1 lost customer. Sure there are others. I realize losing 1 person as a customer is no big deal. But I'm sure there are others. For the price - really should have most common streaming platforms. Billions of Android users. Lost opportunity. Anyways, just my 2 ¢
Well, 4 months since your original post I meant :-)
So just now I decided to buy a Chromecast audio, only to realize Google doesn´t make them anymore -_-’
On top of that I seem to have problems with Spotify Connect playing on my Play: 5. No idea if the issue is with Sonos, with Spotify or my LAN.
This wouldn't be a huge problem if the Sonos S2 app was as useful as the Spotify app. As it stands I don't plan on buying any more Sonos products.
+17
Spotify at least lets you cast to Sonos speakers via Spotify Connect (though I myself prefer the Sonos app). Maybe other music services do this too?
Spotify at least lets you cast to Sonos speakers via Spotify Connect (though I myself prefer the Sonos app). Maybe other music services do this too?
Yes, they do. You can cast from Amazon and Pandora, and I believe several others, with the services app. No airplay 2 or chromecast required.
Hi
If you have other questions about your Sonos products and services, feel free to reach out.
It’s been over a year has this been passed to the engineering team yet?
To which feature are you referring please? Please would you direct me to where that feature is promised?
TIA
I first asked about Google assistant integration a few years ago after purchasing a Play:5. I was told by a Sonos representative that lack of integration was a Google issue and not a Sonos issue (at the time, Sonos had Alexa integration). But, I was told that this functionality was coming and so I left it for a couple of years.
As time passed, I’ve added connected products to my household because I see the benefit of accessibility, convenience and enjoyment from having an homologated system. Then, moving more towards voice-command, I must admit that I like this more natural way of accessing my media.
Yet the most expensive component with the premium sound can’t provide the basic common functionality of the assistant provide by the more inexpensive components? I can’t believe this is down to lack of ability to integrate on the software side because they’ve done it with Airplay.
The way I see it, Sonos wants to prioritise their ecosystem whereas there is a better platform out there that more people use. If Sonos completely integrated syncing with assistant or even provided a bluetooth platform to combine smart devices in the Sonos app, I would have gone for that.
As it is, I just can’t use the speaker fully in the way I want. I won’t by another when there are alternatives offering more flexibility.
You should be able to play Spotify Connect OK. What happens when you try? It would be worth powering off your router and Sonos, power the router back on fully, then the Sonos.
But if you could describe in what way it isn't working and any error messages it would help.
Sonos speakers cannot play in sync with Alexa or Google speakers, and Sonos have never indicated that they ever will.
As far as I am aware, Sonos has promised absolutely nothing specific in features beyond what is currently available.
I am baffled by your reference to integration of Airplay. This is in no sense integrated into Sonos. Sonos have merely made their more recent speakers Airplay-compatible, and when one uses Airplay to play to Sonos, one is barely using the Sonos system at all.
Yes, Sonos wants to promote its ecosystem. Of course it does - Sonos IS its ecosystem. Some additional functionality has been provided - such as Airplay and the ability to play from many music service apps. But if you think anything else has been promised, think again.
My 2 cents for what it's worth.. I hate that theres partial support for Google ecosystem but not all the way.
I can set up my Arc as a speaker for Google Home to play music on and even use GA on the Arc itself.
But without Cast support, I effectively lose all the unique capabilities provided by a music app. The browse functionality within the Sonos app is horrible. E.g. Tidal provides many forms of unique catalogs (master, 360 audio etc) but I won't be able to look for them in the Sonos app.
Even if there are valid reasons to avoid implementing the cast protocol (which I really doubt there is) at the very least implement a Share to Sonos capability so I can browse in the respective app and send it to Sonos app for playback.
My only workaround today is to browse in an app, add the music/playlist to my collection, switch over to Sonos and browse to my collection and play there.
You don't take anything away from users by implementing cast but you open up a whole world of possibilities by it. As someone else mentioned on this thread, sometimes we want the convenience provided by Cast (for our kids / guests) even if it comes at the expense of quality.. Sometimes..
