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Ryan S
Ryan S
Retired Sonos Staff
October 2, 2017

Now Available, the New Sonos App

Related content:Software



Sonos version 8.0 is introducing a brand new controller for iOS and Android. The new Sonos app makes it even easier to navigate, access, and control your music throughout your home. This new app comes side by side with voice control through Alexa devices, more about that here.

Check out our blog for the Remastered Sonos App. Full details on the new apps can be found here on their respective product guide pages. Let’s take a look at the new app:



Introducing Navigation with Tabs:


The Sonos app now has five tabs visible at the bottom when not in the full playing screen. The tabs are My Sonos, Browse, Rooms, Search, and More. See here:



Now your most used options are available with just one click, and Now Playing is always just one tap away.

My Sonos
We’ve consolidated all your personally curated Sonos Playlists, music service playlists, and Sonos Favorites into one, easy to use page on the Sonos app. You can edit fields to move around the order, or delete them entirely. You can now have up to 40 favorites total, up from 32.

Browse
Browsing your music is even easier as it no longer hides your other options. You can browse and move to different rooms all while keeping your place in the browsing menu. There’s also a dock on the bottom of the app that gives you easy access to the navigation tabs. You can swipe it up to reveal it at any time, then back down. We’ve separated browsing your music and the menu for Settings, so it’s even easier to find what you’re looking for.

Rooms
The menu starts highlighted on the active room, featured right on the app so that it’s even easier to see what’s playing in each room. There’s now an icon on that screen to show you where the music is coming from too. That includes if it was started by Alexa. The active room has a Group button to have it add others to the party.

Search
It hasn’t changed, just moved to an easy to find spot.

More...
All the settings and options are in here. You can add services, make alarms, get some help, and access all your settings. We think this will make it a lot easier to find what you’re looking for. And speaking of settings…


Explicit Language Filtering


Within Settings > Parental Controls, you can set a system-wide setting to filter songs with explicit content. Right now, this is working for Apple Music, and we’re hoping to add it for more services soon. Once the setting is on, Apple Music songs with the explicit tag will no longer play on your system.

Long Press to Group


Making it even easier to play music. With 8.0, you can press and hold the Play/Pause button (or mute on older players) to have your player join the most recently active player as a group. First, you have to start playing music on a player, (it can be from an alarm or any other source), and then just hold the button for a few seconds on another player. That second player will join the first one’s group and start playing the same music in sync.

There's another function of the long press, and that's being able to move recently stopped music to another room. First, stop playing music in any of your rooms. Then, press and hold the play/pause on another player for a few seconds. (Make sure that you don't start playing music anywhere else.) The queue or source will move to the unit you held the button for and start playing. The players won't group together and any existing queue will get whiped out in place of the new one.

iOS 11 and Android O Support


Lastly, version 8.0 has support for the latest operating systems from Android and iOS. This includes iOS 11 support for Trueplay on Sonos. Trueplay isn’t available on Android at this time.
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    527 replies

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    Ken_Griffiths
    Ken_Griffiths
    October 5, 2017
    I don't care about voice control and I dig the new interface. Could it be darker? I dunno... I don't care about stuff like that. I like the functionality much better than what it was (once I figured it out).

    I’m all for the option of a colour themed interface and smaller icons on some devices like the iPad, but for me the browse tab is similar to the old interface without all the clutter (which they have moved to the 'more' tab). We then have the added bonus of a new separate area for the Sonos Rooms and a Search Facility, but the real UI winner is the functionality and potential contained in the new 'My Sonos' tab. That can provides links and shortcuts to many key areas within the different supported music services and I am really looking forward to seeing how that area of the app continues to be developed.

    I think for now though, I would like to see Sonos prioritise the voice control of other music services like Spotify and Google Play.

    As a footnote. I have just added some Philips hue colour bulbs to parts of my home, also controlled via an Alexa Skill and a variety of different apps and being able to generate the different customisable lighting scenes in conjunction with excellent quality Sonos audio has added another incredible dimension to listening to my favourite playlists. These things are truly changing the way I like to listen and relax to music, so the user interface colours, for me, is quickly becoming a relatively minor matter.... and I too was someone who once thought that voice control and smart-home products would never ever feature in my home.

    The family all love these new things too.
    jmw_sono
    Chromatic Producer I
    October 5, 2017
    When will You do some much needed work on the Windows PC controller?
    Ill second this! I use a few old touchscreen PCs in areas as a kind of jukebox touchscreen for my Sonos Music.
    Some nice grouping options like saved groups would be cool also. Currently use Macronis and Lurton Scenes for this, but would love to have this in my PC touchscreens. Voice wasn't much of an interest, but the Sonos One had me thinking of trying, but without grouping options, pretty pointless to me if I have to use the app for grouping might as well set the music while there. For simple play/pause I use Lutron Pico remotes.
    Playbar(2) Sub(1) Play:5(2) Play:3(6) Play:1(5) Connect:AMP(3) Sonos:AMP(5) Move(1)
      amun
      October 5, 2017
      How do I go back to the old one it was much more intuitive
      You don't - Sonos don't do 'choice' - unless you count not pressing the 'upgrade' button :8
        southern gal
        Chromatic Producer I
        October 5, 2017
        Love the voice control although i found some issues which i will post on the appropriate topic.

        however regarding the new app for iOS (have not looked at the new android app in play store on my chromebook yet).

        I really hate the opening page... who thought that LARGE icons on a small iPhone screen is something ANYONE would want.

        your previous app was GORGEOUS .. and at least you didnt screw with the BROWSe where all the original icons are..

        HATE HATE HATE the opening screen. ... and why show so few favorites? really? if i have 20 favorites , then i should be able to see them all.

        Dont understand the NEED to change what was NOT broken.

        Same thing with the iPad app. same issues.

        Also give us the choice to have white or black background. too much white.

        you can always post screen shots here and we can comment on the app design - i mean we ARE your loyal fans! Let us have a say!
        Southern Gal
          smithak2001
          Contributor I
          October 5, 2017
          On an iPad i used to be able to select and play a song, and have controls on the same page.
          (volume especially, but also the scroll)
          Now i can only "pause", and i have to click to another screen if i want to have a volume slider.

          Also not a fan of the huge icons.
            BiggestG
            Lyricist II
            October 5, 2017
            Way to much white! In one Sonos reply, "We hear you, a night mode is a good idea for the future". How about just setting the app color scheme back to the way is was for years. EASY fix. Btw, white IS the single biggest complaint so far and easiest to resolve. Get on it.
              JohnG666
              Enthusiast II
              October 5, 2017
              I don't like the white and I don't like the enormous icons which means that my favourite radio stations only show a few, even on my iPad. It then takes more clicks to go to all my favourite radio stations.

              I preferred the previous version, I wish I hadn't updated. I assume I'll have to get used to it because Sonos has never been great at producing software with a good UI (in my opinion)
                Philophile
                Lyricist I
                October 5, 2017
                Much worse interface, at least on an iPad. Especially bad are the very large icons arrayed in a single horizontal row at the top of the screen. This requires horizontal scrolling to see more than a few, when with a different display they'd all be visible at a glance.
                  lynxman
                  Lyricist I
                  October 5, 2017
                  Sorry Sonos .... the new app is not an improvement in my mind. Don’t like it I’m afraid. Bring back the black background
                    PaulT
                    Lyricist I
                    October 5, 2017
                    Updated to v.8 today.
                    Funky app but appalling lack of colour......did the developer run out of paint?
                    Any chance of a darker option or themes, please?
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