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Sonos adds AirPlay support as Android Controller app hits the Market

Thomas Ricker
Updated ·6 min read

For months we've been wondering aloud how Sonos would respond to Apple's September AirPlay announcement. After all, Apple's promise to "stream music throughout your entire house" steps all over Sonos' reason to exist. Would Sonos start building its systems with BridgeCo chips? As it turns out: no. Instead, Sonos is opting for a rather ingenious solution, at a cost of $99. Rather than licensing BridgeCo technology at additional expense atop Sonos' already costly components, the company has instead devised an approach that links Apple's own AirPlay-compliant AirPort Express into Sonos' proprietary wireless mesh network. The solution (illustrated after the break) works by first shutting off the WiFi on the AirPort Express base station and then stringing a cable between its audio-out and the line-in jack on any Sonos ZonePlayer, including the S5 all-in-one speaker. You then run an ethernet patch cable between the two and you've just enabled your iOS devices to play AirPlay audio to any (or all) Sonos device in the home from any compatible AirPlay app. Naturally, the Sonos solution does not integrate with AirPlay speakers like those from iHome, JBL, B&W, Klipsch, or Philips and the AirPlay audio won't be synced with video; but it's a start. The new functionality requires a software update to your system in the form of Sonos System Software version 3.4 -- available now -- which also adds iOS multitasking amongst a few other goodies.

Today also marks the official release of the free Sonos Controller for Android app in the Android Market making it a pretty good day to be a Sonos owner.



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NOW PLAYING ALL OVER THE HOME:
APPLE AIRPLAY MUSIC SOURCES ON SONOS
Sonos offers the only true, multi-room Apple AirPlay experience
with an Apple AirPort Express

SANTA BARBARA, CA – April 19, 2011 – Sonos, the leading developer of wireless multi-room music systems for the home, today introduced Sonos System Software 3.4, a free software update that adds more music and more features to the Sonos music experience. Sonos 3.4 makes it easy to play Apple AirPlay® music sources all over the home, and adds support for Apple iPad™ and Apple iPhone® multitasking and Sonos Controller for Android™.

"The cool AirPlay feature for music is sending a song from an iOS device to a speaker or receiver," said John MacFarlane, founder and CEO, Sonos, Inc. "Today Sonos improves the AirPlay experience with party mode so a music lover can send a song from his iPhone or iPad to all the rooms in a home with perfect synchronization."

Apple AirPlay Music Sources on Sonos
Now you can stream songs from your iPhone, iPad or iPod touch® all over your home on Sonos. Connect an Apple Airport Express® via line-in to any Sonos ZonePlayer and enjoy the only true, multi-room Apple AirPlay experience.
• Party Mode: Only on Sonos can you send a song from your iOS device to multiple ZonePlayers throughout your home and enjoy that song in every room, simultaneously.
• Different songs in different rooms, Sonos-style: Only on Sonos can you play different music from your iTunes® library in different rooms of the home. And it's been that way since 2005.
For more information about how to play Apple AirPlay music sources on Sonos, recommended setup and more, please visit www.sonos.com/AirPlay.

Other Sonos 3.4 features include:
Faster wireless control on your iPhone and iPad with iOS multitasking support. Find and play your music even faster with multitasking updates available on the free Sonos Controller for iPhone and Sonos Controller for iPad. Both are available for download from the iTunes App Store.

More control with support for Sonos Controller for Android. Transform your favorite Android smartphone into a full-fledged Sonos Controller with a free app you can download from Android Market™ today. Sonos Controller for Android features innovative music voice search so you can find any artist, album or track by simply speaking into your phone. For more details, see additional press release at http://pr.sonos.com or visit www.sonos.com/android.

Full details of the Sonos 3.4 software release can be found here: http://sonos.com/support/software_update.aspx

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SONOS CONTROLLER FOR ANDROID NOW AVAILABLE ON ANDROID MARKET

Sonos Gives Android Fans Amazing Sound, Unlimited Music and
Incredible Wireless Control in Every Room of the Home

SANTA BARBARA, CA – April 19, 2011 – Sonos, the leading developer of wireless multi-room music systems for the home, today announced that the Sonos Controller for Android™ is now available for download as a free app on Android Market™. Sonos Controller for Android transforms most Android™ smartphones into a wireless music controller for the award-winning Sonos Multi-Room Music System. To see a video of how you can use an Android smartphone to control music all over the home with Sonos, please visit www.sonos.com/android.

"We're pleased to deliver a great new way for music lovers to tap into all the music on earth," said John MacFarlane, founder and CEO, Sonos, Inc. "Now Android owners can pull out their phones and bring music home with Sonos."

With the award-winning Sonos S5 in any room and an Android smartphone in hand, music fans can now enjoy an unmatched wireless music experience in the home. Access and play all the music on earth-from the Internet and your personal music library-throughout the home, wirelessly. Play the same song in every room of the house – perfectly synchronized. Or mix it up and play different songs in different rooms. Use the free Sonos Controller for Android to control all your music and rooms, all from the palm of your hand.

Search for songs and stations by typing or speaking, thanks to the new Sonos music voice search feature. Also, turn the hard buttons on your Android smartphone into volume control. And because your Android phone is controlling the music--not the source of it--when a text comes in or you need to make a phone call, the music doesn't stop.

The Sonos Controller for Android works on any Android smartphone running Android 2.1+ with a screen size of HVGA 320 x 480, WVGA 480 x 800 or WVGA 480 x 854. Sonos Controller for Android joins the family of Sonos Controllers which includes free apps for iPhone and iPad, a dedicated touchscreen controller, the Sonos Controller 200, and free software for your Mac or PC, which is included with every ZonePlayer. All controllers work together seamlessly.
In conjunction with today's Sonos Controller for Android availability, Sonos has released Sonos System Software v3.4 which features support for Apple AirPlay music sources, iOS multi-tasking and more. For more details, see additional press release or visit http://sonos.com/support/software_update.aspx

For high resolution photography and additional media information, please visit http://pr.sonos.com. For more information about Sonos or to locate an authorized Sonos dealer in your area, please visit www.sonos.com or call 877.80.SONOS.