Contributor I

Android and Trueplay

176 replies
39703 views

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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O

Occam's Cat

Lyricist II

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.

buzz

Grand Maestro

In addition to the raw microphone characteristics, case construction is in the mix. Also, how long do we need to wait before we know what the best selling Androids will be in a given year? Although this is not a scientific sample, my techie friends all have Androids, but a majority of people I encounter who own SONOS systems, use iPhones.

The SONOS database knows the iOS/Android ratio and may be aware of model numbers, but is unlikely to be able to track variations during production runs. SONOS would need to accumulate at least a year’s worth of data before deciding which Android models warrant further research. Then SONOS would need to sample units from different production runs in order to decide if it would be practical to develop a profile for that model. Regardless, millions of users who don’t own that model would be disappointed and grumbling that SONOS ignored the “best” Android.

K

Kumar

Although this is not a scientific sample, my techie friends all have Androids, but a majority of people I encounter who own SONOS systems, use iPhones.

Digressing a little: I can completely understand the latter part quoted, but I also find it ironic/funny that there are some vocal fans of Sonos here who are also Apple haters, largely because - hold your breath - Apple is a closed system... :rofl:

G

Georg S.

Lyricist I

Just bought Beam gen 2. “Borrow an iphone from a friend” to utilize an important feature that is advertised as part of this 500 euro product?
Nah, there’s options out there Sonos. Good alternative options.
Back to the box.

106rallye

Which is of course your choice.

jgatie

Just bought Beam gen 2. “Borrow an iphone from a friend” to utilize an important feature that is advertised as part of this 500 euro product?
Nah, there’s options out there Sonos. Good alternative options.
Back to the box.

And which of those options allows you to do custom room tuning using your Android phone?

A

adagiogen2

Lyricist I

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.

T

Turok

Lyricist II

I am an Android user and +1 to this. I fully understand the wide variety of Android devices and MIC characteristics make it a nightmare, though narrowing to Samsung/Pixel would reduce that. Simply providing a calibrated MIC can end this phone-specific mic dependency and make it universal. The local processing should be able to run on any phone except maybe the lowest end ones. My wife uses a supported iPhone so the “borrow” business is easy for me luckily.

Even for iOS devices Sonos has to keep measuring and supporting newer devices every year. Given the time it takes to do that I suspect that is repetitive, grunt engineering effort.

Another thought. The Sonos Roam/Move includes a TruePlay MIC. Why not allow using that to TruePlay other Sonos devices in the network. Should make sense from a sales point of view as well :grinning:

Airgetlam

Why would Sonos narrow to Samsung / Pixel? Wouldn’t that make every other Android device owner angry? Or is it that you happen to own a Samsung / Pixel?

If I recall, Samsung and other manufacturers has used different mics even within a single telephone line, so if Sonos were to see an Android phone of X type, it might have any of several different mics in it, and they couldn’t assume that all that line of phones have the same audio profile for the mics.

Bruce

buzz

Grand Maestro

Given that MOVE and ROAM support auto Trueplay, I can imagine that SONOS will move in this direction for many products. It might be possible to use the microphone in a MOVE or ROAM to tune systems that do not include a microphone.

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