It appears that Airplay 2 makes commercial sense for Sonos, and Chromecast doesn't. Or else there are technical reasons, as there also were with Bluetooth and Airplay.
Just because cheaper speakers have the feature doesn't make it 'unacceptable' that Sonos doesn't. Sonos offer the feature set at a market price and everyone can keep their money in their pockets if they wish.
One thing I do agree with you about is the ludicrously disingenuous pretence that this is some great new idea that nobody had ever thought of before. This has been suggested numerous times and every time this senseless formulaic response is pastrd in. Please stop this Sonos, it's so irritating.
Incidentally, as an Android user who feels absolutely no need for Chromecast, I wonder what you want to do with it that you cannot do without it?
I think that some people just want to cast from their phone, but I have it as my fall back position if I need to stop using the Sonos software.
It has the advantages that it doesn’t have the Sonos limits on tracks/store and will play hi-def tracks without a problem - I use a CCA into a Play 5 line-in.
Incidentally, as an Android user who feels absolutely no need for Chromecast, I wonder what you want to do with it that you cannot do without it?
I think that some people just want to cast from their phone, but I have it as my fall back position if I need to stop using the Sonos software.
It has the advantages that it doesn’t have the Sonos limits on tracks/store and will play hi-def tracks without a problem - I use a CCA into a Play 5 line-in.
Am I correct in thinking Google discontinued the CCA quite a while back? Perhaps that less-than-ringing endorsement of Chromecast for audio purposes from its owner has been a factor in Sonos’ reluctance to implement it??
The CCA was discontinued Jan 2019. Evidently the audio-related tech, e.g. multiroom, was merged into the 3rd gen Chromecast.
You seem to believe that casting device audio is important to lots of Sonos' target market. As an Android user I can play Internet radio, stream my choice of music and other audio services, play my own music stored on a network drive or my phone. With my Arc I can listen to surround sound with Atmos. The sound quality is excellent and that is important to me. SonosNet makes my large system rock solid. Yet according to you, Sonos sucks because it doesn't have Chromecast (for which I have no use)?
I shall let others be the judge of how sensible that opinion is.
I wish you luck with your new system, which clearly meets your needs better than Sonos. I much prefer what Sonos offers. Each to their own. I do not think that the system you prefer is inferior because it doesn't give me the best mix of features for my needs. So why do you think Sonos 'sucks' because it doesn't suit you?
The Sonos app is inferior to native apps though, and I don't even see it as a replacement most of the time. Why not support a standard that would allow you to use all your favourite apps the way they were intended? Not to mention it will be challenging for Sonos to keep updating their app to include new services in the future. They don't have to if they support airplay and Chromecast.
I bought a couple ofSonos One speakers and was going to build out my system but I'm now looking elsewhere. This is just such a glaring omission for a speaker at this price point.
YouTube Music is new. Its predecessor GPM could be cast direct from the native app to Sonos. You can use the native apps to play Spotify, Pandora, Amazon Music and Tidal on Sonos. That is a pretty big chunk of the market. And that applies to Android and Apple controller devices. I shall be surprised if YTM doesn’t follow.
+17
Of course this is a work around, but you could connect a Chromecast to the TV and use the Beam to get the sound into your Sonos system by grouping other speakers to the Beam.
That's kind of my point. Be honest, explain. And be done with it. "Own" the reasoning and answer why it isn't there and stop being a PC politician.
I can understand your wanting that, but Sonos just don’t make this sort of comment about why they do or don’t do something, or what their plans are. They seem to regard all such information as commercially sensitive. Which is their right, really. People can always vote with their wallets, as you have done.
I would just like them to say, ‘we have received several requests for this feature and I will pass on the continuing interest’. I know that would still be a bit of a politician’s answer.
Incidentally, as an Android user who feels absolutely no need for Chromecast, I wonder what you want to do with it that you cannot do without it?
I just tried to stream audio from YouTube and was shocked Sonos did not support Chromecast. Just bought 2 SL devices and was going to invest in their ecosystem but this won't happen now. I have several apps that just support Chromecast (and airplay). It's a shame because the SL really sounds good considering the size.
