When you’re the king of multi-room wireless audio systems, you can either sit on your throne and wait for invasion, or ride out onto the field of battle and defend it. Sonos has chosen the latter. Detailed on the Sonos blog, the company has rebuilt its already intuitive app from the ground up, adding new features and a smarter UI to propel its streaming eco-system into the next decade. A beta version of the app is available for Android users today.
[Update: this story has been updated to reflect iOS and more app support for the new UI, May 13, 2014]
This morning Sonos announced that its new app has finally arrived for iOS users as well, compatible with iOS 6 and above, allowing a plethora of playback options for the two biggest players in mobile. In addition, Sonos announced a team of new apps it has brought into the fold, including Google Play Music, MLB, Beats Music and Shuffler.fm, adding to its expansive list of compatible players in the streaming game.
According to Sonos, the sparkling new refresh of its app allows for an even more streamlined interface to make accessing all of your music catalog and services as effortless as possible. The crown jewel of the refresh is the new universal search feature, which allows users to search for music and artists across the system’s deep stable of apps, from Pandora to Hype Machine, all from a single search window.
From its intuitive software to its growing lineup of minimalist speakers, the foundation of the Sonos ecosystem has always been built around elegant simplicity. The company revolutionized the world of wireless music a decade ago when it debuted a system designed to access all of your music, send it at high resolution over your wireless network, and allow for seamless integration of multiple speakers throughout the home with zero latency, be it from one source, or multiple sources.
Since then, a host of companies have attempted to unseat Sonos from its perch, including efforts from heavyweights in the industry like Bose, and Samsung. While both companies have crafted admirable adversaries – with some eerily similar features – neither has designed a system worthy of holding the coveted title of Sonos killer. Sonos has persevered in the face of competition, and even thrived, as its brand has risen from its roots of anonymity to become a near-household name. In fact, Sonos recently shared metrics with Digital Trends showing that the company registered a 97 percent year over year growth from 2012 to 2013, pulling in over half a billion dollars last year alone.
With this latest UI redesign, the company hopes to hold its title long into the next decade, keeping pace with the onslaught of rivals to come.
Sonos’ new app will be available for both iOS and Android users some time this spring, but Android subscribers to the Sonos way can try out the beta version now.
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