Today we are introducing the most extensive app redesign ever, creating an unprecedented streaming experience that allows listeners to organize their favorite playlists, stations, albums and more from over 100 services on one customizable Home screen.
Home Screen
The new Home screen provides faster access to Sonos system controls with one easy swipe up, making tab to tab jumping a thing of the past. As a leader in sound experience that’s focused on creating a better way to listen, Sonos intentionally redesigned the app on a modern software platform for an easier, faster and better experience that can support more rapid innovation.
The reimagined app supports all existing S2 products and will be available globally through a software update for the S2 mobile app.
100+ streaming services, one Home screen
The redesigned Sonos app prioritizes a listening experience that’s human - allowing you to bring your true favorites front and center and giving you more control to make your streaming experience your own.
Get into your music (and off the app) faster: No need to tap between tabs —the new Home screen serves up all your favorite content and controls, all in one place. Quickly jump back into your recently played, browse libraries and recommendations from your preferred services, and fill your home with music and all the sounds you love.
Customize and curate: Enjoy unparalleled curation by designing your Home screen to reflect how you listen. Pin rows of your favorite content and services; then move, edit, or rearrange them to your liking.
Search every streaming library: Look for an artist, song, podcast, or audiobook across all your preferred streaming apps at once via an easy-to-use search bar that’s always available right on your Home screen.
Elevated system control: Swipe up from the bottom of your Home screen to seamlessly control your entire system and access a visual overview of what’s playing on each of your products, quickly group speakers, and dial in on the perfect volume from anywhere in the app.
Accessible from any modern web browser, a brand new web app allows listeners the same seamless system control as the mobile app.
The new Web App
The Web App will be available alongside the redesigned mobile app on May 7, 2024.
Want to find out more about the new Sonos App? Have a look at the Info Hub section of the community for a complete rundown of the new user interface.
Too bad they didn’t just call this S3 and then let the old S2 and new S3 co-exist until they actually finish and test the new controller
Please allow the S2 app to return (can’t believe I would type such a thing) until you can get the kinks out of this version. Local library users have been screwed over - Sonos should have stated beforehand that there was going to be a pivot to streaming only and allowed us opportunities to figure out next steps. I literally bought my Era 100 for line-in as my 12th speaker and had to update app to get it working (a whole other rant).
Also, no widgets!!!! Unbelievable. Truly.
As suspected.
A total car-crash.
It’s as if the devs just discovered the “swipe” capability and decided it needed to be in every direction at every given opportunity so that you can create layers of confusion in seconds.
There’s no way that I can see to reduce the size if icons etc so that you can see more than a couple of items at a time on all of the oversize rows, so it’s just endless swiping.
There are a ton of missing settings and functions, and if they aren’t missing then they have buried them in the most hard to find recess. e.g. why can’t a change the network channel any more so that I can avoid congestion from surround Wi-Fi networks.
Can no longer find any of the “line-in” settings to adjust?
Bugs all over the place. e.g. it randomly loses the time line from the playback so you can’t change the playback position.
The webapp is entirely redundant. The size of the queue list is a joke. When we are playing back the focus should be on the queue not on endless lists of services which I don’t need taking up the whole screen. Please for the love of god, you aren’t going to see this as a replacement for the Windows app! The Windows app might be old and tired looking, but at least it is easy to use.
The iOS app also seems to be using it’s own queue, whereas the web-app and the windows desktop app appear to be in sync?
This is not a case of people hating change. Change for the better, evolving, improving where need, and refining are all great. Change for the sake of it and making something worse is not such a good thing.
Maybe a simple toggle people can “swipe” (devs will love that!) which will enable “classic mode” where everything goes back to last week, would be great.
Was hoping to finally see the sonos controls along side the likes of spotify, plex, pocket cast, etc in the media section at the top of notification on android. That did t happen, but to make matters worse, they removed the half asz widget?!?!?!
The following things don’t work in the new Android app but did work in the old app:
Alarms (setting, enabling, disabling, view)
Sleep timer
Play all / shuffle from a list of songs
See the queue of songs next to the now playing screen
probably many more
Why did an app get released that removed so many features? I paid over 1000 Euros for my Sonos systems and now at least three essential features have suddenly disappeared.
How can I go back to the previous version of the app where all features were present and worked as expected?
I have a nice Sonos set all thrue the house. Because I want to use a CR200, I still run S1. Well done me :-)
Absolutely. Why Sonos wants to keep mucking around with what is like a remote for the telly is beyond me. Such colossal waste all around. For my own reasons I am on S1 since 2020 and all I have to fuss over is which album to play today! Either from Spotify or from my NAS.
