The Sonos app finally grows up
The new Sonos app update is a major redesign of the company’s companion speaker management app that introduces tab-based navigation, flexible speaker sorting, and audio app improvements aimed at fixing the confusing, failure-prone interface that frustrated users after the disastrous Sonos 2.0 redesign.
Sonos has started rolling out a new update to its companion app, adding tab navigation and speaker sorting options. The features arrive in builds 87.00.36 on iOS and 87.00.35 on Android. This is not a minor tweak; it is Sonos conceding that the old UI was broken and that software finally has to match its highly regarded hardware. Instead of hiding core controls behind layers of menus, the app now promotes everyday tasks to the bottom bar. That alone shifts Sonos from ‘beautiful speakers, clumsy app’ to a platform that respects people’s time.
Navigation that stops fighting you
The most important change in this Sonos UI redesign is philosophical: navigation is no longer an obstacle course. The bottom navigation bar now features clear buttons for Home, System, and Search, and the app highlights the selected button more clearly. Users can enable the new tab navigation by toggling “Enable Improved Navigation” in settings, which is Sonos’ quiet way of saying, “We know the old layout was a mistake.”
This is a speaker management app, not a social network. People open it to pick a room, choose audio, and adjust volume—fast. The new tab structure finally reflects those priorities. The company itself calls the feature “Improved Navigation,” and for once that label is deserved. Instead of chasing flashy layouts, Sonos has delivered a familiar, almost old-school tab interface, and that’s exactly what the app needed.
Speaker management that respects complex homes
If you own more than a couple of Sonos speakers, the old app made everyday control feel like work. The update finally treats speaker management as a first-class problem. Users can sort their Sonos speakers alphabetically, by most-used, or based on which speakers are actively playing audio, and they can pin favorites to the top for faster access. This turns a once-chaotic device list into something closer to a control panel.
Our favourite addition is the one that lets you sort speakers more intuitively. That matters because Sonos systems scale; a single home might have a dozen rooms, soundbars, and portable speakers. By letting people define their own order instead of imposing a one-size-fits-all view, Sonos finally acknowledges how varied real setups are. It is the kind of low-glamour feature that makes or breaks a daily-use audio app.
Audio controls that feel responsive again
Sonos’ audio app improvements go beyond layout. On iOS, the company is introducing a Dynamic Volume Slider that can display the current volume or show an EQ shortcut and promises a more responsive experience while adjusting volume. iPhone owners get the revamped interface first, and it replaces the old volume controls that few will miss. The Now Playing screen also gains background colors that adapt to album art and swipe-to-delete support for Sonos Favorites.
None of these additions are headline-grabbing on their own, but together they fix death-by-a-thousand-cuts friction. Volume that lags, favorites that are tedious to prune, and flat, static Now Playing screens all made the app feel older than the hardware it controlled. With this update, Sonos’ software finally behaves like a modern audio app instead of a relic attached to premium gear.
A necessary apology—and what Sonos still owes users
This overhaul exists because the Sonos 2.0 debacle nearly tanked the company’s reputation and even delayed the launch of several hardware products while staff fixed the mess. Sonos has been on a “generational sprint” to bring the app back to its former glory, and this release is the clearest sign yet that the sprint is paying off. The update is rolling out in phases and could take up to two weeks to reach all users, so not everyone will see it immediately.
Sonos’ CEO says the goal was to make the app easier to learn and use, based on hundreds of hours watching real customers use it. That focus on behavior, not buzzwords, is why this Sonos app update feels credible. Still, the job is not finished. Power users are already asking for better lock-screen controls and widgets, and Sonos cannot afford another round of complacency. This redesign is an overdue apology; long-term reliability is how the company will prove it meant it.
