No Chromecast support - Returning product

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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 ¢

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devindran

Lyricist I

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..

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John B

@devindran . The Sonos app is a remote control for the Sonos system. It is not a music player.

You can simply play directly from the Tidal app to Sonos speakers, instead of using the Sonos app - why aren’t you doing that?

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devindran

Lyricist I

@John B Tidal was probably a bad example as it does allow me to select the Sonos speakers as an output. But YouTube Music does not. That suggests to me that individual apps would have to build the functionality to output to Sonos instead of relying on the OS level APIs.

Considering Sonos now supports AirPlay 2, I would expect Google Cast to be a no brainer decision as well regardless of how widely it would be used (also given the fact they are supporting Google Assistant APIs).

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John B

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.

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Mixtur

Lyricist III

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.

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Mixtur

Lyricist III

@ralx . Your suggestion that Sonos sucks for Android users presumably implies that Airplay is vital for most iOS users of Sonos? Despite the fact that until a couple of years ago there was no Airplay on Sonos? Of course, iOS users do need Airplay to play music stored on their phones, for which Android users have 'on this device '.

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.

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John B

@Mixtur - bottom line - Sonos don’t think lack of Chromecast is a glaring omission, or there is some other reason why they won’t or can’t implement it. They aren’t stupid, whatever some on this thread might think. The price reflects the whole offering, with loads of great features (perhaps including some they have had time for because they didn’t bother with Chromecast). No price guarantees any particular feature.

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.

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KristelNL

Lyricist I

Gutted but just returned my newly bought Sonos One today because I wouldn’t be able to group it with my other ‘Chromecast enabled’ speakers. Loved the design and sound but lacking this feature was a deal breaker for me. Will order a HK citation one instead.

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thomasvdv

Lyricist I

Four months later, still no chromecast support. Please get it done!

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John B

Four months later, still no chromecast support. Please get it done!

4 months? Sonos have not thought it worth adding for as long as it has existed.

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