STREAMING

The New Sonos App Wants To Streamline Your Streaming

Sonos has just taken the covers off its most ambitious app overhaul to date, promising users a much more streamlined experience for seeking music, content, and system controls.

You can say goodbye to that familiar five-tab layout of the current Sonos app that you are used to; the Santa Barbra brand is introducing a sleek, customizable home screen that merges all your favorite tunes and controls into one intuitive interface.

This redesign may appear to focus on aesthetics at first glance, but - and I haven’t actually tested it yet so can only hope - its true value may well lie in its functionality.

“As we are always pushing ourselves to innovate, and listening to feedback from our passionate customers, we felt now was the time to reimagine our app experience,” said Patrick Spence, CEO of Sonos. “After thorough development and testing, we are confident this redesigned app is easier, faster and better. It once again raises the bar for the home music listening experience, and sets up our ability to expand into new categories and experiences.”

For a while, Sonos has presented a bit of a mish-mash of results depending on what streaming services you use – be it Apple Music, Spotify, Tidal, Amazon Music or another choice

But the new app allows you to select your preferred provider which gets pride of place front and center of results and home pages.

The new unified search bar on the home screen scours across all platforms and services, delivering precisely what you're looking for.

“Today’s streaming experience has become fragmented across multiple platforms due to varied content offerings, algorithmic curation, or simply the desire to not recreate playlists in multiple locations,” said Maxime Bouvat-Merlin, Chief Product Officer of Sonos.

“As the only audio brand with an open platform offering extensive choice, Sonos makes it easy to control your system and curate your favorite sounds all in one place. Our reimagined app delivers the industry’s most streamlined streaming experience by bringing a world of content and intuitive control to the home screen.”

The hassle of switching between tabs to tweak volume or group speakers is also gone, with the revamped app promising a smoother experience, enabling you to effortlessly track playback on each speaker and make adjustments as needed.

Maybe the most exciting feature of the redesign is its customization options. Dubbed "pinned swim lanes" by Sonos, you will now have the freedom to rearrange and prioritize content according to your preferences.

Whether you're into recommended radio stations or prefer easy access to your recently played tracks or playslists, the choice is yours.

This customization also extends to each device the Sonos app runs on, ensuring everyone in your household gets their personalized Sonos experience.

The absence of remote control capabilities outside of your home Wi-Fi network remains a bugbear (for me, at least) but Sonos is offering a solution with its new web app, which is replacing the old desktop app and is launching alongside the new mobile app.

Using the web app, you can take full command of your Sonos system from any browser, wherever you may roam (Roam?).

The redesigned Sonos app is set to roll out on May 7th, and works with all existing Sonos speakers supported by the current Sonos S2 app.

Reporter: Paul Lamkin