© Sonos
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Major change at Sonos, which intends to give a facelift to its software part.
Until now, the Sonos app has been the same for all of the brand’s products. This will no longer be the case by June, since it will be separated into two separate software: one says S2 for recent hardware, the other says S1 for older speakers. A certain way of getting things done, while practicing, once again, a form of disguised programmed obsolescence.
At the crossroads of softs
Fairly limited by its sometimes very old fleet, Sonos clearly does not want to drag around the so-called “Legacy” models – which we could translate as obsolete according to the treatment that the manufacturer reserves for them. If the current application does indeed make it possible to unify the products, it is also limited in certain respects, such as bandwidth, which prevents it, for example, from switching to 24-bit or to certain functionalities such as Dolby Atmos.
The joys of Sonos Dolby Atmos speakers? Not impossible © Sonos
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This is why Sonos is now considering establishing a separation between two different applications. On the one hand, the Sonos Controller App S1 will allow the old speakers, manufactured between 2011 and 2015, to function as before. On the other hand, the Sonos Controller App S2 version will allow software innovations, an increase in bandwidth (and associated functions), and will be the only application with which products released from May 2020 will be compatible.
Sonos does not detail the functions to come, except the Room-Groups. This will allow faster access to groups of frequently associated devices. For example, if a user often triggers reading on the kitchen and living room speakers, their association may be automatic.
An update for some, the bell for others
Both versions of the application will benefit from security updates, bug fixes and access to music services; however S1 will never receive anything new. So a Sonos user with a fleet already installed will have the choice between three approaches:
© Sonos
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- For a user with only S1 compatible Sonos: keep the S1 application, or switch to S2 compatible equivalents with a 30% discount.
- For a user with S1 and S2 products: continue to operate a part in S1 and another in S2, the two then unable to communicate, or switch their S1 speakers to S2 equivalents with a 30% discount.
- For a user with only S2 models (2015 and newer): simply switch to the Sonos S2 application as soon as it is compatible.
In terms of compatibility, the brand publishes the table below to help.
© Sonos
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We are waiting to know the future possibilities brought by this major update, but that seemed to be essential for the manufacturer.
Source: What Hifi
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