returning my Sonos Arc and never looking at Sonos again, while I still have that option.

If they listed TruePlay for iOS only on their website I would have seriously reconsidered, but nowhere on the Arc page does it denote a limitation.  Every other product I have ever purchased has a notation on a feature with a footnote to call out limitations and I feel this is Sonos being deceptive.

Their excuses for not supporting Android because there is too much variation in microphones, as per the forums, is not valid.  Even within the iPhone 12 line each model has different variations.
https://www.dxomark.com/apple-iphone-12-pro-max-audio-review-a-reliable-and-consistent-audio-performer/
https://www.dxomark.com/apple-iphone-12-audio-review-subtle-improvements-to-sound/
https://www.dxomark.com/apple-iphone-12-mini-audio-review-big-sound-in-a-small-package/
 

This is an intentional choice by Sonos to ignore Android which as of Jan 2021 has a 71.93% market share worldwide and a 45% market share in the US.  

If they want to choose to only support iOS call it out and prevent customers being frustrated and/or returning their purchase.

Would really like an official answer from Sonos on the forums, but I assume I will have to open a support ticket to get one. 


 


 

Android microphones can vary across multiple production runs of the same model. A database of serial numbers would be required to match microphone calibration data with a given Android phone. And a phone from each batch of microphones would be needed to calibrate a batch. I doubt if the phone manufacturers would cooperate with the calibration endeavor. And someone would spend a lot of time buying phones and calibrating hundreds of production runs.

Another approach would be to take the phone to a calibration center. If the phone was purchased from a  nearby dealer, this could be a practical option, otherwise not.

Would you be willing to pay for this calibration service?

Another option would be a onetime calibration of an Android using an iPhone/iPad as the reference. In my opinion this would be a halfway solution because an iPhone/iPad is not a laboratory instrument and the SONOS system operator is not a trained lab technician.

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Hi @Xander P ,

I appreciate the response.   The issue with it not being noted on the Arc page is that it didn’t signal to me that I needed to look elsewhere.  If there is no exception noted I am just going to assume it works without limitation, this is standard practice on any feature listed on companies website.

I understand that with Android there are many models, however you could support the flagship models from the top companies like the Samsung Galaxy line and the Google Pixel line.  This would drastically reduce that amount of devices you would need to support. However, the better option as many have stated is an approved external mic or an external mic purchased from Sonos. A simple solution Sonos has ignored for years 

As I see this complaint has been on going for several years I cannot comfortably keep a very expensive soundbar on the hopes that maybe sometime in the future this could possibly be supported. Any confirmation that this is on the roadmap would be helpful.

I do like the Sonos feature set otherwise but to me this is a huge omission of getting the best from my investment.  As a company that prides themselves on superior sound quality I am very disappointed you have chosen a single vendor solution to optimize the sound quality of your devices. 

 

 It's very basic and convenient software that's been available on most home receivers for the past decade. 

 

Software is not the issue. These receivers are using a microphone of known characteristics. With Android devices, each model phone will have different microphone characteristics and these characteristics change during production. In order to achieve reliable results, SONOS would need to test each production run of Android phones and develop a database of microphone characteristics by phone serial number. Given the number of Android production runs, past and present, this is not a practical project.

Would you be willing to submit your Android to a service facility and have it’s microphone calibrated?

...and yet they have have no problems buying and testing certain Apple devices, eh? There are far more numerous Android users and devices that Apple. It's not difficult to develop software profiles for the top 5 best selling Android phones each year. Sonos are just plain lazy.

 

Edit: A quick search informed me that Apple use 3 different suppliers for their microphones. I'm sure it would be very straight forward to profile the latest Samsung phones' microphones, at the very least.

Being an Android only household I was infuriated with Sonos that after spending several thousands with them, that this basic optimisation software isn't available to me. To then suggest that I ‘borrow an Apple device from a friend'... Really?

So, I borrow an iPad from a friend. Only then discovered that the app wasn't supported by his older iPad. Grrrr. Today I had delivered a new iPad 9th Generation with iOS 15...aaaaannd…computer says no. Sonos don't support new ipads, or old. So I borrowed another iPad, this time the 8th generation. And guess what? It's NOT SUPPORTED either! Aghhhh.

Seriously, Sonos…. customer feedback, pull your thumbs out of your backsides and include Android support and the latest Apple products as soon as possible. You've got more that enough money, especially after the recent price hikes.

Why not check the Sonos website (https://support.sonos.com/s/article/3222) before wildly borrowing and ordering iOS devices?

True. Would help if Sonos would listwhat's s working within the app instead of: ‘just borrow an iOS device from a friend' - no mention of specifics. You would also expect that the 8th gen iPads available for over a year, to be currently supported.  There's just no justification from a technical point of view to not already support these items, including Android devices. They just can't be bothered. It's very basic and convenient software that's been available on most home receivers for the past decade. Sonos make TruePlay a big point in their marketing material and should have this software available for most platforms and hardware configurations by now. But yes, next time I'll check on their website! (I didn't buy the 9th Gen iPad specifically for this! Rather I hoped that I would finally be able to use this function)

 

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