Sonos: iOS app should finally get lock screen control again
The app from the speaker and headphone specialist is still not as good as it used to be. Further improvements have now been announced.
Speakers from Sonos, here the Era 300.
(Image: Sonos)
Sonos continues to work on a new iOS app after the company ran into serious trouble due to a major and widely criticized software change. According to a report, an update is expected in the coming months that will finally enable playback control on the lock screen for the manufacturer's speakers again.
New Sonos App Planned – Once Again
However, the feature is to be implemented via Live Activity, not via the “normal” way of lock screen control under iOS. How convenient that will be remains to be seen. Sonos has already upgraded the Android app, and it can already be controlled via the lock screen again, as users actually expect. Sonos had already removed lock screen control in version 15.6 of the iOS app in the summer of 2023 and has not reintroduced it since. In addition to the lack of the ability to change songs without unlocking the iPhone, the adjustment of the playback volume via its volume buttons was also removed. Both are convenience and actually standard features.
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Since the flop with the new Sonos app, which users were forced to use, the speaker specialist has made adjustments again and again. However, these are still not considered perfect, especially the lack of control from the lock screen remained a sore point. Apparently, Sonos engineers did not succeed in rebuilding the function based on the new app.
Tricky Implementation via Live Activity
According to Sonos CEO Tom Conrad, who gave an interview at the end of February, the implementation is proving to be “trickier than expected” and will take months. As mentioned, the implementation will also “probably” be via Live Activity. They realized that users enjoy it when the app feels precise. “That's what we're chasing,” said Conrad.
Conrad had initially focused his team entirely on fixing the app problems, so new hardware products were postponed. The negative comments decreased. Nevertheless, Sonos has not yet succeeded in reviving the lock screen feature. The company had to accept revenue declines and layoffs.
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