- Bloomberg says a new Sonos app refresh is in the works
- A key feature is extra iOS compatibility
- Anyone else getting déjà vu?
The Sonos calendar may well have skipped 2025 in terms of that ‘two new product releases annually’ promise, although the company did release a new amplifier at the start of the year – and apparently 2026 will be a much busier year for the brand. So shall we see what shiny new gifts Sonos Clause (sorry) has wrapped up for us in his sack? It’s… an app overhaul. Another one.
According to Bloomberg, the company is planning to rework and refresh its app offering in the next few months, with an early version apparently already working internally. It’s unclear if that means the Sonos app is merely working, or really workable for the many customers still disgruntled over the last update. Apparently, the changes will be optional, and slowly integrated into the app rather than presented as one big push. (Lesson learned there, it seems.)
So what could actually change? Apparently you’ll now be able to control your Sonos device from the iPhone lock screen, using Apple’s recent developments in the area. It’s all to do with Apple’s Live Activities (the interactive, real-time notifications that appear on the iPhone Lock Screen and in the Dynamic Island) which would certainly be a welcome upgrade for iPhone owners.
That presumably won’t be the only change, as it’s something the Android app already offers, but it’s the only one we’ve heard about so far. A company cannot drip-release features if there’s only one, though, so we’ll likely hear about more nearer the time.
Keeping fans ‘appy
The word combination of ‘Sonos’ and ‘app’ may give users conniptions given that a bungled May 2024 app change which was only really fixed in 2025 is now what fans think about when they hear those words used together.
The then-new app had laggy volume controls, missing features from the older app, and a more confusing design that took users too long to get their heads around. While it’s mostly fixed now, a brief skim of the Sonos subreddit still yields post after post of complaints about the app and its bugs.
As a baseline, Sonos’ new new app really needs to not to present these issues, or it could signal the end of trust in the brand: fool me once, and all that. The affections of plenty of Sonos fans are on the line, and if the company is planning a gangbusters product launch slate this year, it’s going to need some ardent cheerleaders to help it along — especially with the growing slate of WiiM products hitting the market…
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tom.bedford@hotmail.co.uk (Tom Bedford)
