Sonos rolls out a big update for its app that nearly tanked the company

by guy

Top-down angle looking at the control buttons and logo for the Sonos Arc soundbar placed on a wooden table.

TL;DR

  • Sonos has announced what it calls a “big” update for its mobile app, introducing a redesigned navigation system and several long-requested features.
  • The update adds tabbed navigation, customizable speaker sorting, a new iOS volume interface, and more visual improvements.
  • It marks another step in Sonos’ ongoing efforts to recover from the disastrous 2024 app redesign that sparked widespread user backlash.

More than two years after a controversial app redesign damaged its reputation among loyal users, Sonos believes one of its biggest software overhauls yet is finally ready.

In a post on Reddit, Sonos has announced a major update for its mobile app, calling it “a big one.” The release introduces a redesigned navigation system, customizable speaker sorting, a revamped iOS volume interface, and several quality-of-life improvements that users have been requesting since the company overhauled the app in 2024.

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The update is rolling out in phases over the next two weeks. So if you don’t see it immediately, you should receive it in due course. Users with automatic updates enabled won’t need to do anything, although iPhone owners can manually check the App Store to see if it’s available sooner.

A more familiar navigation experience

Sonos app Home screen in dark mode showing recently played albums, music services including Spotify, Apple Music, and Sonos Radio, plus a compact now-playing bar controlling grouped Bedroom and Kitchen speakers.
Sonos app System tab displaying three room cards for Bedroom/Kitchen, Office, and Patio, each with album art, current song, playback controls, and volume sliders. The Bedroom and Kitchen speakers are grouped and currently playing music.

The headline feature is Tab Navigation, which replaces parts of the current interface with a more familiar bottom navigation bar. Sonos says the Home, System, and Search sections are now easier to find, while the selected tab is more clearly highlighted.

The feature is optional for now and can be enabled through the app’s settings under Enable Improved Navigation.

Another welcome addition is long-requested speaker and room sorting. Users can now organize speakers alphabetically, by most-used, or by what’s currently playing. It’s also possible to pin favorite speakers to the top of the list for quicker access.

Full-screen Sonos Now Playing interface showing the song "Heaven Surrounds Us Like a Hood" with large album artwork, playback controls, progress bar, volume slider, Spotify source, and grouped Bedroom and Kitchen speakers.
Sonos app Pin Rooms screen allowing users to choose and reorder pinned rooms. Bedroom is selected, while Kitchen, Office, and Patio remain unselected, with a Save button at the top.

On iOS, Sonos has also introduced a Dynamic Volume Slider, replacing the previous volume controls with what should be a more responsive interface.

Other additions in the update include:

  • Now Playing backgrounds that adapt to album artwork
  • Swipe-to-delete support for Sonos Favorites
  • General bug fixes and performance improvements

The update carries version number 87.00.35 for Android and 87.00.36 for iOS. The update is significant because it represents the latest milestone in Sonos’ long-running recovery from one of the biggest software crises in the company’s history, one that threatened to derail its business.

Since the botched app redesign in 2024, Sonos has publicly apologized, delayed hardware launches, reassigned engineering teams to rebuild the app, and spent months releasing updates to restore missing features and fix widespread bugs.

What do you think of the changes Sonos is making? Drop us a line in the comments section.

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