The Sonos 5.3 software update has finally gone live on both iOS and Android, bringing with it a host of new features to the platform.
The update was pushed out as a beta version last month, but today marks the launch of the full and proper release.
Sonos says the main upgrades to look out for in 5.3 are improvements to moving music around your home, and refinements to the app UX.
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“You’ll enjoy simpler room control, an improved design for the tablet app, and a quicker way to move back and forth between screens.”
One such addition is a new drop-down panel at the top centre of the app. This lets you group or ungroup rooms really quickly – ‘three taps to party mode,’ apparently.
There’s also a bunch of new swipe commands, meaning you can now swipe back from Now Playing to browsing, then back to the menu.
What’s more, the track progression bar has also had a facelift. It’s now much more prominently displayed on the Now Playing screen, right below the album art.
The tablet version of the app has also undergone a bit of an overhaul, with dedicated screens for what music is playing and for music discovery. Both make toggling feel more intuitive.
Related: Sonos Play:1 review
It’s all part of Sonos’ continuing efforts to dominate the multi-room speaker market with regular over-the-air updates.
One of the most prominent updates was Sonos 5.1, which saw the firm allow its products to connect directly to Wi-Fi, instead of having to be routed through the Sonos Bridge.
This made the platform far easier and more accessible to first-timers, as well as saving consumers cash that would otherwise be shelled out on a Bridge.
You can download Sonos 5.3 from the iOS App Store or Android’s Google Play Store from today, free of charge.
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Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
