Android and Trueplay

@John B your attitude is amazing and calling a feature I require a pet feature is uncalled for. They advertise this feature without notation of exception on their main page of the Arc product with is deceptive.  Since this feature is not a concern for you I see no reason why you even replied on this thread.

Calibrating audio for any room is an essential.  Audio equipment is designed for a perfectly acoustical environment which is impossible in a house unless you design a dedicated room for it.  Every system I have calibrated over the last 17 years has made a HUGE difference in sound quality coming from the equipment.  What you call my “pet feature” I call ensuring I am getting the best from my purchase.  

As far as the lawsuit it is because they cannot keep up with the cheap devices that Amazon and Google and to defend their IP which is definitely a must and I stand behind Sonos to do so. 
 https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/07/technology/sonos-sues-google.html 

“Sonos’s entry-level speaker is about $200. Amazon and Google’s cheapest speakers are $50, and they often offer them at much steeper discounts.

In the third quarter of 2019, Amazon shipped 10.5 million speakers and Google six million, according to Strategy Analytics. For the 12 months ending in September, Sonos said it had sold 6.1 million speakers.

“Amazon and Google are making it a mass-market product at a price point that Sonos can’t match,” said Jack Narcotta, a Strategy Analytics analyst.”

While we are talking “pet features”, another one besides TruPlay is AirPlay2.
Having Airplay is neat for Apple users.
Having ChromeCast would equally be neat for Android users. 

Bluetooth streaming would also be a nice feature, and considering the cost of a bluetooth module these days, I doubt it would even be possible to see on the pricetag. 

As for market shares, the most recent and reliable data I could find, indicate that Android + Apple has 99% of the market (current, active devices - not “activated” devices).
However.
Besides North America and a few Asian countries heavily biased towards Apple, Android outnumbers Apple worldwide by 2:1 with +70% of the market. 
You can (fairly) argue that Apple users are more likely to shop for products like Sonos - but I’m not arguing that Sonos should prioritize Android at the cost of Apple - only that Android shouldn’t be neglected like it seems to be. 

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. 

I use Android and have suggested an external mike as a solution too.

I also got a cheap Apple dingus off ebay to solve my TruePlay issues.

I long ago learned to solve Sonos issues myself when possible instead of waiting for Sonos to get to them. Sometimes I’m using my fix for years (SMBv1) or (TruePlay) sometimes Sonos fixes it quickly.

My goal is to enjoy my Sonos as much as possible with minimal aggravation, not to get Sonos to do stuff.

I don’t think these should be mutually exclusive. Not everyone is capable of self sufficiency and expecting such as the default approach without addressing the root cause is a slippery slope to letting Sonos off the hook. On that basis we should not ask for any new features and start writing the code ourselves!!! 

I couldn’t agree more… We see far too much of an apologist approach in these forums, which effectively means that Sonos never has to engage with their customers in any meaningful way - they just come out with the bland line of passing the message on to the appropriate department - and nothing ever…. ever….. changes….. How long have we been waiting for an android Trueplay solution now? IIRC. since 5.x or 6.x was released. It really isn’t good enough.

There are people here who jump in on any criticism as if they are the voice of Sonos, and it constantly downgrades the need for Sonos to engage constructively - or at all. They have enthusiasts doing their damage limitation for them, to the detriment of those making perfectly valid complaints.

I do agree that android trueplay needs to come. The difference to how the Arc sounds with and without it is absolutely massive. Can’t expect everyone to have Apple products and Sonos shouldn’t be selling a product that requires something else to make it sound better anyway. Fair enough if it was minimal difference, but for me it makes it sound a good 70% better have trueplay. Hopefully with the new roam technology using the inbuilt mic to tune, maybe it will come to the other speakers soon with inbuilt mics.

Some report little difference in the sound, but I found it made a huge difference to my Play 5 probably due to it’s siting which is not ideal acoustically. 

Unfortunately the person whose phone I borrowed to do set up Trueplay lives in France, so is unlikely to visit soon, and I lost the Trueplay setting when I had the unit repaired.

I suspect that Sonos will now rely on the built in mics in more modern kit, and will hope that the issue simply goes away.

There is a difference in an apologist and one who is simply acknowledging the way things are.

It is not being an apologist by explaining (to the best we can know) why things are as they are.

Sonos is the way Sonos is, nothing a small number of customers complaining do is going to change that. Again, not apologist, just acknowledging reality after years of experience.

Nothing wrong with complaining, I do my share (did a lot more when I was in the beta program too) but I have learned not to expect too much in the way of results or changes.

With that attitude I am much happier and less frustrated.

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.