Sonos fixes controversial app: Update brings back tab navigation

Sonos is currently releasing a new app update: The classic tab navigation returns, speakers can be sorted and the volume control has been revised. However, users have to activate the innovations themselves.

Sonos and tab navigation

A good two years after the controversial redesign of the Sonos app, which caused frustration among users and ultimately cost then-CEO Patrick Spence his job, the speaker manufacturer is rolling out a comprehensive update. The app versions 87.00.35 for Android and 87.00.36 for iOS bring back, among other things, classic tab navigation. However, users must activate the innovations themselves via opt-in in the settings before they become visible.

If you switch the “Enable Improved Navigation” switch in the app’s system settings, you will again see three clearly labeled buttons at the bottom of the screen. These include the homepage, system and search areas. The manufacturer is thus saying goodbye to the concept of bundling all functions in a single overview.

Sorting and new volume

In addition to navigation, the manufacturer has revised other functions in the software. Speakers and rooms can now be sorted within the application – either alphabetically, according to frequency of use or according to which devices are currently actively playing music. Users can also pin individual speakers at the top of the list. This enables significantly faster access to particularly frequently used rooms in the smart home. The volume control has also been redesigned. However, this innovation is initially only available on iOS, while the version for Android will follow later. The revised slider shows the current volume in numbers and offers real plus and minus buttons for finer adjustment. The volume can also be synchronized and adjusted across several grouped rooms.

Furthermore, the Now Playing view automatically adapts its color to the album cover of the music currently being played, and in the current version, already saved Sonos favorites can be quickly deleted from the list with a simple swipe gesture. Both adjustments are intended to make everyday operation of the smart speakers easier.

Opt-in is becoming the new standard

Like Sonos in one Announcement in the community explained, the update is currently being distributed gradually. It may therefore take up to two weeks for the new version to arrive on all compatible devices. The chosen opt-in approach should become the standard in the company’s software development in the future. The audio expert wants to collect feedback in a controlled manner and only gradually expand new functions.

The company expressly emphasizes that it worked closely with beta testers and the active community on this update. Many users would have liked significantly simpler and more structured navigation after the past updates. The original redesign of the app even forced those responsible to postpone planned hardware releases by several months.