Does anyone know of an alternative to the Sonos app on ios? I need to access my library locally, (SMB or Subsonic equivalent) I'm really disappointed with Sonos, how can they release such a disastrous app, they should have left the old version alongside the new one.
You could try Plexamp or if you use Home Assistant it has Sonos support but I find both a bit lacking but I am not giving up yet but if I do give up I will just go back to Google casting
I have no example of anything like this happening before where an update is put to users that, with no warning at all, removes huge chunks of functionality that has been there for years and told to wait, you'll get stuff back over the next few months.
The event page does at least list the culprits for this terrible app update.
It would be great if we had phone and email for these three plus the CEO
Instead, register and attend to this online AMA. We are supposed to be able to ask them anything
Hope that before the date of the event, someone will send out the information to the all SONOS owners about the current upgrade status and the next step, they are having to restore system functions.
I have been working a bit in tech and fails can happen but more important is how you are able respond to the difficult situation in the project.
The event page does at least list the culprits for this terrible app update.
It would be great if we had phone and email for these three plus the CEO
Instead, register and attend to this online AMA. We are supposed to be able to ask them anything
Yeah the disclaimer is that they can’t talk about things on the “Roadmap” - so want to know when queue functions come back? Probably not be able to disclose
This app update is 100% unacceptable.
It seems that Marty won't be attending.
Cannot believe that yet again you’ve dumped an incomplete and dysfunctional piece of software on us! I use my system primarily for local playback from my NAS and you’ve now made it impossible to play more than one track at a time. Absolutely disgusted with this rubbish and even more unimpressed that I couldn’t just have the option to continue using the original app until you sorted this fiasco out. You’ll never get another penny from me as I’m tired of financing great hardware that relies on idiotic decision making and inept software composition. Goodbye Sonos, hello Bose (or frankly anyone that doesn’t take me for an idiot).
Ok, here´s the timeline for the (old) new features that are gone with the update:
Auto Trueplay / Quicktune Era (100 & Era 300) - Arriving in Late May Snooze Alarms - Coming in June Google Assistant Setup on Android - Coming in June Sleep Timers - Coming in July Find Missing Products Tool - Coming in July Offline Devices - Coming in July Queue & Playlist Editing - Coming in July
Would be really interested in the Panelists’ responses to what Sonos stated last month when they mailed customers about the new App, specifically this part:
How will this affect my system?
We've taken great care to ensure that this update only enhances your Sonos experience. Your products, features and services will work as they always have, and all your settings will be saved.
They are false assurances and lies - and they knew in advance that functionality was being removed/held back.
If they were unable to deliver their commitments they should have held back or stated what was being removed - not just do it anyway. What a staggering lack of respect to their customers.
Ok, here´s the timeline for the (old) new features that are gone with the update:
Auto Trueplay / Quicktune Era (100 & Era 300) - Arriving in Late May Snooze Alarms - Coming in June Google Assistant Setup on Android - Coming in June Sleep Timers - Coming in July Find Missing Products Tool - Coming in July Offline Devices - Coming in July Queue & Playlist Editing - Coming in July
JULY?!?!
Would be really interested in the Panelists’ responses to what Sonos stated last month when they mailed customers about the new App, specifically this part:
How will this affect my system?
We've taken great care to ensure that this update only enhances your Sonos experience. Your products, features and services will work as they always have, and all your settings will be saved.
They are false assurances and lies - and they knew in advance that functionality was being removed/held back.
If they were unable to deliver their commitments they should have held back or stated what was being removed - not just do it anyway. What a staggering lack of respect to their customers.
This is pretty incredible. Like did they think we wouldn’t notice all the missing features? I don’t get why they would hype this update at all, let alone release it. they had to have known this type of reaction would be coming.
Sonos has just won the lie of the year ward - this new app is a total disgrace. Not even sure it could qualify as a beta version. You are killing your brand / name.
Kudos on the new mobile app! It’s mostly great, but one feature I used regularly in the old app is now missing: Mute!
As I move throughout the house, I sometimes like to mute all speakers, then adjust the volume on 1 or more speakers in the room where I am (rather than ungrouping and having to regroup later).
I also miss being able to tap on the group volume control and seeing all grouped speaker individual volumes appear.
The option to easily tap into adjusting individual speaker EQs is also gone from the new app.
Please consider bringing back these volume capabilities in the new app.
Thanks!
The lesson learnt here is to not apply any updates until others confirm that it’s ok. A few bugs are to be expected but this seriously nobbles the systems of many users.
They really need to pull back this app until all the functions work….
