Skip to main content

BluOS will be updated to 4.0 with a fresh look, new features

Lenbrook International, the company that creates BluOS, says that the software is going to get a major update in the spring, to version 4.0. BluOS controls wireless speakers from Bluesound, as well as a variety of audio gear from NAD, Dali, and PSB. The change will bring a cleaner look to the interface, as well as several enhancements to how the app works.

“BluOS 4.0 brings added depth to personalized, multiroom hi-res listening,” said Andrew Haines, BluOS product manager, in an emailed press release. “This comprehensive redesign of the mobile app interface reflects a commitment to delivering seamless user experiences for BluOS users.”

Two phones showing different screens of BluOS 4.0.
Lenbrook

The biggest change in BluOS 4.0 is the home screen. A new tile-based layout provides easier access to your most frequently listened-to stations, music selections, recently played songs, services, news, updates, and more. It brings BluOS in line with apps like Sonos, Apple Music, and Tidal, which also favor tiles on their home pages for easy access.

A phone showing the now playing screen for BluOS 4.0.Similarly, BluOS now sports a tab-based navigation bar at the bottom of the screen instead of being a slideout element accessed from the left side. The new bar features one-tap access to Home, Favorites, Music, Players, and Search.

Speaking of search, it’s not only accessible from anywhere in the app now that it’s in the bottom bar, but it also defaults to your last-used music service, which should make it faster to find what you’re looking for. If you only have a single music service set up, the search function will default to it. If you have multiple services, it will default to the one that was last browsed.

When browsing, a “+” button on the top right will directly lead to the Music Services tab, making it quicker to switch, manage and control streaming services.

If your favorite music services support favorites, adding to or removing them can now be done with one click by using the “star” icon in the top-right corner of the Albums & Playlists page.

Getting to your available players (like Bluesound Pulse M or Pulse Soundbar 2i) in the Player Drawer will be directly accessible with one click from the Now Playing screen. Also new for the Now Playing screen is a toggle that lets you switch quickly between Now Playing and your Play Queue. A quality indicator lets you toggle between basic and detailed information.

Editors' Recommendations

Simon Cohen
Contributing Editor, A/V
Simon Cohen covers a variety of consumer technologies, but has a special interest in audio and video products, like spatial…
OnePlus Buds Pro 2 to support Android’s new spatial audio feature
The OnePlus Buds Pro 2 in black and green.

OnePlus has already let it be known that its next wireless earbuds, the OnePlus Buds Pro 2, are just around the corner. The new buds, as well as the OnePlus 11 smartphone, will officially launch at the OnePlus Cloud 11 event on February 7, 2023. But until now, we've been in the dark on almost all of the details. And while we still don't know key facts like pricing and battery life, OnePlus has announced that the new noise-canceling buds will be among the first to support Android 13's spatial audio feature.

OnePlus says the OnePlus Buds Pro 2 -- the successors to the OnePlus Buds Pro -- will "set a new standard for spatial audio stability and compatibility" when they launch outside China on February 7, 2023. The feature will work with audio that is spatial-ready, like Dolby Atmos Music, but OnePlus is also integrating the ability to up-mix standard two-channel stereo into a virtualized spatial presentation.

Read more
New leak hints at Sonos’ future: Bluetooth, spatial audio, and lots more home theater
Rendering of a reportedly unreleased Sonos speaker created by The Verge.

You have to imagine that Sonos CEO Patrick Spence is getting a little tired of leaks originating from within the company's walls. For the second time in 2022, The Verge's Chris Welch has published details of an unreleased and unconfirmed Sonos product that Welch claims is code-named Optimo 2. According to this information, which he claims was gleaned from work-in-progress images of the Optimo 2, it's a speaker that will likely take over from the current Sonos Five, a product that hasn't been meaningfully updated since it debuted as the Play:5 in 2009.

If the report is accurate -- and it's worth noting that Welch's prior reporting on the Sonos Ray ahead of that product's debut was very close to what was eventually announced -- the Optimo 2 could represent the beginning of a new era for Sonos. It reportedly contains the mics needed for Sonos Voice Control, as well as plenty of RAM for future updates. A wireframe render of the speaker created by The Verge (which is what you do when you need to protect the source material) illustrates an unusual mirror-image shape -- it looks vaguely like a VR headset -- which appears to be designed to direct sound outward in at least two directions -- forward and backward -- though Welch says that some of the Optimo 2's drivers will aim sound upward, too.

Read more
Sony updates its Signature Series hi-res Walkman with new features, higher prices
Sony WM1AM2 Signature Series Walkman being held in a hand.

Apple's iPod may be officially dead and gone now that the company has discontinued the last device to bear that name, but Sony's Walkman brand is apparently alive and well. The company has released two new Walkman models: The $1,400 NW-WM1AM2 and its gold-colored sibling, the $3,700 NW-WMZM2, both of which are updates to its original Signature Series Walkman models, geared toward the hi-res audiophile market.

The first versions of these Walkman models debuted in 2016 for $1,200 and $3,200, respectively. So how is Sony justifying the extra cash you'll need for the new models? There are a number of updates for those with a taste for fine portable audio.

Read more