The Sonos app now offers an opt-in update that replaces hidden gestures and nested menus with a three-tab navigation system. Separate Home, System and Search tabs provide direct access to content, connected speakers and playback controls.
The Sonos app serves as the control centre for the company’s connected audio systems, allowing users to manage playback, speakers and groups across different rooms.
Sonos CEO Tom Conrad wrote in a Reddit post that the redesign followed extensive observation of how new and established customers used the app.
“What I wanted from this work was simple: a series of enhancements that make Sonos easier to learn and easier to use,” he said. “The team has spent hundreds of hours over the past year watching real customers use the Sonos app, longtime owners and brand new ones alike. We’ve learned a lot about what hangs people up, what’s confusing when you’re new to the system, and what slows you down when you’re just trying to change the darn volume.”
According to Conrad, proprietary interface patterns had created unnecessary friction. These included stacked content cards, swipe gestures, unconventional close buttons and controls that felt unfamiliar on iOS and Android.
“Now all of that is changing. Not a new app, but a new way of navigating Sonos inside the app you already have.”
New sorting and pinning options allow rooms to be arranged alphabetically, according to usage frequency or based on what is currently playing. Frequently used rooms can also be positioned near the top of the System view.
A redesigned volume interface on iOS adds dedicated plus and minus buttons for smaller adjustments. Group volume controls support changes across several rooms at once. The volume redesign is scheduled to reach Android at a later stage.
Conrad described the new volume interface as “a core mechanism that is easier to grab and fine tune”, with buttons for incremental adjustments and a new method for synchronising volume across grouped rooms.
Other changes outlined in the Reddit post included swipe-to-delete controls in playlists, a refreshed Now Playing screen and new iPad views.
Beta testing began in May and expanded to a broader group of customers in June. Participants helped shape the navigation, room organisation and volume-control changes before the wider release.
Among those who tested the interface, 97% kept the redesigned experience enabled. The company reports that participants required an average of 37% fewer taps to reach their intended destination.
The new interface remains available through an opt-in toggle, allowing customers to test the changes and provide feedback before availability expands further.
“Stepping back: this is the beginning of a different way of working here at Sonos, where what gets built, and in what order, is shaped by the conversations here and with all our customers.”