The concept of apps/services is just not a good idea. Sure, I can acces YouTube music that way (but not YouTube) but the interface is not at the same level as the native app. How are they ever going to keep up with the native app? I just tried YouTube music with Chromecast and that's exactly what I would have wanted with Sonos.
Incidentally, as an Android user who feels absolutely no need for Chromecast, I wonder what you want to do with it that you cannot do without it?
I think that some people just want to cast from their phone, but I have it as my fall back position if I need to stop using the Sonos software.
It has the advantages that it doesn’t have the Sonos limits on tracks/store and will play hi-def tracks without a problem - I use a CCA into a Play 5 line-in.
Am I correct in thinking Google discontinued the CCA quite a while back? Perhaps that less-than-ringing endorsement of Chromecast for audio purposes from its owner has been a factor in Sonos’ reluctance to implement it??
Disagree - extra $5-$10, you can cast video as well, so what the point of it anymore. I have a CCA as well, it's great. But only audio, not both.
The irony is that, for only a few dollars/pounds, the OP could have popped a Chromecast dongle into a spare HDMI port and piped it through to their Beam.
But that ship has already sailed...
Unless I want to watch a game, while listening to music?
Nice discussion on hear. But if you don't have Bluetooth (common and understood by most), Chromecast (available literally on billions of devices), AirPlay 2 (they do think they're the Apple of speakers) and any other proprietary casting software at their price point when literally they're a software speaker specialist, their being narrow minded and they'll fail eventually. Will just leave it at this
https://www.engadget.com/sonos-2020-legal-and-competition-challenges-173005771.html
You can simply play directly from the Tidal app to Sonos speakers, instead of using the Sonos app - why aren’t you doing that?
Clearly it isn't a no-brainer or Sonos would have done it. But no point going over the same arguments for the twentieth time.
I shall let others be the judge of how sensible that opinion is.
I don't get what you're not seeing here. I remember the days when audiophiles use to spit in disgust at any music playback without lossless compression. The idea that you can play high fidelity music wirelessly was almost blasphemy a decade ago.
Times change. People have children. And less patience. My daughter of 4yrs old knows how to cast audio and video from my Android phone. Which works great with my TV but nope not with the Bluetooth less Sonos.
My main objections to your opinion is that 1) Sonos somehow never prioritised casting or grouping via Google Assistant 2) That it doesn't have a (good enough) purpose.
The fact is that the promised this feature and haven't delivered (yet). And for those in the back piping up about Google dropping products, this is not about that so shut up. As long as Android phones still have an ecosystem, this feature will be relèvent for the Hub/Nest/Home whatever you want to call it.
Sonos said initially that it was a Google issue when I first asked about even having any integration with the assistant. But it clearly isn't that much of an issue with them having released support. But having done this, why not go all the way and do it properly? It's just odd to only support integration part way when it isn't actually that difficult. So I have to ask myself, why have they chosen not to do it? Must be more to the story.
As much as I like the speakers, having no Bluetooth and partial android implementation is annoying. Don't tell me "they never said they would provide this... People can choose with their wallet" blah blah blah. It's not good enough.
It's a useful feature, the toolkit is there for software integration, it enhances your product and upgrading the software makes people want to buy more into the ecosystem (as I would have done instead of buying the Hub had proper Andorid support been offered).
So I will vote with my wallet. But its a shame.
To which feature are you referring please? Please would you direct me to where that feature is promised?
TIA
I have 37 Google Home devices dotted around my home, got a used Play:1 for 5 bucks. Just found out that I’m not able to group Sonos with the Google for synchronised playback. Won’t buy another used Play:1 for 5 bucks ever again. Sonos, do you hear me? 
+6
I have 37 Google Home devices dotted around my home, got a used Play:1 for 5 bucks. Just found out that I’m not able to group Sonos with the Google for synchronised playback. Won’t buy another used Play:1 for 5 bucks ever again. Sonos, do you hear me?
A used Play:1 for 5 bucks? Well, lucky you!
I’ll gladly take it if you have no further need for it! ;-)
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