Sonos rebuilds its app from scratch to make it ‘easier, better and faster’

CEO acknowledges old app ‘has been a pain point at times’

(Sonos)

Sonos has completely overhauled and rebuilt its app with the aim of making it “easier, better and faster”.

The new app features a new design but also rebuilds it from scratch with the aim of improving its performance. The old version of the app “has been a pain point at times”, said Sonos chief executive Patrick Spence, who said that it had been “completely redesigned and rearchitected the Sonos app to make it easier, better and faster”.

Users of Sonos are able to send music to their smart speaker systems using individual apps, such as Spotify or Apple Music. But much of the experience is still based around Sonos’ apps, which can integrate content from all of those streaming services as well as offering more fine control over the setup.

That app has occasionally been blighted by weak performance, such as slow loading and the loss of certain speakers. But it has also sometimes been confusing to use, given the wide variety of different streaming services and options that are available.

The new changes bring a totally redesigned home screen, which Sonos said had been built to make it easier to deal with the sometimes confusing mass of streaming options that are available to customers. It offers recently played songs across different services, and the option to favourite particular songs or artists for quick access.

It also brings an easier view of the Sonos system inside a house. A constant now playing screen gives the option to quickly see everything that is playing on all speakers, and change it.

Sonos will also get rid of the desktop version of its control app, which has at times been neglected. Instead, it will offer a new web app with the same design as the phone one – which will also allow people to control their Sonos system from another WiFi network for the first time.

The new app will be compatible with all Sonos speakers that can use the “S2” system. That includes most of the speakers made in recent years.

The new app will be available on 7 May.