Retired Sonos Staff

News

The new Sonos Mobile App & Web App

Related content:Software

Forum|Forum|2 years ago
April 23, 2024
1674 replies
97105 views

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.

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 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.

Here you can find the full press release.

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osm

I’m trying (honest!) to live with the new mobile app. I can kinda-sorta get by on iOS. Android not so much.

My “Sonos Favorites” is a mix of local albums and streaming albums. On iOS those all of those work okay (and pick up album art). On Android the local albums are greyed-out: there is a placeholder with the correct name, but I cannot tap on the icon (and there is no album art). Anyone else seeing this? Workaround?

Same for me; I don’t see album art for my local library in the new Android app and can’t access the local albums via my favourites. I don’t have an iOS device, but I do see album art in the Windows desktop app and can also access favourite albums from there.

I agree with all the feedback regarding missing functionality etc. It’s not the missing functionality that is currently annoying me the most, it’s the lack of communication from Sonos. It wouldn’t be too difficult to respond to this community with “We hear the feedback provided and will be addressing concern X, Y & Z in the next 7 days”. Considering that boat has sailed due to the time elapsed from releasing this new version and now, at this point the honorable thing to do would be for Sonos to:

Release the previous working version of the controller app to both Google and Apple stores so we can essentially “roll back” to regain the missing functionality.
Issue an apology for all the issues caused and provide clear and concise timeline/roadmap for any functionality changes in future revisions of the controller app.
Review MVP/UAT processes for any future app revisions. This release has been nothing short of a disaster.

Ultimately this new app has turned all of our speakers from a fully fledged piece of equipment to something below a basic speaker with the features found on an iPod shuffle. If we wanted a speaker with iPod shuffle capabilities only, we wouldn’t have spent the extra money needed to purchase Sonos branded equipment.

They’ve given a statement to The Verge which touches on missing features.

https://www.theverge.com/2024/5/9/24152675/sonos-new-app-bad-reviews-response-statement

Disappointingly, there was no explanation as to why they couldn’t keep the gold S2 app available alongside this new app until the new app regains key functionality. That’s what I want to know. Unfortunately I probably won’t be able to attend the AMA discussion on the 14th, but hopefully some others will ask.

D

DavidGaylard

Lyricist II

I’m trying (honest!) to live with the new mobile app. I can kinda-sorta get by on iOS. Android not so much.

My “Sonos Favorites” is a mix of local albums and streaming albums. On iOS those all of those work okay (and pick up album art). On Android the local albums are greyed-out: there is a placeholder with the correct name, but I cannot tap on the icon (and there is no album art). Anyone else seeing this? Workaround?

Agreed, personal library Albums in favourites are greyed out on Android and simply don’t work. The option to add library artists or albums to the favourites is there, but doesn’t work either.

D

DizzyBoyUK

Lyricist III

Please add the numbers back to the volume slider?

Widgets, they were useful....where have they gone?

Scaling on Android needs some work, everything is just a bit too large.

Please please please add full Trueplay support to Android now.....you could at least target the most commonly used handsets. Also I can't even seem to enable or disable Trueplay from the new Android app now as the option doesn't show up at all.

It always feels like Android is an after thought to Sonos.......globally there are as many Samsung handsets as iPhone so it seems a bit naive to constantly ignore this...US blinkers on??

H

harktheharreld

Lyricist III

I would certainly be interested in the metrics that lead to the the determination that the minimal feature set they’ve launched with is “viable”. Maybe queue builders and alarm users are a disposable corner of the customer base.

Bad business if you ask me, but I bet there’s an confidential PowerPoint slide setting out exactly this risk.

The missed opportunity to A-B test the new app against the old in the wild is a bit of a forehead slap.

Agreed. The only issue with their thinking, if that is what happened, is they still managed to piss off people like me who don’t even use those functions. The app has other issues, and there are legacy issues not being addressed as well. I am not a typical forum poster, but here I am. At this point there is also a sense of solidarity for those losing features, because someday it may be a feature I do care about.

D

DavidGaylard

Lyricist II

Can you imagine Sony, Samsung or whoever marching into your house and removing half the buttons from your tv remote control? That’s how this feels!

W

wayneo123

Collaborator II

Has a Sonos admin just removed all the negative comments about this appalling app release, because I am now seeing no user replies to this topic?

All Sonos products replaced due to appalling app and sheer arrogance of CEO.

P

pepserrano

Contributor I

Hello. Got some questions and feedback around the new mobile app.

I have a large music collection stored in a NAS that I access through SMB. How do you search in your own collection with the new app? The choice to use classical search has gone? Feels like there is a push to use “music services”…

One more question. When I am browsing my music by album or by artist… how can I get back the A-Z letters in the right frame to quickly browse ? With a large collection this is an absolute must. And yet when scrolling through my collection the scroll bar is misleading since it gets easily to the bottom and then “jumps” back because there are more records… as it is now I cannot enjoy my music library.

feels the app does not have the maturity to go prod

G

GuitarSuperstar

Lead Maestro

Hello. Got some questions and feedback around the new mobile app.

I have a large music collection stored in a NAS that I access through SMB. How do you search in your own collection with the new app? The choice to use classical search has gone? Feels like there is a push to use “music services”…

One more question. When I am browsing my music by album or by artist… how can I get back the A-Z letters in the right frame to quickly browse ? With a large collection this is an absolute must. And yet when scrolling through my collection the scroll bar is misleading since it gets easily to the bottom and then “jumps” back because there are more records… as it is now I cannot enjoy my music library.

feels the app does not have the maturity to go prod

Both of these features aren’t currently available on the new app. Hopefully they will be added soon.

"Receive with simplicity everything that happens to you." - Rashi

M

misterstaggs

Lyricist III

This new App is so bad I can only take it as an intentional insult from SONOS to its users.

You have made it substantially worse and way more difficult to use.

O

osm

Can we get the ability to hide or collapse sections on the home screen?

When not signed in as system owner the recently played section is pointless. Would like to hide.

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