Sonos Launches ‘Reimagined’ App with Customizable Home Screen

Sonos once owned the entire multi-room wireless audio market, and those initial years of dominance gave the company a strong head start over newcomers — particularly in terms of the software and user-interface that make the Sonos experience so appealing. Seeking better sound quality from a Sonos alternative used to require making compromises in usability and convenience, but nowadays, contenders like Bluesound and EverSolo have caught up. Sonos is well aware that, for most users, slick software and effortless operation are at least as important as the quality of the hardware itself. Perhaps that’s why Sonos is launching its most extensive app redesign ever, creating what the company calls “an unprecedented streaming experience,” allowing listeners to organize their favorite playlists, stations, albums, and more, from over 100 services all on one customizable Home screen.

Sonos says that the new Home screen also provides faster access to Sonos system controls. One easy swipe up replaces the tab-to-tab jumping of previous versions of the app. The new app is reportedly designed on a more modern software platform for an “easier, faster, and better experience that can support more rapid innovation,” according to the company. First and foremost, the new app promises to enable users to get into their music (and off the app) faster. Instead of tapping between tabs, the user will go to the Home screen, which will serve up both content and controls, all in one place. From there, you can “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,” according to Sonos. The Home screen also offers easy customization, so you can design it around how you listen by pinning rows of your favorite content and services. You can then move, edit, or rearrange them as needed, according to the company. Another key feature is a universal search, which allows you to search every streaming library simultaneously. When you search for a specific artist or song (or podcast, or audiobook), you get results from all your preferred streaming apps at the same time. Sonos says that this all happens in an easy-to-use search bar that’s always available right on your Home screen. When you swipe up from the bottom of the Home screen, you get instant access to system controls and a visual overview of what’s playing on each of your products. According to Sonos, it will be easier than ever to seamlessly control your entire system, quickly group speakers, adjust volume, and so on.

We introduced the world to multi-room music over 20 years ago, and are proudly playing in over 15 million homes today. 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. 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.

— Patrick Spence, CEO of Sonos

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. 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.

— Maxime Bouvat-Merlin, Chief Product Officer of Sonos

The reimagined app supports all existing S2 products, which includes most Sonos products in use today. It will be available worldwide via a software update for the S2 mobile app, and via an all-new web app, on May 7th, 2024. The new web app is accessible from any modern web browser, and promises the same seamless system control as the mobile app. It will replace the existing Sonos desktop controller.

More information: Sonos